[bobfirestone]

From my experience there are a few things that I try to keep in mind while working.

1) Keep your code as simple as possible. In the real world if you can call your code complex or clever it is probably bad.

2) When presented with a problem don't immediately reach for the keyboard. Take some time to make sure you understand the actual problem that you are solving.

3) Good enough and working beats perfect and not working. Perfectionists make horrible co-workers and usually end up with horrible code.

[couchand]

In the real world if you can call your code complex or clever it is probably bad.

This principle is often called "kill your darlings".

http://c2.com/cgi/wiki?KillYourDarlings