Develpreneur: Become a Better Developer and Entrepreneur

As we near the end of a decade, it is time to consider planning for the year ahead.  We need to consider the goals we want to achieve and how much better to be a year from now.  Here are some ideas to help you plot out your course. Improve Your Workspace Whether you work from home or an office, there are many ways you can improve your daily experience.  This can include hardware, office equipment (or supplies), or even software and services.  All of these items are likely to improve your productivity.  Therefore, there is at least one good reason to pursue these improvements.  The more significant ticket items like a new desktop/laptop may seem daunting to pursue.  However, think of how much time you can save when your daily work includes less time waiting on your machine. Comfort is another reason for making changes.  You will find yourself better able to handle long hours, reduce stress, and maybe even improve your physical well-being.  These can all be used to argue for an improvement form your boss.  On the other hand, you should find it easy to convince yourself of the ROI on these types of improvements.  If you need more convincing, then take a little time to check out this episode.  All of these add up to something you should consider in your planning for the year ahead. Learn a Language or Technology There is no end to our need for learning new languages and environments.  Sure, we can sit back and try to coast with what we know.  However, technology marches on and will pass us by if we fail to stay current.  Go ahead and push yourself to learn something new that will make your resume a bit more attractive. An excellent way to improve your skills is to learn them while knocking out a project.  You get to complete two goals with one project.  This approach can lead to significant gains during the year and maybe even some well-earned time off next December.  We want to improve continuously.  However, we can afford to take breaks when we have been uber-productive. Include Something Big in Planning for the Year Ahead Our recent episode on big achievements we all can complete is a good starting point for your annual goals.  I have taken this on in the past.  Yes, these sorts of targets can be scary and intimidating.  On the other hand, there is a lot of value and self-satisfaction to be gained by achieving any one of them.  Each will also be a valuable addition to your portfolio and resume. The year ahead can easily be your best year yet.  Do not ignore these options in your planning for the year ahead.  Go ahead and put some impressive goals on your list and see how awesome you can be!  

We once again look at finishing strong.  Our steady efforts and incremental progress should result in year-end success.  However, there always seems to be a need for that final push.  No matter how well we plan, the final effort to get across the finish line is a staple of completing a project.  This episode is just a little help in cheering you to the end. Pace Out The Final Mile We may have missed the mark on our estimation.  However, when we get near the end, it should be easier to estimate what we have left to do.  We also know the days or hours we have left before the end of the year.  That becomes simple math as we can divide the hours we need to work into those remaining.  We can even start today on that work and maybe reduce what we need to do each day by pushing now.  That may even get us across the finish line early.  When that happens, jump for joy and enjoy the well-earned time off. Lessons Learned From Year-End Success Whether we are successful or not, we will have learned about ourselves and our ability to achieve goals.  We may have more proof that steady work will pay off.  However, we may have missed our goal and know more about our limits.  For example, we may see the last two months of the year are too busy to maintain the same pace we had in February.  When we plan ahead we can take those seasonal adjustments to our drive into consideration.  There is no need to push ourselves too hard.  We still are human and subject to burnout. Enjoy Success One of the greatest joys is a year-end success when it comes early.  We all get that endorphin boost when we complete a goal.  However, getting it done early is even better.  At least in my personal experience.  The rare years where I have my goals met by mid-December or earlier are the best.  If you are fortunate enough to achieve this, then do not fill in the "free time" with more goals.  Revel in your low-stress time and use the positive feeling as an incentive to repeat this in the future.  

As we start into our last week of the year, it is a good time for looking back.  Therefore, we think it is worthwhile to review what we proposed would be the big technical topics of 2019.  The summary of that article is that we suggested five hot topics. Azure/Office 365 Amazon AWS Single-Sign-On/Security Virtual Machines/Containers Blockchain Solutions   Our Hits in Looking Back The good news is that each of our five recommendations worked out.  Thus, if you learned more and gained experience in these areas during 2019, then you did well.  All five of the items we listed have continued to grow and mature.  Better yet, there are plenty of jobs related to these technologies so you are more marketable. The Technologies That We Missed In scanning the landscape of articles about 2019, we failed to mention several technologies that were hot.  Many of these have moved faster than we thought.  However, the speed that these technologies were adopted seems to have surprised many in the industry.  Here are the misses we discussed. Internet Of Things Artificial Intelligence 5G Networks Serverless Biometrics Augmented Reality Drones Our Mea Culpa There are some important things to note about these technologies.  For example, IoT has moved along at a good pace in the past few years.  However, we saw a big market appear for these devices in the areas of home security and automation (Nest, Ring, etc.).  The prices have been reduced by Amazon and Google to flood the market.  That push has been successful for them. Biometrics, Drones, and Augmented Reality are technologies that have been floated to some extent in the past.  Thus, we were not sure this would be the time they would become mainstream.  Alas, we were wrong.  Nevertheless, the cost of these devices has come down to a point where we see them everywhere.  Biometrics have appeared on laptops, phones, and even watches.  Drones are everywhere it seems as video quality has improved.  Finally, Augmented Reality is getting to a point where the computations required can be done in a useful amount of time. That is our looking back discussion.  Therefore, we can start to close the book on 2019 and look to the year and decade ahead. Read More https://www.techrepublic.com/article/top-10-emerging-technologies-of-2019/

