intive people: David Benson, Senior Software Engineer

What makes you choose working with Kotlin+Springboot microservices, why those tech stack?

Truth be told, the tech stack was already chosen before I arrived in the team. However, it really does seem like an excellent tech stack to base your web services on. The Spring Boot framework is extremely mature and has all the features needed built in. Coming from a Java background, Kotlin eliminates so much of the boilerplate code that made Java pedantic and monotonous such as type inference.

Which tech trend are you excited about the most as a software developer?

I am definitely not going to make friends with Crypto-bros but I am very excited about the decline, and hopefully fall, of cryptocurrencies. I'll finally be able to get a new GPU at RRP Haha.

What’s your smartest work-related shortcut or productivity hack?

I don’t really buy into shortcuts or productivity hacks. The biggest habit, in my experience, for productivity is to tackle tasks as sequentially as possible. It’s somewhat counter intuitive but multi-tasking should be avoided as much as possible. There’s a cost to context switching for efficient computers and our brains are not efficient. Personally, I maintain two lists, a backlog of ALL my tasks and an in-progress list which I restrict to MAX two concurrent tasks. It also helps to silence all notifications on your phone during work hours to maintain focus. We live in a world where corporations are competing for our attention and they’re very good at it so avoiding my phone when working is a must.

Is there a gadget you can't live without? And why?

It’s cliché to say so but I genuinely couldn’t live without my phone. I am extremely regimented in how I live my life. From scheduling my days, capturing health & fitness metrics, numerous Google Sheets that track all aspects of my life, and of course staying in contact with geographically disparate friends and family.

What do you love the most about what you do at intive?

I love the team I’m working with. They are excellent engineers that are extremely personable. We have a truly collaborative team where everyone’s input is valued and appreciated. In all honesty it’s the best team I’ve been part of in my career to date. We make time once every week/fortnight to play video games together and have become good friends.