Software engineering at its core a job that involves thinking and the ability to convert that thinking into meaningful code that a machine will understand.

Some engineering productivity is real. Some are theoretical.

Having good code linters has a real engineering productivity impact.

Having a faster mechanical keyboard gives more theoretical gains.

Using a good IDE has a real engineering productivity impact.

Choosing an interpreted language with no guardrails gives faster short-term motion while slowing down the progress in the longer run.

Ligature fonts like Fira code improve code readability.

Multiple monitors, unless you are a day trader, are more of a distraction.

Good tooling gives a lot of real gains but the benefits start to cap out soon.

Eventually, software engineering at its core a job that involves thinking and the ability to convert that thinking into meaningful code that a machine will understand.