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I write something new every day for 2k software developers. You should sign up for the daily email.

  1. November 18, 2024

    At work, we're in the midst of a push to meet a deadline. Essentially, we're sprinting. As we've been sprinting, I've noticed something…

  2. November 11, 2024

    I have a couple reader emails that I haven't responded to. Seems like a good opportunity to share out with the group! "It is almost…

  3. November 07, 2024

    I was using Python's random library today, when I started getting the same numbers in a row for a random integer. In all likelihood, it was…

  4. October 24, 2024

    We've given so much of our lives over to the cloud. And in software engineering, nearly everything runs on the cloud. It really feels like…

  5. October 15, 2024

    There's a common problem I encounter. It's prevalent among more junior developers, but it can also affect developers with many years of…

  6. October 12, 2024

    Keeping a to-do list of things in your mind actually takes up space. I like to think of this space as mental load. This could apply at work…

  7. October 05, 2024

    Yesterday, a friend said, "I'm much more interested in what people are creating than what they are consuming." We spend so much time talking…

  8. October 02, 2024

    I'm from Asheville, NC & my family still lives there. Last week, the area received over 20 inches of rain & my parents lost power, internet…

  9. September 23, 2024

    It's one skill to be able to write code that works. But there's another, perhaps more important, skill that far fewer developers are good at…

  10. September 17, 2024

    Some programmers get a rush out of optimizing code & saving nanoseconds. A wasted loop or inefficient algorithm is distasteful. Other…

  11. September 16, 2024

    Something happens quite often on the internet that I find quite annoying. In fact, it happens at work & even in email responses to my daily…

  12. September 12, 2024

    The internet was supposed to be the promised land of open communication & egalitarian empowerment. But we've seen massive consolidation. Now…

  13. September 11, 2024

    I don't remember my dreams most nights, but I think I would like to remember my dreams. So, I'm keeping a dream journal of any small details…

  14. September 10, 2024

    Often, I find I'm near-sighted in my outlook. What matters is what's happening today, this week, this year. But I was recently watching an…

  15. September 07, 2024

    Often, we're tempted to gather more information "just in case" it's useful in the future. Of course, the vast majority of things we learn…

  16. September 04, 2024

    There's something in common across many facets of life (software development included): You get smarter by reading, but most people don't…

  17. September 03, 2024

    Recently, I was talking with some friends about "life projects." Organizing principles or guiding values for your life. Generally, a life…

  18. September 02, 2024

    The community around you is super important as a human primate. We're wired to want social groups & close connections. Unfortunately, modern…

  19. August 31, 2024

    Sometimes the best you can do is start over from the beginning. Due to an injury, I didn't go to the gym for a while. I lost some strength…

  20. June 20, 2024

    Software isn't the answer to every problem. There are tons of human challenges where software won't help, or might even make the problem…

  21. June 10, 2024

    If there's an opportunity to make a smaller change, you should take it. Try to find a way to wrap up your changes in small chunks. Don't…

  22. June 07, 2024

    The rapid development of AI has many developers concerned - is this the end of coding? But I've often said that coding has been in decline…

  23. May 31, 2024

    I see many software developers struggle with boundaries. People work at strange hours or on the weekend. I don't mind if that's your style…

  24. May 22, 2024

    There are many ways to measure your software development career: Years of experience Places you've worked Technologies you've learned But…

  25. May 13, 2024

    I've wasted a lot of stress and emotional energy on things that don't matter. Other people's opinions of me, commitments I hastily made…

  26. May 13, 2024

    Remote work is great. Workers gained so much flexibility & the lack of a daily commute saves tons of personal time. But there is one area…

  27. May 10, 2024

    We had a big release this week that the whole team has been working on. A lot is changing about how the app is structured. Here's the thing…

  28. May 02, 2024

    This morning, I was starting on a new frontend task that forced me out of my comfort zone a little. The going was slow because I was so…

