Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur Level Up Your Development Workflow: Declutter with AI for Better Focus and Cleaner Code
In Season 25, Episode 10 of the "Building Better Developers with AI" podcast, Rob Broadhead and Michael Meloche revisit one of their most practical episodes: decluttering your code and digital life. However, this time, they utilize AI tools like ChatGPT to elevate the conversation and provide even more actionable ways to streamline your workflow, sharpen focus, and enhance developer productivity.
Why Developers Should Declutter—and Level UpDeveloper clutter goes far beyond messy code. It creeps into your tabs, your file system, your brain, and your workflow. Rob and Michael explore how revisiting the original topic through the lens of AI created deeper, more structured insights. AI not only confirmed their past advice—it elevated it.
As Rob puts it: “Clutter doesn’t show up in your IDE, but it absolutely shows up in your performance.”
AI helped them reframe the conversation into clear action steps that help you level up your development workflow by decluttering at every level—from code to cognition.
Clean Code Is Smart Code: Use AI to Level Up Your RefactoringA central theme of the episode is simple: Great developers delete code.
Michael and Rob walk through common bad habits—commented-out code, legacy logic, stale TODOs—and how they quietly accumulate technical debt. They recommend using tools like ESLint, Prettier, or Flake8 to automatically flag issues. More importantly, they encourage developers to make cleanup a weekly routine, not a once-a-year emergency.
AI Tip: Utilize ChatGPT to refactor lengthy methods, rename ambiguous variables, or break down complex classes into more manageable components. It’s a quick way to make your code easier to read, test, and maintain.
Optimize Your Tools: Streamline and Standardize Your WorkspaceIf you want to level up your development workflow truly, decluttering extends beyond the codebase. Your workspace setup—browser tabs, IDE extensions, terminal scripts—can either streamline your productivity or sabotage it.
Rob’s key practices:- Limit browser tabs to 10 or fewer
- Disable unused plugins and extensions
- Stick to a consistent folder structure
- Use shell scripts, makefiles, or Git aliases to speed up routine tasks
Michael reinforces the idea with his “kitchen sink” app concept—a reusable codebase that acts as both a portfolio and a best-practices toolkit.
Silence the Noise: Declutter Your Developer BrainClutter isn’t just digital—it’s cognitive. Rob and Michael emphasize how context-switching kills focus and creativity.
To combat this, they recommend:
- Turning off nonessential notifications (on phone, desktop, and wearables)
- Using time boxing (e.g., Pomodoro technique)
- Auditing your calendar weekly
- Creating interruption-free zones for deep work
Pro Tip: Play white noise or ambient focus tracks to drown out distractions and stay locked in.
These habits allow you to protect your most important asset as a developer—your attention.
Make Decluttering a Weekly Habit and Watch Your Workflow Level UpDon’t wait for a meltdown to clean house. Rob and Michael suggest building decluttering directly into your dev rhythm—especially at the end of each sprint or workweek.
Their weekly checklist:
- Archive stale Git branches
- Delete unused files and TODOs
- Refactor one file for clarity
- Restart your system
- Review your inbox and calendar
Even a 15-minute Friday cleanup session can give you a cleaner slate and a sharper mind going into Monday.
Bonus: Fewer Tools, More FlowTool overload is another form of workflow clutter. Michael recommends consolidating everything into one platform—whether it’s GitHub, Jira, or Notion. “Let the business be disorganized,” he says. “You bring the order.”
Rob echoes this with a challenge: Take one week to migrate everything from your old tools into your primary stack. You’ll save time and reduce friction moving forward.
Final Thoughts: Use AI to Clean, Simplify, and Level UpDecluttering isn’t just about tidiness—it’s about creating space to do your best work. And with AI now in your toolkit, you can automate, refactor, and optimize like never before.
Stay Connected: Join the Developreneur CommunityWe invite you to join our community and share your coding journey with us. Whether you’re a seasoned developer or just starting, there’s always room to learn and grow together. Contact us at info@develpreneur.com with your questions, feedback, or suggestions for future episodes. Together, let’s continue exploring the exciting world of software development.
Additional Resources