I also write in the code what I was doing so the code doesn’t compile. My only issue is that I don’t trust my computer, for me, if it’s not pushed in Git then it can disappear at any moment. If the work is not too important and I could easily re-create it from scratch the next day then I’ll leave it in my local Git. But if it’s important then I also want to push it.
The failures I've experienced in 20 years of spending ~8 hours a day with one:
- SSD failure within moments of getting started for the day
- backlight failure
- mouse/keyboard failure
- human failure (spilling coffee on the computer)
Each time, I was out of commission until I got a replacement or the computer repaired and someone else had to pick up my work. If your computer becomes a brick, it doesn't really matter what you thought you wanted to do next.
I've had all these plus PSU failure, network adapter failure, OS post-update self-destruction and more.
I push code a couple of times a day. If something goes horribly wrong I just pick up another computer, pull the code, and continue working while I wait for a repair/part for the main computer (or for an OS to reinstall).
If your computer becomes a brick, just use a different computer.
That assumes you have another computer that isn't a brick. I have 6 other computers within this house, yet only one other one (my wife's) is currently functioning.
Yeah, true, I'm assuming most people here have old machines that still work. It's good to have one, if you don't!
My secondary is a 10-year old laptop which gets regularly used while sitting in bed in the morning, occasionally for actual work. The other backup is an old desktop I donated to my wife a few years ago, containing an unplugged SSD which is exactly as it was when I last used it. Both will still handle most of what I need, just a bit slowly.
Either you have been extremely unlucky, or a good time investment for you would be to fix a few of the non-working ones. That's likely a better use of your time than wondering how to leave notes to your future self.
Personally, I very rarely push commits unless I’m about to open a PR.
A coworker fell off a ladder and broke both his arms. We had to look at his commits to figure out what he had gotten done. It was worthless. Absolute trash. His finished code was always top notch, but his WIP code … trash.
It was easier to ignore it and start from first principles than to try and pick up where he left off.
If your philosophy is to do a PR at least every few days then the negative impact of this was likely negligible, especially comparing to have a fellow dev being out with having broken arms for a few months.
If you do PRs every few weeks then that could be a bigger issue. But then this should be a lesson to just not do that. Merge small steps often. It has tons of advantages.
Draft PR's are nice on these branches to get a quick visual of the diff.
I self-review my draft PR's and catch all kinds of weird formatting, messy or missing comments, and general clunkiness before imposing it on others to review.
