--- title: Leave a failing test before you go on vacation | daily.dev description: A practical tip for developers: before going on vacation, leave a failing test in your codebase along with a well-written TODO comment. This gives you a clear,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/leave-a-failing-test-before-you-go-on-vacation-3zjhak2th twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Leave a failing test before you go on vacation | daily.dev og:description: A practical tip for developers: before going on vacation, leave a failing test in your codebase along with a well-written TODO comment. This gives you a clear,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/leave-a-failing-test-before-you-go-on-vacation-3zjhak2th og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/3ZjHak2TH.png og:image:alt: Leave a failing test before you go on vacation og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Leave a failing test before you go on vacation **[FREEK.DEV](https://daily.dev/sources/freek)** · 1 min read · 30 upvotes · 8 comments ## Summary A practical tip for developers: before going on vacation, leave a failing test in your codebase along with a well-written TODO comment. This gives you a clear, concrete entry point when you return, eliminating the disorientation of not knowing where you left off. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@feforeboot** · 7 upvotes > If you have problems remembering what you'd been working on when you come back from vacation, how is this hack easier (or easier to remember to do) than leaving yourself a note? **@musikk** · 6 upvotes > Failing test sounds like an in between things. I prefer going into vacation without any bigger open tasks. Everything else is documented in tickets. **@divyesh\_vekariya** · 4 upvotes > I actually like this idea. > > Coming back after a week or two, a failing test gives you an immediate, concrete place to start instead of spending time rebuilding context. Pair it with a brief TODO, and getting back into the flow becomes much easier. Simple, but practical. **@joncoe** · 3 upvotes > Colleagues probably disagree. **@ivan0x9** · 1 upvotes > ... Or trying with a failing project and then go on vacation. ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Top Single Page App Java Frameworks for 2025](https://daily.dev/posts/top-single-page-app-java-frameworks-for-2025-sozdrgxqz) · Awesome Java Newsletter · 0 upvotes · 1 comments - [When Mistakes Teach You Best](https://daily.dev/posts/when-mistakes-teach-you-best-gqcct0iup) · Code Like A Girl · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [Treat test code like production code](https://daily.dev/posts/treat-test-code-like-production-code-jctivunb7) · ploeh blog · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Fix your tools](https://daily.dev/posts/fix-your-tools-xn5ziaynw) · Lobsters · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#testing](https://daily.dev/tags/testing) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/leave-a-failing-test-before-you-go-on-vacation-3zjhak2th) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"Leave a failing test before you go on vacation","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/leave-a-failing-test-before-you-go-on-vacation-3zjhak2th","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/leave-a-failing-test-before-you-go-on-vacation-3zjhak2th"},"datePublished":"2026-07-07T12:19:25.501Z","dateModified":"2026-09-13T21:52:16.411Z","description":"A practical tip for developers: before going on vacation, leave a failing test in your codebase along with a well-written TODO comment. 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I prefer going into vacation without any bigger open tasks. Everything else is documented in tickets.","datePublished":"2026-07-07T20:31:06.805Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/3ZjHak2TH#c-NT744IYAt","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Werner Hahn","url":"https://daily.dev/musikk","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ACg8ocJr9LIXrt1E5zAmLx3QtOkq4iGvcwdh-t__bh6z4dhVoZyOEgE=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":6}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I actually like this idea.\nComing back after a week or two, a failing test gives you an immediate, concrete place to start instead of spending time rebuilding context. Pair it with a brief TODO, and getting back into the flow becomes much easier. Simple, but practical.","datePublished":"2026-07-09T04:29:39.011Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/3ZjHak2TH#c-ScWk9ZpZD","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Divyesh Vekariya","url":"https://daily.dev/divyesh_vekariya","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--RDCl1xsD--/f_auto/v1728905544/avatars/avatar_WXcnVdXbQljWuHJCBcViw"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Colleagues probably disagree.","datePublished":"2026-07-08T21:08:33.518Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/3ZjHak2TH#c-eU0R7wzm6","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"joncoe","url":"https://daily.dev/joncoe","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/3487906?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":3}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"… Or trying with a failing project and then go on vacation.","datePublished":"2026-07-11T07:33:04.946Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/3ZjHak2TH#c-a9HJITMIy","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Ivan Mršić","url":"https://daily.dev/ivan0x9","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--pBWsDcTy--/f_auto/v1768396755/avatars/avatar_irmdLljsvSnDMcVzPGDBN?_a=BAMAMiZW0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}}]} ```