/Career Advice

Flow State: Why Fragmented Thinking Is Worse Than Any Interruption

- Nick Moore tl;dr: In this post, Nick shares what he learned after researching the concept of "flow state." He shares where the term came from originally, what the popular usage of it misses, and how we all can stay in flow state by avoiding context switching and fragmented thinking.

featured in #508

How To Share Your Point Of View (Even If You’re Afraid Of Being Wrong)

- Wes Kao tl;dr: Principles on how to feel more confident sharing your point of view: (1) The more controversial the idea, the higher the burden of proof. (2) Update your assumptions about how you add value. (3) Share where your hunch is coming from—because it’s coming from somewhere. (4) Describe why the problem matters, so people understand why you’re speaking up. (5) Don’t rely on your credentials. Your idea should make sense on its own. (6) Use language that accurately reflects your level of certainty.

featured in #507

10 Things Software Developers Should Learn About Learning

- Abi Noda tl;dr: (1) Human memory is complex, with recall activating a network of neurons that can lead to unexpected insights. Stepping away from problems can facilitate innovative solutions. (2) Long-term memory, as opposed to working memory distinguishes experts. Hence, cognitive load becomes a factor. This can be reduced by simplifying tasks or improving information presentation. (3) Experts recognize patterns quickly, while beginners reason line-by-line. Reading more code helps beginners become experts faster. And more.

featured in #507

10 Things Software Developers Should Learn About Learning

- Abi Noda tl;dr: (1) Human memory is complex, with recall activating a network of neurons that can lead to unexpected insights. Stepping away from problems can facilitate innovative solutions. (2) Long-term memory, as opposed to working memory distinguishes experts. Hence, cognitive load becomes a factor. This can be reduced by simplifying tasks or improving information presentation. (3) Experts recognize patterns quickly, while beginners reason line-by-line. Reading more code helps beginners become experts faster. And more.

featured in #506

Learning To Learn

- Jason Liu tl;dr: (1) Environments matters: Identifying the right environment is crucial for learning. Changing environment can be effective. (2) Get ahead and teach: If you're able to get ahead of your peer group, you can teach them and learn from them at the same time. (3) Process vs outcome: Try to set process based goals. (4) Periodize your training: Set long time horizons and peak at the end of them. Take breaks and deload weeks. (5) Learn from people actively doing what you want to do. Ask yourself how far along they are in their journey. (6) Focus on fundamentals to avoid unforced errors. 

featured in #505

How To Send Progress Updates

- Slava Akhmechet tl;dr: 15 tips, including: (1) Understand your role, and with each update add to the body of evidence that you’re a good steward in that role. (2) Add a little randomness to the cadence. (3) Know what your next update will be and work toward it. (4) Always start with a one sentence TL;DR and a 2-4 sentence recap of the overall goals of the project. (5) Within reason, deliberately engineer pleasant surprises so you can include them in your updates. And more.

featured in #505

Advice to Young People, The Lies I Tell Myself

- Jason Liu tl;dr: Many topics covered, including the following: (1) How to be lucky: Develop a wide field of perception to see opportunities. Ask yourself if you're so focused on one thing that you're missing obvious opportunities. (2) How to get a job: Merit alone is often not enough. Focus on being someone people want to work with. High agency - thinking proactively about how you can help - is key when reaching out. (3) Impostor syndrome: If someone hires you, believe in their judgment. Don't insult them by having impostor syndrome. 

featured in #505

Advice to Young People, The Lies I Tell Myself

- Jason Liu tl;dr: Many topics covered, including the following: (1) How to be lucky: Develop a wide field of perception to see opportunities. Ask yourself if you're so focused on one thing that you're missing obvious opportunities. (2) How to get a job: Merit alone is often not enough. Focus on being someone people want to work with. High agency - thinking proactively about how you can help - is key when reaching out. (3) Impostor syndrome: If someone hires you, believe in their judgment. Don't insult them by having impostor syndrome. 

featured in #504

Fear Makes You A Worse Programmer

- Julia Evans tl;dr: (1) Fear can make you overly conservative as a programmer, afraid to make important changes. This leads to worse software in the long run. (2) Better tools and processes reduce fear to make changes e.g. version control, automated testing. (3) How an organization reacts to mistakes is critical i.e. blameless postmortems. (4) Some fears spread to others if not addressed. (5) Fear creates "local maximums" - it prevents you from making big improvements and keeps you stuck in a suboptimal state.

featured in #503

"Insecure Vibes" Are A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

- Wes Kao tl;dr: "If you appear hesitant, doubtful, or desperate… The other person picks up on it. You get more nervous. They start doubting you." Before you hit send, ask yourself: (1) Could this be interpreted as sounding defensive? (2) Am I overcompensating or overexplaining? (3) How would I respond on my best day? (4) Would I say this if I felt secure?

featured in #501