From Code to Snowboard: Abdullo Hafizov on His Lifestyle

Code during the day, snowboarding in winter, and mountain hiking in summer — this is what the life of a senior developer from Dushanbe looks like. His professional career combines working on IT projects, continuous professional development, and an active lifestyle that includes sports, travel, and networking.

Abdullo Hafizov, City — Dushanbe, Senior Software Engineer, Instagram

About Me

I am a senior developer with over seven years of experience. My main focus is creating commercial applications that truly help businesses, bring value to companies and clients. I work on the Alif Bank CRM project, where I am responsible for developing and implementing complex solutions.

My schedule can be described as balanced: mornings and the first half of the day are dedicated to key project tasks, while afternoons are for learning or helping colleagues by sharing experience. In the evenings, I try to make time for sports, friends, or activities that help me recharge. This rhythm allows me to maintain productivity and keep a balance between work and personal life.

Where and How I Learn

In IT, learning is part of the profession, so I study almost every day. I read documentation, experiment with new tools, and apply them in practice. If you stop doing this, you quickly fall out of context, so learning is built into my work process.

My main sources of knowledge are official documentation and practice. But besides that, I use various resources. For Laravel and PHP, it's Laracasts; for iOS, WWDC sessions. Another good tool is CourseHunter, which aggregates IT courses at affordable prices, helping me quickly master new areas.

I also want to highlight events. I enjoy offline events abroad the most: they focus on niche topics and real-world cases, which are especially interesting for experienced developers. In our region, meetups are more often aimed at beginners, so I usually participate online or watch recordings of past conferences. For example, Pyh.conf is held annually in Russia — it's a strong community where you can discuss new technologies and exchange experience with colleagues.

Environment

My environment is largely shaped through work and projects. First and foremost, these are colleagues and IT specialists: together we solve problems, discuss technologies, share experience, and grow professionally.

At the same time, I have friends outside of IT. These are people from sports and creative circles, and such communication is important. It helps maintain balance, broaden perspectives, and not get confined solely to a professional environment.

I also try to participate in business networking. For me, this is an opportunity to communicate with entrepreneurs, build useful contacts, and get answers to questions related not only to IT but also to management, strategy, and project development.

I most often find like-minded people at events or other networking meetings. The main thing is to be open to communication and able to see people with whom you can build not just a connection, but productive collaboration.

Where I Spend Free Time

I try to spend my free time actively. For me, rest means sports, walks, snowboarding in winter, hiking, and trips to the countryside or even other countries. This format helps me fully recharge, gain new impressions, and return to work with even more energy.

I especially love snowboarding. Every winter, I try to ride regularly in Tajikistan at the Safed Dara ski resort. In the future, I plan to visit Amirsoy in Uzbekistan and Shymbulak in Almaty. This is my main winter hobby, which gives maximum emotions.

In summer, I prefer hiking and traveling. I like mountain routes — one of the highest ascents was to an altitude of about 3,500 meters above sea level. Recently, I was in Egypt: the heat was serious, of course, but the atmosphere of "relaxation," where no one is in a hurry, left a strong impression.

Besides sports and travel, I love simply walking around the city or meeting with friends. For me, this is also part of balance and a way to recharge.

Where to Buy What

I prefer Apple technology. For me, the ecosystem is important, where all devices synchronize with each other, as well as convenience and stable performance — this helps both in everyday life and in working on projects.

As for shopping, I most often order through Amazon — there is a wide selection and convenient delivery. Sometimes I also buy on Chinese platforms: it's economical and gives the opportunity to find interesting gadgets that may not be available in local stores.