13 Jan 2025 #writing
I’m not pouring a bucket of cold water over my head, but I’m doing an Internet challenge.
I found it in Kev Quirk’s blog. And he found it on somebody else’s blog. But the challenge started on Bear Blog. Ava started it.
But since I don’t have a blog on that platform, I’m doing this challenge here instead. Just like Kev on his own blog.
Here I go:
Why did you start blogging in the first place?
I started blogging as an excuse to become a better coder.
Probably in the early 2010s, back in my first job, I googled “how to be a better developer.” And among the many options, I found “start a blog.”
Then, years later, at my second job, I didn’t want to throw away a couple of hours of Googling while looking for options to finish a task. And that’s how I started writing and blogging.
I already wrote about how I started my blog here.
What platform are you using to manage your blog and why did you choose it?
I use Jekyll on GitHub pages.
That was the easiest and cheapest alternative I found back in 2018. And, I spent a couple of days, or maybe a week, looking for the right template and theme to start.
Have you blogged on other platforms before?
No. I wrote my first online piece ever here.
But I’ve guest blogged on Exception Not Found and collaborated with two software companies to write on their Medium publications and official sites.
These days, I cross-post on dev.to and Medium. But my blog is my central hub. All my ideas in some shape or form end up here.
How do you write your posts? For example, in a local editing tool, or in a panel/dashboard that’s part of your blog?
I’m a plain text fan.
I keep all my drafts, posts, and ideas on Notable. I use a system of tags. I have one tag for post ideas. And once I turn an idea into a post, I use another tag.
Once a post is ready, I log into GitHub, create a new file, and paste my text there.
That’s how I blog in a nutshell. But here’s my blogging workflow more in-depth.
When do you feel most inspired to write?
Short answer: Anytime. But mostly, in the mornings.
I tend to write in the mornings. That’s when I feel the most productive and my energy is at its peak. I’m kind of a morning person.
But, I always have something to write. Inspiration can hit at any time.
It has happened that right after I put my head on my pillow, an idea comes and I have to rush to write it somewhere. Also, while taking a walk. That’s my trick to avoid writer’s block.
No. I have a queue of posts. Right now, I have around 20 posts that are ready to publish.
I start my writing sessions by editing and proofreading my last post. Then I start writing any of my post ideas.
What’s your favorite post on your blog?
I’ve written around ~200 posts. I don’t have a favorite. Well, that’s what every mom and dad answer when they’re asked about their favorite child.
But if I could remove all my posts and keep a handful of them, I’d keep my series on Unit Testing.
Any future plans for your blog? Maybe a redesign, a move to another platform, or adding a new feature?
Seth Godin has always inspired me. He’s been writing daily for ~20 years.
And since November 1st 2024, I started writing daily about programming and other subjects. In fact, I created a new tag, /misc, to dump posts about all other subjects. My challenge is to write 100 daily posts. If I stick to my rhythm, I’m done next February 9th.
Chances are I’m keeping the daily rhythm after those 100 posts.
I’m too lazy to redesign my blog. I’m a black-and-white fan, so I’m sticking to the left pane. I’d like to add a scrolling bar and include more menu entries.
Oh! My own domain. I tried to buy one in the past. And I found out there’s a soccer player, a singer, and a director with my name.
I’d like to give Substack a try, but it would be for anything else apart from coding.
Parting Thought
I owe my career growth to learning foreign languages and writing.
Writing has opened doors for me. I made my first side income thanks to my blog. I skipped the hiring line when I applied to my last job.
In fact, I don’t have a coding portfolio. My blog has done more for me. Always write about what you do at your work. That’s better than an old-fashioned CV.
12 Jan 2025 #writing
I don’t have a coding portfolio.
By portfolio, I mean a webpage showcasing my best projects. My GitHub account is the closest thing to a coding portfolio. But it hasn’t helped me land jobs.
My blog has helped me more. Here’s how:
1. A content collaboration
Some time ago, the next day after interviewing for a small local company, I got a phone call.
They wanted me to start a company blog for them. The interviewer read some of my blog posts. I had a link to it on my CV. He wanted me to write something similar for them.
I wrote five blog posts for them with interview preparation material. Even though I decided not to continue the interview process, I declared it a win. Also, I made some lunch money with them.
2. A smoother hiring process
Years later, the last time I applied for a job, in the first interview, I shared my screen and walked the interviewer through my blog.