We wrap up Thanksgiving week with some recommendations for making the most of that time off.  While you may be working frantically on Black Friday, there will be a time where you can take a day.  Those days off and vacation times are essential to take advantage of.  You can even become a better developer by making the most of your "downtime." Get Some Rest Our lives are incredibly hectic, and the days of often long.  That can chip away at our energy levels and even our health.  One of the primary goals of a day off should be to get some rest.  Take a nap, sleep in, or at least do something mindless.  This is a time to get away from your usual grind and recharge your batteries.  While there are thought exercises we can do best during these times; there still should be some rest planned.  The rest you take can help your morale, attitude, and even your health. Ways that sleep improves productivity Meaningful Length To Vacation Three-day weekends are nice.  However, it takes more than an occasional day off to truly rest and regenerate mentally.  Most of us need a couple of days to wind down and get used to less stress or deadlines.  Thus, spreading our vacation days too thin can defeat the purpose.  It is better than "selling" our vacation back to our employer but only a little bit.  Make sure you put together a vacation of a week or more at least once or twice a year.  That will give you something to look forward to as well as enough time to let your body and mind recover from our typical torrid pace. True Design and Problem Solving I hate to throw in a work-related focus during our time off.  However, the periods where we can think without stress and deadlines are the best for processing problems.  There is a reason so many well-known problem solvers in history took time away from the world to rest and re-focus.  We can do the same while toning down our normal struggles and urgencies.  Therefore, the next time you have some time off, take advantage of it.  You earned it.  

We continue our focus during the U.S. Thanksgiving week with a look at things to be thankful for.  This episode, we look at people in our life.  These can be friends, family, and even co-workers.  Each relationship has its unique traits, and now is an excellent time to consider them.  Let's look at some reasons to be thankful for these people that make life's journey with us. Co-Workers We do not often get to choose the people we work with.  Our career or job tends to lead us into these relationships instead of the other way around.  Nevertheless, these are people that are fellow travelers in a fashion.  They often have similar interests, goals, and even approaches to problem-solving.  While they are not exactly like us, we usually will see they are not that far off from us when push comes to shove. Learning From Peers, Teammates, and Co-Workers Friends Friends are the people we choose to share life with.  These range from "drinking buddies" to soulmates and many points in between.  No matter the depth of the friendship, a friend is always preferable to being lonely.  That does not mean we can not be happy being alone at times.  This mindset is about loneliness or feeling like someone cares.  The people that we call friends should be affirmed and thanked on a regular basis.  We know how much of a chore it can be to put up with us at times. Family We have no choice in our family members.  However, these people know us as good as anyone does.  They also are generally more likely to truly care about our success and happiness.  I understand that some family members can try our patience or worse. Nevertheless, these are often the relationships that stay with us to the grave.  That alone makes them people that influence us heavily through our life, and a little thanks will not hurt.  If they are going to be a part of your life, then try to make them a happy part of it.  

The Thanksgiving holiday is upon us in the United States.  That allows us a week that is a little lighter than our normal workload and time to reflect.  In this time of reflection, one of the things to consider is the effective tools we have for doing our jobs. Avoid Software Piracy The first thing to consider is the people and companies that provide all of those effective tools.  Therefore, we should be respectful of their efforts and ensure we are compliant with licenses.  I have heard all of the excuses for software piracy, and none of them hold water.  In particular, we need to set an excellent example for those that do not make a living creating software.  If you need a little extra support for this concept, you can check out the link below. A Summary Of Software Piracy Along with being compliant with the software you use, go ahead and clean up what you do not.  This includes deleting unused applications and canceling subscriptions that are no longer needed.  You want to be in a comfortable place as licenses go.  Thus, you should pay for what you use and not the things that you leave on a shelf. Lower Cost, Effective Tools The rise in popularity of software-as-a-service has made many applications affordable.  There are free demos, trial periods, and even some free tier (or entry-level) solutions that small organizations may find very useful.  Take advantage of these options and check back regularly via searches or popular sites (like Sourceforge) that apply to your needs.  

