05 Oct 2025 #misc
My blog is my time capsule. Today, I opened it to find out what I was into. Here’s what I found.
In 2020, exactly on this date, I wrote about comparing dates without the time part in SQL Server. At that time, I was learning SQL Server performance tuning with Brent Ozar’s courses and his writing style inspired most of my SQL posts.
In 2022, I was contracting with an American client and we were trying to implement DDD in their new projects. I shared my notes on the book Hands-on Domain-Driven Design with .NET Core.
And in 2023, I was already compiling four interested links about coding every Monday. That was the seed to later start Friday Links.
At that time, I was playing the SEO game. I can notice it: I wrote question/answer posts with a bolded paragraph answering the post question. I was hoping to win the target answers on Google search results. Since then, I moved away from the SEO game and changed my blogging strategy.
04 Oct 2025 #writing
It took me 131 days to finish the first draft of my next book.
That’s 4 months and 8 days from creating a new file to typing the last word. I could have finished two books in that time. James Altucher challenges his podcast listeners to finish a non-fiction book in 30 days. By that standard, I could have even finished four.
Looking back, two lessons could’ve cut that time in half.
#1. Make it a priority
At some point, finishing the first draft felt like a mission impossible.
I was balancing multiple projects at the same time: I was blogging, growing my LinkedIn account, staying active in a ghostwriting community, and coding on the side.
After realizing I was exhausted from juggling all those projects, I focused only on my blog and the draft to keep momentum, even when all other projects suffered.
#2. Take one step a day
Of course, writing a book is a daunting task. It’s worse when you try to finish multiple projects.
Some days, life gets in the way and you can’t write. But take a small step toward finishing your book every day. Maybe it’s finding beta readers, scrolling Amazon for cover inspiration, making promotional material, or running a poll on social media to choose a title.
One small action every day. That’s all you need. Even if that action is not writing. Your book will thank you. And I would have finished my book in half the time.
03 Oct 2025 #mondaylinks
Hey there.
Today I have 3 short links for you:
#1. Here are 10+ points a coder wishes he knew as a junior (4min). I can’t disagree with his take that coding is the easy part of the job.
#2. Not sure about finishing a side project or starting a new one? Ask yourself these questions (2min).
#3. I’m still trying to figure out how to use AI for coding. Here’s “an imprecise, slow and terribly painful way to get things done” with AI and what to do instead. (2min)
And in case you missed it, I wrote on my blog about 4 ideas to buildl a code review culture your team will love (4min) and how to preserve our loved one stories (2min).
(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… Check my Gumroad store to access free and premium books and courses to level up your coding skills and grow your software engineering career.
See you next time,
Cesar
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02 Oct 2025 #misc
Join the LinkedIn creator crowd and you’ll hear one tired phrase everywhere.
“Consistency is key.”
One influencer said it, and everybody trying to sound smart repeated it. And now it’s everywhere.
I roll my eyes every time I see it, not because it’s wrong, but because it’s overused. It’s the “synergies,” “alignment,” and “disruption.” It’s the corporate lingo nobody uses it in a real conversation.
I’m so sick of it, I had to rephrase it.
Here are my 7 alternatives to “Consistency is key:”
- Don’t break the posting chain
- Show up as if your life depends on it
- No successful brand was built in a day
- Post until people recognize you from the feed
- Show up until it becomes second nature
- You only lose if you stop playing
- Just keep doing it
I promise I won’t say “Consistency is key” again. Because every time we say it, a cute baby panda dies in the forest. Let’s save pandas by retiring this and other overused clichés for good.
01 Oct 2025 #writing #books
Imagine an FBI agent arresting a Nazi spy while someone else urges his country to declare war against Germany.
That’s not a Netflix show. It’s a true story Fernando Labastida shared on LinkedIn. The two men were his grandparents. Here’s the original post.
When I read Fernando’s post, my first thought was “this should be a book.” Who wouldn’t like to read a story about arresting Nazis and the political discussions about Mexico entering WWWII? Yes, this story happened in Mexico.
I suggested he write a book, along with a list of mini-stories to include in that book:
- Each of his granddads’ backstories.
- The main event of their lives: arresting the Nazi spy and starting the movement to go to war.
- The crossing point of the two stories. Their daughter and son, respectively, got married. And 40 years later, a family wedding took place in the same building where the Nazi spy was captured.
- A summary of what was happening at that time in Mexico and the other places where the story took place. It turns out that a German U-boat sank a Mexican oil tanker.
- A story of how Fernando found out about his granddads.
I found that story so intriguing that I imagined the first scene of a book or TV show:
One of his granddads packs to go to Mexico after briefing the FBI top officials, while the other rehearses a speech he’s about to give in Mexico City’s main square. Of course, that’s with time jumps and scene breaks.
Fernando said his granddads have passed away, and only a few relatives know the full story. That story could get lost in newspapers and government archives only journalist read, if he doesn’t write it.
A book is the best way to preserve family stories and honor our loved ones. There’s no need to write a New York Times bestseller to tell family stories. Even if only our future kids and grandkids read it, that’s enough to keep the story alive.