Here’s a trick that that has helped me as a programmer: before doing anything major, like killing a process, stop and count to ten.

A convention I see in Ruby tests are variable names like this:

user_a = create(:user, last_log_in: today)
user_b = create(:user, last_log_in: last_year)

Any command you type out manually, or even tab-complete a few times, can be shortened. A common shortening technique is the terminal alias. Here are some tips that help me write better aliases and cut my terminal keystrokes.

Open a production Ruby file, and you’ll often see this magic comment at the top.

# frozen_string_literal: true

Today I’d like to argue that most Ruby files do not need this comment. You aren’t going to need it.

When I create Agile bug tickets, I don’t add Agile story points. In this post, I’d like to explain this preference via two arguments: pointing bugs creates backward incentives, and bugs are surprisingly difficult to point.

“What did you do this week?” I’ve written a weekly summary for myself and my teams for years. In this post, I’ll explain how I use this tool.

Here’s a technique I’ve used on launches: instead of a big scary waterfall, or, in tandem with a phased release, let customers opt into a new feature.

I have collected a group of mentors over the years. I call on them frequently to talk through tough problems. I think I’m better at my job because of this regular, impartial outside feedback. I’d wish this for everyone! In this post, I’ll try to reverse-engineer the path I took to get here.

An engineering technique I recommend: when you sign up for any service, even on a side project that’s just getting off the ground, create an email group called dev@<your-domain.com> that forwards to you and any other technologists, and use that email to sign up.

I enjoy answering questions on Stack Overflow.com. It helps me learn about common challenges and practice reviewing code. In the beginning, it also unlocked basic site features like voting.¹

Maybe you’d like to answer questions too! In this post, I’ll explain how I answer questions on Stack Overflow.