Friday Links: Life changes, leaving Google, and lone wolves

Hey there!

Burnout hit me hard in 2023. It changed everything.

It hurt both my mind and my body. I was at my best coding job. Then, in 2024, I was laid off. Perfect combo, right?

The way up was slow. Master plans didn’t work. Getting up felt impossible.

One quote inspired me to get up: “If you’re lost, start with your health.” That became my first step.

Small daily actions made change possible.

That journey led me to write 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. I’m launching it this week.

This isn’t a 7-day program or a magic formula. It’s about small daily ideas that create big change.


And as usual, here are 4 stories that resonated with me this week:

#1. I don’t use Google as my default search engine, but I still use it for email. For digital hygiene or simply for boycotting big corporations, leaving Google may improve your digital life too (7min)

#2. Hiring sucks. CVs, interviews, recruiters…But the best way to think of hiring is a two-way sales negotiation. If you’re looking for a job, here’s a piece of advice you shouldn’t miss (5min)

#3. AI is changing our job descriptions… and killing the need for junior coders. AI is splitting the dev population into expert beginners and lone wolves (8min)

#4. The next time I’m asked what superpower I’d like to have, I’d say talk to anyone in any situation. Here’s a good story from The Guardian (14min) about it.


Thanks to the internet, a February post got traction last week. In case you missed it, here are the numbers that deflate the AI hype about replacing coders—and ease FOMO (2min).


(Bzzz…Radio voice) This email was brought to you by… 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. If you’re ready to start small and see big change, check it out.

Until next Friday. Keep coding smartly!

Cesar

What to Do to Thrive in the AI Era

Whether you see it as a tool or a breakthrough, AI is changing jobs.

Translators are panicking. Some coders brag about “coding” from their phones. Every new tool and model fuels AI FOMO.

Real numbers about AI adoption tell one story. CEOs tell another. Maybe we’re all doomed. Predictions are hard. I hope I wasn’t wrong with mine.

Here are 2 ideas about how to AI-proof yourself:

#1. Learn to learn

From 21 Lessons for the 21st Century, the only skill to learn is the ability to learn new things.

The only certain thing is change. And being able to adapt is crucial. Pick new skills you enjoy. Bonus points if they earn money.

#2. Literacy and health

Papyrus made me think about the future.

It’s a book about the invention of books in the ancient world. But the past teaches us about the future.

In ancient Greece, free men learned to read, talk, and think, and took care of their bodies. Manual labor was for slaves. Of course, that wasn’t a good thing.

If AI takes over repetitive work, as slaves once did in ancient Greece, we’ll be like free to focus on creativity and growth.

Maybe AI will kill most knowledge jobs, because it thrives on tasks humans do and hiring people may no longer make economic sense.

Until then, while waiting for universal basic income or or something darker, I’m doubling down on writing and chasing my curiosity—simply because I enjoy it.

I Compiled The 10 Simple Ideas That *Truly* Changed My Life Into A Book

10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life cover
10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too

Big plans rarely change your life.

In 2023, life forced me to change. Burnout hit me hard. It hurt both my mind and my body. My poor eating habits only made things worse. Then, in 2024, I was laid off. The last nail in the coffin. It felt devastating.

The way up was slow. Master plans and New Year’s resolutions didn’t work. A new life felt impossible.

One single quote inspired me to get up: “If you’re lost, start with your health.” That quote became the foundation of Chapter 1 and the real step toward change.

Small daily actions made real change possible.

That’s why I wrote 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life And Could Change Yours Too. If you’ve ever asked, “How do you actually change your life”, this is for you.

Big plans don’t change your life. Small daily actions do.

Scrolling through the first pages of 10 Surprisingly Simple Ideas That Changed My Life
Preview of the first ~10 pages

Forget passion and master plans. This book is about the tiny daily actions that actually change your life. I know because they changed mine.

Inside this book, you’ll find 10 surprisingly simple ideas that changed my life, and can change yours too:

  • Idea #1: The mindset shift that gave me purpose when I couldn’t get out of bed.
  • Idea #2: The daily habit that keeps burnout away.
  • Idea #3: The productivity hack that doubled my focus.
  • Idea #4: The free advice that saved me during my hardest year.
  • Idea #5: The creative practice that helped me write books and countless articles.

…and five more life-changing ideas you can start using right away.

This isn’t a 7-day program or a magic formula. It’s about small daily ideas that create big change.

Get your copy here—For launch week only: You can even just pay $1. Begin your transformation today.

Start small. Change big.


PS: Also available on Kindle and paperback

Five Changes I'd Like To Make On My Blog

To keep myself accountable, here’s a list of changes I’d like to make on my blog:

#1. New About copy. I still have the one from the days I was looking for a full-time job as a coder. That’s not the case anymore. These days, I’m a digital writer with a part-time coding job.

#2. More recent “Start Here.” The “Start Here,” on my About, dates back to my full-time coding days, with only tutorials. Google and AI have killed tutorials. And I’m not writing as many coding tutorials anymore.

With metrics from other platforms, I follow POSSE, it’s time to update it with my most liked content.

#3. New tags. This started as a coding blog. Five years ago, my first post was a coding tutorial. Over time, it became my small corner, where I write about almost anything.

In 2024, when I started my daily writing challenge, I created a /misc tag. But, naturally some patterns have arisen,

  • Health
  • Experiments
  • Book writing
  • Random thoughts
  • Personal development

#4. Book page. On the left sidebar, I feature my projects and open source contributions. It’s time to feature my books instead.

In the last year, I updated Start Testing and launched Street-Smart Coding. And I’m about to finish another book experiment.

#5. On this date widget. Sometimes I’ve written “On This Date” posts, like this one and this one. I write about the posts from past years written on the same date. I’d like to create a small widget to automate that. Under every post show 2 posts from previous and following years.

That’s one of the best parts of having a blog: you can tweak it however you want. Try beating that, social platforms!

Five Simple Blogging Rules for Consistency

This blog started as a coding notebook, but now it’s my small corner of the web.

I’ve changed what a post is. It used to be tutorials. I spent time designing covers with Canva and picking images from Unsplash. I wanted it to look like a “real” blog. Those days, around 2022, I shared my posts on LinkedIn to boost traffic and get attention.

But writing daily posts left no time for covers and images. To stay consistent, I simplified my approach and adopted some rules. I first shared them here and here, but now I’m updating them:

#1. Write short pieces. You don’t have to write breakdowns or 2,000-word posts. If it’s longer than a tweet, publish it. A good headline plus some sentences works. A 10-idea list works. Some random thoughts are worth publishing.

#2. Write reaction posts instead of comments.

#3. Make your urls easy to pronounce.

#4. If you miss a day, write two posts the next day.

#5. Use your posts multiple times. Repost them on another platform. Use them as book chapters. Share shorter versions on social media. You can steal from yourself.