Instead of 'git pull' I use a combination of 'git fetch' and 'git merge'. 'git fetch origin' followed by 'git merge origin/<branch_name>' (if there are any inte

Instead of 'git pull' I use a combination of 'git fetch' and 'git merge'. 'git fetch origin' followed by 'git merge origin/<branch_name>' (if there are any interesting changes) keeps my current branch up to date with the changes I need. Keeping the 'merge' a separate step helps me to decide when I want to be in sync. the remote modifications.