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.
Here are 4 links I thought were worth sharing this week:
#1. “AI replacing coders” and “programming being dead” have been all over the news. But that’s not true. AI can “write” code, but it can’t do our job (5min). Coding has never been the bottleneck or the most valuable skill.
#2. Naming is hard. Especially when we’re naming packages or tools. We’ve gone from descriptive to funny, unrelated names (Viper, Cobra, Melody). We’ve lost the plot of naming tools (9min).
#4. Looking for an interesting read this holiday season? Well, check out Read Something Wonderful. Just a few clicks took me to the 1,000 true fans essays, one of the most popular ones on the Internet.
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… my new book, Street-Smart Coding: 30 lessons to help you code like a pro. From Googling to clear communication, it covers the lessons you don’t learn in tutorials. It’s now out on Kindle and paperback on Amazon.
Well, I don’t know if this was intended as a “challenge” or more like a year reflection. But I found this idea on Ava’s blog. Ava, if you’re reading this, please keep sharing those challenge ideas, I like them.
Unlike most of my posts, I’m not writing them on The Most Dangerous Writing App or fully editing them. If this were a video or a song, I’d be making a single take.
#1. What did you do this year that you’d never done before?
I had written two small books before. But I wasn’t confident enough in my writing that I didn’t call them books, but “ebooks.”
After finding about mini books, I changed my mind about what a book is and realized I could write one. So I did it.
#2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions?
I don’t do resolutions anymore.
I used to make a list of resolutions: learning a new language, traveling, doing this or that. But I ended up doing different things from the list.
After resolutions, I tried with “themes,” like Yoga March or Side Projects November. Dunno, they didn’t work either.
My only resolution, let’s say, is to do my daily practice: doing something for my body, mind, and spirit every day. That’s the only goal/plan I’m carrying over 2026.
#3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
Yes! One of my best friends after trying for a while had her first baby. Hoooray!
I visited my hometown a couple of times. In fact, I’m writing this in my grandma’s place, where I grew up.
#6. What would you like to have next year that you lacked this year?
Health…and simplicity.
I’m not a sick person. But last year, I had to visit an ER with kidney stones and see a doctor a couple of times. I’m focusing on healthy habits next year: eating the right food in the right amount.
#7. What date(s) from this year will remain etched upon your memory, and why?
The date my mom left.
To honor my mom’s memory, I turned that date into my launch day for books and other projects. It’s my way to remember her and dedicate my work to her.
#8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
The book! I’m proud of it.
#9. What was your biggest failure?
I wouldn’t say failure, but that would be landing my first paying ghostwriting client.
After doubling down on my writing last year, becoming a ghostwriter was the natural next step for me. I bought a ghostwriting program and even changed my LinkedIn bio to include “ghostwriter.” I focused on releasing my book and set the ghostwriting gig aside.
#10. What other hardships did you face?
I visited ERs and ICUs with my mom a couple of times.
It was hard. Waiting in rooms, waiting for blood donors, waiting for diagnosis, waiting for surgery paperwork…Traveling across town to spend the day with her while she was in a hospital. Days fulls of uncertainty.
I don’t want to visit a hospital in ages.
#11. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Yes. Kidney stones. OMG! It’s painful. Imagine a Heavyweight boxer punching you next to your bladder every second. That’s how it feels…until the stone is out.
#12. What was the best thing you bought?
That’s probably a comfty pair of shoes…and notepads to run my 10-idea lists. That’s how I wrote my book and countless of pieces of content.
#13. Whose behavior merited celebration?
This year, I learned the value of real friendship.
In my saddest moment, two of my friends were with my sister and me. And when another friend found out my mom, he rushed from his city to stay with us for a day.
#14. Whose behavior made you appalled?
Dunno if appalled, but…Online haters.
With more eye balls on my content, I got my first hater, someone calling me “b1tch” for promoting my work. And it seems someone somewhere will always get offended online. The Internet, I guess.
#15. Where did most of your money go?
That’s grocery, bills, medical care, and books.
#16. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
Seeing the first preorder for my book.
When I saw the email notification, I was like “OMG! OMG! Yes! Yes!” A true happy dance moment.
And months later, I had another happy dance moment when someone called me the “Street-Smart guy” in a comment under one of my posts. That moment I knew my marketing was working.
#17. What song will always remind you of this year?
There’s one.
I can’t remember its title. But it says something like “for a brief moment, there was a future between us.” In Spanish
Of course, that line goes about someone heartbroken in a romantic relationship. But that’s how my sister and I felt about our mom. Listening to that song is part of our ritual to honor our mom every month.
#18. Compared to this time last year, are you: happier or sadder? Richer or poorer? Healthier or unhealthier?
Happier, richer, and healthier.
Well, it’s complicated I feel happier and melancholic at the same time. I’ve had good achievements and I wish my mom were here to see them.
#19. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Being present. I’ve been a time traveler. That has taught me our mind is the battle field with all the thoughts that come and go.
