5 Productivity “Hacks” That Actually Work

To be honest, I don’t like the term “life hack” very much because too often it just stands for “tips that are common sense”, like “do sports”, “eat healthy” or “put your phone away when you need to focus”. Although definitely important, these more general life guidelines are not what I understand as “hacks”. For … Read more

My Favorite Music for Programming & Concentration

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

The Best YouTube Channels to Learn Android Development in 2019

In my last blog post, I showed you how you can learn Android development from scratch and which beginner resources you can use to get started with no experience. I didn’t recommend any particular tutorial blogs or YouTube channels beyond those beginner courses, because too much material would just put you into analysis paralysis. When … Read more

How to Learn Android Development as a Complete Beginner

In Facebook groups and other communities, I see a lot of people asking how they can start learning Android development. There seems to be a lot of confusion about the “correct” way to start, which is no wonder given the vast amount of resources available. There are books, videos, blog posts and an endless number … Read more

Why You Should Practice Mindfulness Meditation as a Programmer

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

Should I Start with Java or Kotlin as an Android Beginner?

“If I want to learn Android development, should I start with Java or Kotlin?” This question comes up in different communities quite a lot and I will try to clarify it here. To answer it, I’ve looked into different articles, posts, and opinions of different developers and tried to summarize what the general consensus is. This … Read more

5 Personal Development Books You Should Read as a Programmer

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

5 Non-Technical Skills and Traits You Should Develop as a Programmer

Learning the technical stuff when trying to become a software developer is not easy, but at least it’s pretty straightforward. The tutorials are out there and you can teach yourself all the necessary programming and computer skills with books, courses and Google. But there are also non-technical skills and traits that you should actively develop … Read more

How to Learn Programming Fast with Deliberate Practice

When you first start to learn programming and spend some time in the various communities, it can feel as if you just landed on an alien planet and now try to adapt to this foreign race by learning their complicated languages, adopting their way of thinking and understanding the correct manners. Everyone is talking in … Read more