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.
One day at the office, I created my LinkedIn account to escape that job.
That was five or six years ago. That afternoon, my coworkers and I made it a group activity. We endorsed each other’s skills and exchanged recommendations. We were planning our escape route because things were getting tough.
I didn’t find my next job on LinkedIn. But I made my first internet money there. And that kept me going back.
In 2024, I revived my account after months of inactivity. After landing a new job, I stopped logging into LinkedIn.
5 steps to use LinkedIn more consciously (ignoring growth hacks)
Here’s what I do to use LinkedIn more consciously:
#1. Use it with a timer. Like other platforms, it’s designed to trap you. One notification can spiral into hours of doomscrolling.
#2. Curate your feed. Your feed is a rabbit hole.
To curate it, follow:
People you know in real life
People you want to connect with
People sharing interesting ideas
Pro tip: Avoid scrolling down your feed by bookmarking profiles you want to interact with.
#3. Share interesting things. Nobody cares about another Udemy certificate. Use it to share your learning or resources you find useful. Finished an interesting book? Share what you learned with a photo of the cover. Working on a project? Share a lesson learned.
And please, please don’t try to sound corporate. If you’re typing “Dear LinkedIn network,” stop and start again.
#4. Keep in touch with your network. Send quick “Hello” to old connections: bosses, coworkers, recruiters… Don’t use AI. Keep it as human as possible. “What are you up to these days?” works perfectly fine.
#5. Use comments wisely. Most influencers preach about commenting more and more like the ultimate growth hack. That’s another rabbit hole.
Use comments to start genuine conversations instead. Reply to interesting comments and follow up with connection requests. “Hey, your comment about XYZ got my attention…“ Again, be human. That’s how I met a top cellist, an award-winning teacher, a speaking coach, and many more interesting people.
One problem is having no ideas. Another is having far too many.
With endless options, which project comes next?
That was one of the questions Austen Kleon, author of Steal Like an Artist, got in this interview. An audience member with “millions of ideas” and “29 books to write” asked how to find time for them.
Her struggle resonated with me. Because these days, I’m like her. I have too many books and projects to choose from.
But here’s what I’ve been trying when I feel overwhelmed by ideas:
#1. Write down every idea as it comes. A book title, a concept, or just a phrase. Don’t let them go away.
#2. Create distance from your ideas. Take some time to do something else. This space helps your brain to connect the dots.
#3. Choose wisely. Tackle the project you can finish the fastest or the one you’re most excited about.
Credits to my sister for helping me think this through.
Currently I’m at phase one: brainstorming with 10-idea lists. Meanwhile, I’m giving my brain space to make connections by doing nothing. I know there’s a book in there. I’m trusting the process.
Earlier today, I crossed the city for some blood tests. Regular checkups. Hot and sunny outside.
I don’t know if it was the heat, too much information, or just too much on my mind. (I even had to do a brain dump recently.) But I had to make lemon water, put on my headphones with ocean waves, and sit to do nothing else.
Maybe that’s what I needed to get over a creative block. Sometimes you need to do nothing. Not less. Nothing.
If you’re reading this, try it: put down your phone or your computer, and let yourself do nothing. It might clear your block too.
#2. I’ve used StackOverflow (and still do), but never created an account or asked a question. Not a welcoming community. That’s why StackOverflow is dead (3min). ChatGPT doesn’t close your questions or downvote them.
#3. Meetings are the worst part of coding professionally. Especially those when the organizer is late, everybody waits…awkward silence…Here’s a quick hack to start meetings on time (2min).
#4. I keep seeing people online brag about coding without touching an editor or IDE. Now they “code” from their phones with Claude Code. Vibe coding was bad. But now coding outside an editor is good? That’s the vibe coding paradox (2min).
(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.
Following my own advice, I’m writing a 10-idea list to quiet the chatter in my head. Not that I had writer’s block, but a “too much noise in my head” block—If that’s even a thing.
#1. Use your blog as insurance.Blogs might feel dead. People consume content inside platforms, instead of Googling to land on personal blogs. But your blog is your insurance against dead platforms and suspensions. If you trigger a filter inside a platform, even if it’s a false positive, your account gets suspended, with almost no chance of getting it back.
#2. Your real asset is your email list. I’ve heard it plenty of times: “Build your list…,”“Count subscribers, not followers…“ But it wasn’t until my account on a social blog got suspended that I learned the lesson.
#3. Cut the news. Venezuela, Iran, Israel, United States…There’s always something going on somewhere. Unless you’re a diplomat, advisor, or spy, there’s almost nothing you can do. News only makes you anxious.
#4. “I want to build a product.” This is the second or third time I’ve heard a friend saying they want to build something beyond the 9-5. The problem? They recreate their day job after hours, when there’s less energy and willpower. A better alternative is to make experiments and create something in two hours. Or a portfolio of small bets.
#5. We live without being conscious of our bodies. I’m rereading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. I wasn’t ready the first time I read it. One takeaway so far: We’re so in our heads we forget our bodies. Just stop to breathe.
#6. Coding is changing for good. I keep seeing people on the IndieWeb and LinkedIn brag about coding without touching an editor or IDE. Now they “code” from their phones with Claude Code. Maybe writing lines of code is becoming optional.
#7. Write books for AI to read. The other day, Kevin Kelly said he writes (or plans to write) his books for AI. What if we offer our books as chatbots? Instead of reading it, people talk with them. It’s another reminder that our job as writers is to adapt to how our readers consume content. Credits to Smart Brevity. That’s how we’re consuming content now.
#8. 12 apps in a year. The other day, I found an indie blogger running a challenge: building one small app per month. Such a great idea! Forget the next Uber, build tiny apps (or websites) that solve a simple problem and put a “Buy me a Coffee” link. Something like a “pill time calculator” or “time off finder.” Those are two small apps I’d use.
#9. Do something hard this year. This idea comes from Ryan Holiday. Marcus Aurelius, or another stoic, used to jump into a frozen lake at the start of every year. Prove yourself wrong and do something hard. Maybe that’s a side project, a book, or a jump into a frozen lake.
#10. You’re not too late. I just listened to an interview with Hassan Osman, a book writer, course creator, and podcaster. He admitted part of the success of his books and courses was starting around the lockdown in 2020. The best time was five years ago. The next best time to take action is now. Experiment, and double down.