#20. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Scrolling, commenting, and social media.
As part of growing as ghostwriter, I found “grow your own account” and “be your first success case.” That made me spend quite some time engaging and commenting under LinkedIn posts to grow my presence. I found interesting people and Internet friends tho.
But I wish I had done social media less.
#21. How are you spending the holidays?
I took some time off from freelancing. I packed a couple of books with me to visit my uncle and aunt. I’m only writing on my blog and cross-posting to other platforms.
#23. Do you hate anyone now that you didn’t hate this time last year?
Noooo. Hate is a strong word.
#24. What was your favorite show?
#1 by far, House M.D. But I enjoyed Boots, The Recruit, The Diplomat, The Agency. Lots of spy shows, I know.
In fact, I like House M.D. so much that I wrote a couple of posts about it, this one and this one, and included a whole chapter about it on Street-Smart Coding.
There’s a salad with cucumber, tomato, mint, parsley, and lemon that my sister makes. I love it. I could eat it every day. It’s a Middle-East inspired recipe.
#29. What did you want and get?
Writing a book.
#30. What did you want and not get?
My mom back home after that last visit to a hospital.
#31. What did you do on your birthday?
After picking up my phone to see what photos I took that day…
I wore a Cartoon Network themed T-shirt my mom and sister bought me. Little did I know my mom was really in pain when she went out to buy it.
I got sentimental writing that last line…
#32. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Seeing mom back home…
#33. How would you describe your personal fashion this year?
Just like past years: blue jeans and black t-shirts.
#34. What kept you sane?
Doing a 10-min full body workout, running, and writing every day.
#35. Which celebrity/public figure did you admire the most?
#1. James Altucher, his career progression and writing have been really inspiring to me.
#2. Ryan Holiday. Not that I want to be like him, but I want to make a living reading and writing books too.
#36. What political issue stirred you the most?
I’m not into politics or sports. I don’t like to argue with anyone. Life is too short for arguing.
#37. Who did you miss?
Mom.
#38. Who was the best new person you met?
I didn’t meet many new people in real life. But I met an awarded school teacher, a top cellist, an already FIREd woman, and fellow coders via LinkedIn.
#39. What valuable life lesson did you learn this year?
It’s a cliche until you go through it, but enjoy every moment with your loved ones.
And it was from Choose Yourself Stories by James Altucher that I read about treating every day like the last day of your loved one with you.
#40. What is a quote that sums up your year?
I have a couple:
#1. “One day at a time”
#2. “There are always enough reasons to keep fighting”
Your professional network is one of your greatest career assets.
Most job opportunities aren’t on job boards. They come through favors and phone calls. I know because I’ve found almost all my jobs by knowing someone who knows someone.
The holiday season is a good time to “warm up” your connections. This season is for sharing greetings, postcards, and gifts.
Send a quick hello to old connections: bosses, coworkers. Don’t ask for favors or worse, sell something. Just a casual “how are you” followed by “Merry Christmas” or “Happy New Year.” You can even use the same message for everyone.
You will surprise them and they’ll keep you top of mind.
But I decided to pick an easy project. I’m revamping Unit Testing 101, the first book I wrote. I called it an ebook because “book” felt too big a deal. Back then, I was even scared to put a price tag on it.
After finishing Street-Smart Coding, my first “official” release, I wanted Unit Testing 101 to match that standard: editing, formatting, and a stronger cover.
Today I opened the draft in Google Docs and realized I’d structure chapters more clearly, tighten explanations, and reduce duplicated concepts.
If you cringe at your past work and think, “I’d do it way better now,” that’s the clearest sign you’ve grown.
If you’re stuck, just write a 2-sentence prompt and after some beep, beep, boop you get an answer. But relying too much on AI hides a serious problem.
I’ve witnessed the over-reliance on AI myself. And it’s worse for CS students. Maame Afua A. P. Fordjour shared in a dev.to post,
[When facing a Data Structures assignment] I type: “Yo, I need a Red-Black Tree implementation in C++. Keep the vibe academic, handle the edge cases for rotation, and add comments that sound like a stressed undergrad wrote them.”
Thirty seconds later. Done.
It compiles. It passes the test cases. It’s beautiful code. And I have absolutely no idea how it works.
It’s not the tool, but how you use it
Like we always say: the problem isn’t the tool, but how we use it.
AI isn’t going anywhere. It’s already changing our job descriptions. But we need strong guidelines to avoid blindly trusting AI and losing our skills.
If you’re a confident coder, write your method signatures, use comments to sketch their bodies, and let AI fill in the blanks.
But if you’re a beginner, my take is radical: don’t use AI to generate code.
Don’t use AI to do your homework. Use it as your teaching assistant instead. To quiz you, generate test cases, explain a tricky code block. Otherwise it’s like sending someone else to the gym and then complaining when you don’t see your muscles growing.
If you want to strengthen your coding skills, my book Street-Smart Coding covers 30 lessons to help you level up, from Googling to communication to problem-solving.