  29. April 29, 2024

    It's hard to overstate the value of an early question. Asking the right clarifying question, early on in the task, can be the difference…

  30. April 24, 2024

    There's a dichotomy I've noticed among developers. When a test is failing or something is going wrong, some developers prefer to read the…

  31. Invalid date

    Today, I was talking with a product manager who shared a critical insight in a succinct way: I'd rather have a terrible answer to the right…

  32. April 17, 2024

    The first week at a new job is like drinking from a fire hose. There's so much new information, you can only hope to retain some of it. That…

  33. April 15, 2024

    I spent the morning cheering for runners in the Boston Marathon. It was amazing to see how fast Sisay Lemma and Hellen Obiri were as they…

  34. April 12, 2024

    Software developers work in all kinds of fields: dating apps, insurance software, video streaming platforms. If you enjoy your job at a…

  35. April 11, 2024

    A great team leader is not necessarily: The best coder The longest/hardest worker The most experienced Instead, a great team lead... Listens…

  36. April 09, 2024

    Feedback is more important than skill when it comes to coding. All the time, I see developers want to get it perfect on the first try. But…

  37. April 04, 2024

    It's great to have a broad set of programming skills that are applicable across industries. But at some point, you'll improve your career by…

  38. April 03, 2024

    Remote work has a lot of benefits, but one big downside is isolation. Slack messages & Zoom calls are no substitute for real human…

  39. March 26, 2024

    Volunteering is one of the best things I've done since getting laid off. Every week, I work a shift or two at Food for Free, a local food…

  40. March 25, 2024

    Between July 1, 2022 and February 1, 2024 I wrote something new for software developers on my blog every single day. That's 580 days in a…

  41. March 08, 2024

    When I shared my binary tree scratchpad, several of you expressed interest in seeing my Anki deck. So, here's the exported version of the…

  42. March 07, 2024

    Last week, I asked you, "Why did you become a developer?" Many of you responded & I read them all! Looking at the responses, there are a few…

  43. March 07, 2024

    What was your real motivation to become a developer? You probably thought you’d like to make a decent living & work on interesting problems…

  44. March 06, 2024

    I've been playing around with binary trees today. Partly to get back into a little coding & partly to shake off the cobwebs on data…

  45. March 05, 2024

    How many followers do you have? How many likes did that post get? By now, we all know these are just vanity metrics. A gamified system…

  46. March 04, 2024

    Last year, I opened a few slots in my first cohort of email coaching for developers. Due to some personal reasons, I had to close email…

  47. March 02, 2024

    Focusing on time management leads you to do all sorts of things like calendar blocking, task batching, and to-do list triaging. You organize…

  48. February 29, 2024

    All systems - technical or organizational - need a little slack to run well. Max capacity all the time is not desirable nor sustainable…

  49. February 26, 2024

    I was laid off on February 1st. Since then, I've been really grateful to receive many kind notes from readers of this email list. For…

  50. February 24, 2024

    There's a certain flavor of imposter syndrome that makes you think you should always be coding or learning about code. Even in your time off…

  51. February 22, 2024

    Want to get better as a developer? A writer? A weightlifter? A creative? An entrepreneur? It doesn’t take luck. Or a lot of work. The…

  52. February 18, 2024

    Imagine you’re a business owner who knows nothing about software development. If someone were to give you thousands of lines of code, you’d…

  53. February 18, 2024

    I've written before about why developers should keep a journal or daily note about their work. Here are some of the small, recurring…

  54. February 16, 2024

    Recently, I've discovered a new project that I'm following. It's called Not Not Business. The whole premise is about making work meaningful…

  55. February 15, 2024

    It baffles me when developers don't or can't talk to the users they're building for. If you're a developer who hasn't heard from users, find…

  56. February 13, 2024

    People think good writing uses big words & literary language. Long sentences with complex structures. That might work for literature, but it…

  57. February 12, 2024

    When you fight, nobody wins. This is true at work, but it's also true in life generally. Even if you defend your point & vanquish your…

