Refactoring is a continuous habit, not a calendar item.
Don’t pile up a week’s worth of mess and then try to schedule a day to clean it all up.
Instead, after getting the code working, immediately follow up with a quick tidy-up refactoring focus, so the mess never grows. This makes refactoring part of how we do software development, not an extra chore to deal with at some later time.
Discussions for your team
- Which events should switch us into focusing on refactoring?
- What are some example situation that might require more time and effort to work on a larger refactoring?
- How can we remind and encourage each other to keep refactoring continuously?