Staying focused in a noisy environment is not easy. Our brains are finely attuned to detect even the subtlest distractions because this skill kept us alive throughout our evolutionary history. In primal times, a faint rustling sound in a bush or a strange silhouette in peripheral vision could be a venomous snake or some other … Read more
On Instagram and Twitter, I recently created polls where I asked how many of you guys meditate, and only about 30% voted positively. This number should be much higher, considering how many benefits mindfulness meditation provides, especially for people who use their brains as much as programmers. If done regularly, meditation can drastically reduce stress, frustration … Read more
I am not a big fan of learning programming through books, at least not the high-level stuff that we use in our day to day life. I think it’s a good idea to start with a book on the fundamentals if you’re just starting out, because the basic concepts don’t change very much, but after … Read more
“Everybody in this country should learn how to program a computer, because it teaches you how to think.” This famous quote by Steve Jobs has a lot of truth to it. Coding certainly improves your ability to think logically and make more rational decisions. But nowadays you could also say: “Everybody in this country world should … Read more
Motivation is a tricky topic. There were some things in my life for which I had strong burning desire in the beginning, but after a couple of weeks my motivation completely plummeted and often I even ended up hating this particular task, hobby or project. This can easily happen when you invest a lot of time … Read more
I’m kind of a productivity nerd. I really love reading articles, books and blog posts about tips and techniques that help me get more done, beat procrastination and improve efficiency and motivation. And while there are lots of different approaches and not everything works for everyone, one common theme is always present: The importance of … Read more
The Pomodoro Technique became pretty popular in the productivity area and it is a great tool to beat procrastination and get work done. For anyone who doesn’t know what the Pomodoro Technique is: It is a time management strategy where you work in 25 minute sprints followed by a short 5 minute break. After 4 … Read more