  58. February 02, 2024

    Thank you to everyone who wrote a supportive email yesterday. I really appreciate this community & all your care. It made a difference in my…

  59. February 01, 2024

    This morning I received an email about layoffs and an ominous meeting invite. The company eliminated my position. Many of my readers don't…

  60. January 31, 2024

    Derek Sivers is a multi-millionaire, former tech entrepreneur turned nomadic hermit. He has some unconventional views. One of them has stuck…

  61. January 29, 2024

    Perfect does not exist. There’s no such thing as the perfect code base. You’ll never fully solve a problem. Software is not “done.” Instead…

  62. January 27, 2024

    In game theory, there are finite and infinite games. Chess is an example of a finite game. There are hard rules, boundaries to your possible…

  63. January 23, 2024

    I love airplanes & all things aviation. Recently, I was reading about the top causes of accidents for general aviation pilots. One of the…

  64. January 22, 2024

    In the minds of many developers, refactoring sub-optimal code is always good. In my experience, that's false. Refactoring isn't always worth…

  65. January 20, 2024

    Have you ever wanted to have a million dollars? Or, be able to run a marathon? Or, get a big promotion at work? These are all examples of…

  66. January 18, 2024

    Yesterday, I wrote about a young Leonardo Da Vinci & his letter to Duke Sforza promising military designs that weren't realistic. I like…

  67. January 17, 2024

    In the early 1480s, Leonardo da Vinci was still a young man. He had not yet painted The Last Supper or the Mona Lisa. Indeed, he was a young…

  68. January 16, 2024

    The brain is only capable of a few hours of difficult work per day. For most people, research showsthat limit hovers around 4 hours per day…

  69. January 15, 2024

    One of my favorite quotes comes from The Pragmatic Programmer: That quote is a descendant of the similar and more famous quote from Voltaire…

  70. January 14, 2024

    Ready to push up your changes and request review? Hold on there! First, push your code and give yourself a review. Look carefully, file by…

  71. January 10, 2024

    Philosopher Kieran Setiya is fascinated by purposeless activities. Telos is the Greek word for purpose. By extension, telic activities are…

  72. January 06, 2024

    Many developers want productivity hacks. They… Make to-do lists Practice Pomodoro timers Build multi-monitor workstations Meticulously time…

  73. December 31, 2023

    Yesterday, I wrote about how autonomy is an important milestone in your software career. How do you learn autonomy? Stop relying on senior…

  74. December 28, 2023

    “It’s just this once. I’ll stay late and get it done.” That’s how it starts. You want to impress your manager and senior engineers on the…

  75. December 26, 2023

    Writing the simplest code to meet the requirements is deceptively hard.

  76. December 25, 2023

    Merry Christmas to everyone! Whether or not you celebrate Christmas, I hope you're enjoying family, friends, rest, food, and/or fun today…

  77. December 24, 2023

    Patience can feel like a chore, or it can be a liberating creative force

  78. December 16, 2023

    Not every task with a deadline is very important. On the other hand, many important tasks don’t have a hard deadline. How do you balance…

  79. December 12, 2023

    One particular flavor of imposter syndrome is surprisingly common, even among the most senior developers

  80. December 10, 2023

    The goal-based approach to happiness confusingly leaves you less fulfilled

  81. December 06, 2023

    Most people overestimate what they can do in a day. They also underestimate what they can do in a year.

  82. November 25, 2023

    I received some emails asking how do you practically go one level deeper

  83. November 23, 2023

    Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S. & I feel thankful for this community

  84. April 23, 2019

    I’ve done a few tutorials, but when I try to build something on my own, I hit a wall. It seems I’ll never get away from how-to guides and…

  85. January 14, 2019

    Right now, naming that variable or building that helper function doesn’t seem critical… but messiness will catch up with you over the long…

  86. December 12, 2018

    I’m by no means an expert developer, but I’ve learned other languages and Python suits me best. Here’s why.

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