Pinned — 28 Oct 2025 #codingStreet-Smart Coding: 30 Ways to Get Better at Coding Without Losing Your Mind
I spent five years in college learning to code.
A stupid dissertation delayed my graduation. But that’s another story.
Most of my five-year program didn’t prepare me for real-world coding. My real coding journey began at my first job, with one Google search: “how to get good at coding.”
I found a lot of conflicting advice:
“Use comments”
“Don’t use comments”
“Do this”
“Don’t do that”
Arrggg!
It took years of trial and error to learn what worked.
I had to survive on-call shifts, talk to stakeholders, and say “no” politely. More importantly, I had to learn that coding takes more than just syntax.
That’s why I wrote Street-Smart Coding— a roadmap of 30 lessons I wish I had when I started. For every dev who’s ever typed “how to get better at coding” into Google or ChatGPT. (Back in my days, I didn’t have ChatGPT… Wait, I sound like a nostalgic grandpa…)
Preview of the first ~12 pages
Inside “Street-Smart Coding”
This isn’t a textbook. It’s a battle-tested guide for your journey from junior/mid-level to senior.
Some lessons are conventional.
Others were learned the hard way.
And a few are weird.
One lesson comes from a TV show. Nope, not Mr. Robot or Silicon Valley. That’s on Chapter #29. It will teach you about problem-solving.
You’ll learn how to:
Google like a pro
Debug without banging your head against a wall
Communicate clearly with non-tech folks
…and 27 more lessons I learned over ten years of mistakes.
Following my reading rules, I’ve been reading two books at a time.
Here are the non-fiction books I’ve read so far:
#1.Mastery by Robert Greene.
Achieving mastery is like swimming:
You can’t do it against the current and you can’t be your own resistance.
#2.Smart Brevity by Jim VaneHei.
People don’t read, but skim.
Adapt to your reader’s consumption habits.
#3.Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspe.
Control your glucose and you’ll control your mood, weight, and cravings.
#4.Papyrus by Irene Vallejo.
Books are the best invention of man.
They won’t disappear any time soon.
#5.Financial Freedom by Grant Sabatier.
The sooner you start, the less money you need to retire.
#6.Purpose and Profit by Dan Koe.
Entrepreneurship is self-help and others-help.
#7.Anything You Want by Derek Sivers.
Your business is your utopia.
You don’t have to make it grow or look corporate.
You can make it anything you want.
#8.Useful But Not True by Derek Sivers.
Your perspective is like a timezone:
It feels “real” to you, but most people have a different one.
#9.7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
Rule #5: Understand, before being understood.
Don’t just listen, but listen with empathy.
#10.Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman.
You can’t control when emotions appear.
But you can control how long you experience them.
Reading Emotional Intelligence made me connect it to 7 Habits.
Which led me to adopt reading a fortress of books.
Building my fortress has taken me from 7 Habits to Emotional Intelligence to Brain Wash.
In case you’re curious, here are my books. Short and actionable books on coding and self-growth.
To slow down my ruminating thoughts, I put on my green Nike shoes and sport clothes, and went to the closest park for my daily walk.
But to avoid more overthinking, I added a twist.
I choose to pay close attention to the sounds around me.
The passing motorcycles, cars honking, kids screaming while playing soccer, some teenagers rehearsing a dance, a priest giving a sermon, or simply my footsteps on the pavement.
From time to time, I asked myself “Are you breathing?”
Then I switched my attention to my breaths.
Without even realizing it, one hour has passed and my mind already felt more quiet.
I guess I just discovered Walking meditation, a new way to slow down and calm my mind.
If it drains you, cut it out. If it energizes you, do it more.
One week free from social media taught me I’m another junkie.
My phone time showed me I was an enemy of boredom—or still I am.
Analog Sundays helped me to reconnect.
But for some reason, or for some distractions, I stopped following them.
And I regretted it.
A new social platform, my own expectations, and rushing to chase an imaginary finish line took a toll on my physical and mental health.
They cost me two nights without proper sleep.
And they force me back to my daily practice.
Less scrolling. Less phone time.
Less rushing.
Less consuming.
I had Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman on my to-read pile for months. But it turned out to be a goldmine, with practical advice for marriage, work, and kids.
Here are my main takeaways:
#1. Emotions are impulses that makes you take action.
#2. You have a rational and an emotional brain. The emotional one is faster.
#3. Emotional intelligence is a better predictor of success than IQ. Skills like self-motivation, delay gratification, self-control, and empathy. It reminds me of who is the real genius in Scorpion, the TV show.
#4. The first step to control your emotions is by recognize them. You can’t control when they appear, but you can control how long you experience them.
When angry, take distance: walk or workout. It might take more than 20 minutes to calm down. When worried, question your thoughts. When depressed, go out and socialize.
#5. When complaining with your partner, don’t point fingers to the person, but to the situation. Even if the situation has an easy solution, always listen to your partner. To raise your complain, follow the XYZ approach.
#6. The XYZ approach works at the workplace too. When critiquing, always give a suggestion.
#7. To make someone feel heard, don’t just repeat the last words they say. Listen empathically: paraphrase and state the underlying emotion you identify.