We have reached the end of season 10.  This episode wraps up our look at how lists can be a quick way to cover a lot of ground as topics go.  This season was a broad range of subjects, and here are a few others to review to become a better developer. Upcoming Hiatus We will be taking a break from Thanksgiving to New Years with only a few Holiday episodes.  That will have us starting season 11 at the beginning of 2020.  Of course, that break makes it a perfect time for you to catch up on anything you missed in season 10. The Complete Season 10 Episodes Past Seasons That Are Recommended We covered a broad range of topics in the last few years.  However, the pattern and anti-pattern seasons are some of the most valuable ones to review.  These are quick hit ways to improve significantly as a developer quickly.  That is the power of patterns. Software Patterns Anti-Patterns Parting Thoughts - One More List There are some essential items I hope you have taken from our episodes this year.  The first is that podcasts (and audiobooks) are an excellent way to consume mass quantities of content.  As we go into a time of year where a lot of sitting around and waiting in lines occurs, take advantage of this format. Check out Apple Podcasts Momentum is awesome.  Do your best to take advantage of this and drive yourself to make a little progress on your goals every day.  There is no better time to begin this approach than today.  You do not have to wait for the new year to start making progress on those big hairy audacious goals in your life. Your Best Year Ever – Start A Better Tomorrow Today The final thought from this season is for you to follow your dreams.  There is no subject, topic, or product idea that is not worth pursuing.  That does not mean everything will be successful.  However, do not be afraid to follow your dreams until you are sure they are not a good fit.  You can write a book, create a podcast, or solve any problem that comes to mind.  Do not limit yourself before you at least take a shot at those dreams.

This season has been an homage to clickbait and lists. Nevertheless, some values come from using lists to communicate.  There are some critical concepts behind this approach to writing and even sharing ideas.  Therefore, it makes sense to offer an episode that looks at three things we can learn from lists and how to make them work for us. A Simple Summary One of the most significant values we derive from a list is the ability to grab a summary quickly.  Lists are made for scanning and speed reading.  Think about how often you read an article first by looking only at the section titles or list items.  That is just a smart way to scan for the key points of a piece when a list is available.  That allows us to consider the key take-aways from an article as one of the things we can learn from lists. Communication Noise vs. Content Learn Quickly The above item leads to the logical step of being able to learn quickly.  A scan of a list can be orders of magnitude faster than reading through paragraphs of prose.  This concept holds true even in discussions.  The phrase "get to the point" could easily be translated into "tell me a list of what you want to communicate."  That can get simplified to a single item if we are really in a hurry. Communicating Progress and Status – Consulting Tips Well-Defined Limits One of the most significant benefits of using a list to convey is that it provides us guide rails.  This concept should feel familiar as many writing classes in school start with an outline.  Even the most basic structure of a paragraph was almost a list.  I was taught that a "good" paragraph had a point, three supporting sentences, and a close.  That sounds a lot like a list to me with an intro and an end.  When you list out key points, then those provide you the focus for the entire article.  You can effectively build down out of each list item to a more fleshed out description of it. Lists are attractive to us for many reasons.  Not all of them are nefarious in nature.  Do not worry about using lists to communicate to your audience; they happen to be a highly efficient method of doing so. An Academic Article on Using an Outline

The worst thing that can happen to your career is burnout.  This situation can do lasting damage to your reputation as well as eat away at years of progress.  Therefore, any steps you take to avoid burnout are worthwhile.  Likewise, the situation is one that makes even desperate attempts at avoiding it worth the risk.  The suggestions we review are not complicated, can be done quickly, and often turn the tide towards burnout. Make A Change A change is always critical to avoid burnout.  The situation you are in has been too steady and consistent for too long.  That is at least part of what led to burnout.  Thus, we need to make a change.  The course we have been on needs to be adjusted in some way before we go off a cliff.  The way to change is going to vary from person to person.  You might even be able to make an adjustment in an unrelated area of your life that steers you away from burning out. Making a Change to Stir the Pot Adjust Your Schedule Mixing up how you do the things you do can be that necessary change.  Sometimes the rut we are in is just a matter of doing the same thing at the same time.  Maybe you are tired of starting or ending your day with the same task.  Sometimes our habits and routines become a little too automatic and lack thought.  Think about daily or weekly tasks like working out, catching up on the news, or even eating.  All of these things can be wholly mindless and joyless.  Maybe you need to get back to enjoying some of these everyday tasks to avoid burnout. Burnout and How To Avoid It While Staying Productive Adopt a New Goal Or Hobby A more significant change we can make is to adopt a new goal or hobby.  This step may include things like a job or career change.  However, you often will be able to stop short of such drastic action in making a noticeable change.  The general attitude around this option is similar to the idea of a New Year's Resolution.  There are times in our lives that are best-suited to a change.  Funny enough, avoiding going over a cliff of burnout is one such time.  This situation is perfect for doing that thing you always thought about whether learning a skill, enjoying new recreation avenues, or knocking something off of your bucket list. Hobby Ideas For Those Bad At Hobbies

Discover three vital software design patterns that every developer should know. The Model-View-Controller (MVC) pattern serves as a robust architecture for modern web applications, perfect for crafting minimally viable products. Unravel the mystery of the Singleton pattern, which helps manage class instances and optimize memory usage. These patterns are not just theoretical; they play significant roles in real-world applications, enhancing your programming skills and enhancing software design.