The interviewer asked if I contributed somehow to the coding community. The process went smoother from there. I didn’t have any coding interview after that, except for opening a PR on an open source project. That was it.
Sharing your thoughts and learnings can open unexpected doors. Even if you don’t land new jobs, you’ll learn new skills. And more importantly, you’ll learn to think better. So write your first online piece and see what opportunities it brings. But don’t start a blog.
11 Jan 2025 #productivity
I used to be a productivity freak with to-do lists.
At a past job, I had a notebook where I wrote down every single action I needed to finish. Small tasks, large tasks, meeting notes… Everything.
Later on, I became a plain text lover and kept my to-do list in a .txt file I edited with Notepad: a “todo.txt” file.
Same story as my notebook at my past job. Even worse. I had “todo.txt” files for work and non-work. One in my personal computer and another in my work computer. My to-do lists grew without control. I still have items in my “todo.txt” file from years ago. Oops!
But there’s something with to-do lists.
To-do lists are stressful.
Every item on our to-do lists is an item we haven’t finished and probably won’t finish either. In the meantime, they’re another source of stress.
I learned from Choose Yourself Guide to Wealth by James Altucher to ditch to-do lists and goals, and live by themes instead.
The theme I want to live by in 2025 is the Daily Practice: doing something for my mind, body, and spirit every day.
As part of my Daily Practice, I’m sticking to:
- A glass of water after waking up
- A workout session
- A moment of silence
- Writing 200-250 words
- Coming up with 10 ideas
- Getting rid of negativity
Few things have helped me change my life like the Daily Practice.
That Daily Practice helped me get my health and life on track after burning out. Focusing on my health brought clarity to my life last year.
Goodbye “todo.txt” file and hello Daily Practice. That’s my only rule for 2025. You should give it a try too.
10 Jan 2025 #career
It took me 10 years to learn this lesson:
The higher up you go, the less it’s about coding and more about all other skills.
Being the best at coding won’t get you higher on the corporate ladder. Well, the corporate ladder is a trap.
Unfortunately, few places offer growth opportunities for coders, and even fewer for those who don’t want the management track.
Every place has its own expectations for team leaders or managers.
In some places, the team leader role is divided between:
- someone technical in charge of coding and architecture decisions, and
- someone non-technical in charge of project management.
In other places, a team leader wears all hats, often for the same pay.
Making the jump into a leadership role
If you enjoy coding and are thinking about joining the management track, start by understanding that your role as a team leader is more like a movie director than an actor.
Your job is not to appear on screen, except for some cameos. Your job is to make sure your movie gets done as expected and on time.
For that, you’ll need coding skills. Sure. But much stronger soft skills.
You’ll spend most of your time in meetings, not coding:
- Daily meetings with your team,
- Daily meetings with all other leaders,
- 1-on-1s with every team member,
- Sync ups with project managers and product people
Once you understand you’re the director, not the best actor, show your interest in exploring the role with your team leader during your 1-on-1s or performance reviews.
Then, find easy and cheap ways to validate if being a team leader is a role you’d enjoy:
- Organize and tidy up your project board
- Cover your team leader during their vacation
- Be the onboarding buddy for new team members
- Coordinate efforts to complete a feature from requirements to deployment
That will force you out of your “coding” comfort zone into the soft skill-heavy zone.
As a leader, you’re not responsible for your own code anymore. You’re responsible for all other coders and the code they write.
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09 Jan 2025 #books
I’m a recovered book addict.
Two years ago, I tried to read as many books as possible to show off my huge book count. But I didn’t remember much about those books, even when I took notes.
Ironically, it was another book, The Almanack of Naval Ravikant, that made me change my mind.
By pure accident, I discovered my new reading strategy.
Last year, for the first time, I discovered James Altucher.
I found his bankruptcy stories. I followed his idea of becoming an Idea Machine. I read some of his books. I loved his idea of the Daily Practice. And without even realizing it, I was stalking James Altucher online. Quora, Medium, his own website, YouTube… Everywhere.
By immersing myself in his work, I heard extra details about the stories in his books. I learned his book publishing strategy. I learned about the motivation behind some of those books. And I listened to way more anecdotes.
So, from now on, I’m immersing myself in a writer’s world by reading their books and listening to their interviews. It adds more context and depth to my reading experience. Yes, often listening to an interview about a book counts as reading the book itself.