Dev Mindset Tips, Tricks and Tutorials

Improving as a software developer has a lot to do with soft skills, not just raw programming skills. Become a 10x programmer.

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120+ Skills I Use in an SRE / Platform / DevOps Developer Position

These are technical topics I've actively used or thought about for the last 2 years while working in 1 role.

Creating Checklists for High Stakes Changes

The use case we'll go over is performing a major database upgrade for a large application that's running in production.

How to Approach Solving a Difficult or Vague Programming Problem

Here's a few things I keep in mind when trying to solve problems that require a decent amount of thinking or I don't know where to start.

From a Written Problem to Pseudo Code to Working Code (Python)

You can use this workflow to help convert feature requests, user stories and vague ideas into fully working code.

How I Quickly Find Answers to Problems and Research New Things

If I'm trying to research something or solve a specific problem I typically reach for the same resources with different search terms.

Get Better at Reading Documentation, Specifications and Requirements

Reading comprehension is a valuable skill to practice as a software developer. Break down paragraphs into sentences and then words.

Overcoming Analysis Paralysis as a Software Developer

This is a common thing to have when picking anything like a library, tool, web framework, tech stack, implementation strategy and more.

100+ Ways to Solve a Specific Programming Problem in 50+ Languages

José Valim and I asked developers how they would solve a specific problem in their language of choice. How would you do it?

Making a Human Friendly Changelog by Following Keep a Changelog's Tips

Your changelog should make it easy for humans to see what's been added, changed, deprecated, removed and fixed at a glance.

Transforming an Idea from Your Brain into an Open Source Project

In this video we'll go over what I typically think about to determine whether or not I'm going to make an open source project.

Sunsetting an Open Source Project

Let's go over a few things, such as archiving to help let others know that your open source project is no longer being maintained.

Evaluating and Improving the Quality of Your Code as a Solo Developer

Here's a number of questions you can ask yourself and tools you can use to help improve the quality of your code.

An Open Source and Fully Offline Browser Based Kanban Board

I'm 15+ years late to the game but I'm starting to enjoy using Kanban boards to help me organize my projects. Here's the tool I'm using.

Maintaining an Open Source Project, from Handling Issues to Releases

A 1 hour live demo that uses various git commands, Travis-CI and GitHub features to fix a bug and push a new release.

Live Demo: How to Begin Writing Tests in an Untested Code Base

In this video I go over testing and documenting the features of an audio player but the steps taken could be applied to any code base.

As Developers It's OK to Call It Quits and Make Compromises Sometimes

In this video I share a story about how I spent 2+ hours writing a git pre-commit hook to block TODO items and threw in the towel.

Using Python to Help Generate Personalized Email Templates

It didn't take long to bust out Python to help me manage upcoming podcast episodes and send interview questions out.

Learning a New Web Framework with Question Driven Development

When I'm learning a new language or web framework, I often go at it from a problem / solution angle and use error driven development.

It's Not a Waste of Time to Learn a Few Languages / Frameworks

Over the years I've learned a few languages / web frameworks and recently picked up Elixir / Phoenix. Here's what I've learned.

Providing Feedback to Open Source Projects in a Positive Way

I recently watched a talk called Stewardship made practical and I think my life will generally improve after having watched it.

Design Your Web UIs Faster by Planning Out Each Different State

In this 15 minute video, we go over 1 way to quickly break down a UI feature which happens to double as a cheat code for writing tests.

Learning a New and Unfamiliar Code Base

When starting a new job or contributing to open source, learning a new code base can be intimidating. Here's how you can jump in quickly.

Live Demo of Planning a Real World Web Application from Scratch

Watch a 90 minute video where I take a new project idea and start breaking it down so you can see how to do it for your own apps.

Optimize Your Programming Decisions for the 95%, Not the 5%

Many years ago I used to optimize a lot of my programming decisions for 'what if' conditions or the 5%. That was a mistake.

Coming Back to Cloud Field Day for the Second Time

This time around it was for Cloud Field Day 4 and despite the concept being the same, the experience was so much different than CFD3.

Behind the Scenes of Debugging an Error That I Couldn't Google

In this case it was a Docker command that was throwing an error, but I would have applied this process to any problem.

How Playing Video Games Can Teach You Real Life Skills

I learned more general life / programming skills playing Diablo II for a few years than all of my formal education combined.

How to Get Programming Jobs When You Have No Experience

As developers, life is good when it comes to gaining initial experience compared to other trade skills. Here's how to get started.

Keeping Yourself on Track and Avoiding Burnout as a Programmer

As software developers, and especially freelance developers, it's easy to get stuck in unproductive loops but you can break that loop.

The Cloud Field Day Experience as a First Time Delegate

Cloud Field Day is a 3 day presentation based event that is ran by Tech Field Day and Stephen Foskett. Here's my first experience.

Theorycrafting a Plan to Improve Public Speaking

Public speaking is a skill you need to build up like anything else. I have no experience with it, but here's how I plan to fix that.

Was Web Development Better Back in the Early 2000s?

I started programming in the late 1990s and got into web development at about the same time. Here's how it was different than today.

How to Start and Finish Any Web App Project

Learn how to transform a project idea into a finished application by following these actionable and repeatable steps.

What Is DevOps?

Someone recently asked me to define DevOps. This is one of those terms where everyone has a slightly different definition.

2017 Recap: Books Read, Podcasts and Goals

On December 31st I decided it might be fun to put together a last minute yearly recap post. A lot of this is from memory.

Solve Programming Problems with Rubber Duck Debugging

How many times have you ran into a problem and then went to post an issue on GitHub, only to solve it yourself before you hit submit?

4 Major Benefits of Walking as a Software Developer

We all know sitting down for long periods of time is unhealthy but you're missing out on a bunch of cool perks by not going AFK.

It Doesn't Matter What Web Framework You Use, Just Pick One

If you stick to one of the major web frameworks or libraries out there, it's really hard to make a critical mistake.

2 Ways to Name Things Better in Programming

I don't mind spending a full 5 minutes coming up with a variable or database column name, because it's always worth it in the end.

How to Quickly Learn a New Programming Language or Framework

There's many different ways to learn a language, and in this article you'll learn what I think is the best way to learn something new.

How to Overcome Procrastination with a 3 Pronged Attack

Procrastination haunts most people. I've tried everything and read a ton of material but these 3 tactics helped me the most.

Have You Hit the Point of Diminishing Returns as a Developer?

Investing a little bit of time into new skills will very likely improve your quality of life as a software developer and human being.

Are You a Computer Scientist or a Code Monkey?

Learn how to transform from a code monkey into a computer scientist without spending $50,000+ and years at a University.

Breaking Down Problems Is the #1 Software Developer Skill

Learn the most important software developer skill there is, and that is how to break down problems into smaller problems.

Learn How to Schedule Your Time

Learn how to schedule your time by following these 5 steps that you can start doing today. Spoiler alert: it's free and easy.

Schedules Aren't a Constraint on Life, They Let You Live It

Become aware of bad habits that make you less productive and learn how to break them with proper time management skills.

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