“To write a great book, you must first become the book.”  - Atomic Habits

I could and probably will write an entire article (or 10) on how I approach SEO research, but for the purpose of this article, I’ll just share that I use these tools: Ahrefs, Keyword Planner, and Keywords Everywhere.

Conversations, books and articles, personal experiences, and random Google searches

What is something that I can uniquely contribute?

I set an open invitation to my brain to take note of anything interesting. More specifically, I look for anything within the intersection of: (1) interesting, (2) doesn’t exist online in that exact form, and (3) something I can contribute uniquely to

In my opinion, writing should never be something that you do just to check off of your to-do list. At its core, writing is a mechanism to try to deliver value to others. And over time, I’ve defined that as my core goal.

There’s a great tool called Draftback, which essentially lets you “go back in time to look over your own shoulder as you write”

Writing Process Steps:Ideation: PassiveTracking: ActiveOutline - ActiveIdea Arbitrage - PassiveResearch - ActiveWriting - Active

Practice makes any seemingly impossible task familiar

LINQ (a querying syntax in C# and VB.NET) uses the order FROM ... WHERE ... SELECT

Database engines in practice don’t actually run queries by joining, and then filtering, and then grouping, because they implement a bunch of optimizations reorder things to make the query run faster as long as reordering things won’t change the results of the query

SELECT isn’t the first thing, it’s like the 5th thing!

The vertical bar on the letter T represents the depth of related skills and expertise in a single field, whereas the horizontal bar is the ability to collaborate across disciplines with experts in other areas and to apply knowledge in areas of expertise other than one's own.

To address the availability concern, new architectures were developed to minimize the impact of partitions. For instance, splitting data sets into smaller ranges called shards can minimize the amount of data that is unavailable during partitions. Furthermore, mechanisms to automatically alter the roles of various cluster members based on network conditions allow them to regain availability quickly

typically less flexible and generalized than their more conventional relational counterparts. They also usually only offer a subset of full SQL and relational features, which means that they might not be able to handle certain kinds of usage. Many NewSQL implementations also store a large part of or their entire dataset in the computer's main memory. This improves performance at the cost of greater risk to unpersisted changes

using a mixture of different database types is the best approach for handling the data of your projects

best suited for use cases with high volumes of relational data in distributed, cloud-like environments

CAP theorem is a statement about the trade offs that distributed databases must make between availability and consistency. It asserts that in the event of a network partition, a distributed database can choose either to remain available or remain consistent, but it cannot do both. Cluster members in a partitioned network can continue operating, leading to at least temporary inconsistency. Alternatively, at least some of the disconnected members must refuse to alter their data during the partition to ensure data consistency

NewSQL databases: bringing modern scalability and performance to the traditional relational pattern

aggregate queries like summing, averaging, and other analytics-oriented processes can be difficult or impossible

Column-family databases are good when working with applications that requires great performance for row-based operations and highly scalability

it helps to think of column family databases as key-value databases where each key (row identifier) returns a dictionary of arbitrary attributes and their values (the column names and their values)

Column-family databases: databases with flexible columns to bridge the gap between relational and document databases

querying for the connection between two users of a social media site in a relational database is likely to require multiple table joins and therefore be rather resource intensive. This same query would be straightforward in a graph database that directly maps connections

Graph databases are most useful when working with data where the relationships or connections are highly important

network databases require step-by-step traversal to travel between items and are limited in the types of relationships they can represent.

Graph databases: mapping relationships by focusing on how connections between data are meaningful

Document databases: Storing all of an item's data in flexible, self-describing structures

Document databases are a good choice for rapid development because you can change the properties of the data you want to save at any point without altering existing structures or data. You only need to backfill records if you want to. Each document within the database stands on its own with its own system of organization. If you're still figuring out your data structure and your data is mainly composed discrete entries that don't include a lot of cross references, a document database might be a good place to start. Be careful, however, as the extra flexibility means that you are responsible for maintaining the consistency and structure of your data, which can be extremely challenging

Though the data within documents is organized within a structure, document databases do not prescribe any specific format or schema

Key-value stores are often used to store configuration data, state information, and any data that might be represented by a dictionary or hash in a programming language. Key-value stores provide fast, low-complexity access to this type of data

Key-value databases: simple, dictionary-style lookups for basic storage and retrieval

NoSQL databases: modern alternatives for data that doesn't fit the relational paradigm

relational databases are often a good fit for any data that is regular, predictable, and benefits from the ability to flexibly compose information in various formats. Because relational databases work off of a schema, it can be more challenging to alter the structure of data after it is in the system. However, the schema also helps enforce the integrity of the data, making sure values match the expected formats, and that required information is included. Overall, relational databases are a solid choice for many applications because applications often generate well-ordered, structured data

querying language called SQL, or structured query language, was created to access and manipulate data stored with that format

Relational databases: working with tables as a standard solution to organize well-structured data

database schema is a description of the logical structure of a database or the elements it contains. Schemas often include declarations for the structure of individual entries, groups of entries, and the individual attributes that database entries are comprised of. These may also define data types and additional constraints to control the type of data that may be added to the structure

Network databases: mapping more flexible connections with non-hierarchical links

Hierarchical databases: using parent-child relationships to map data into trees

Hierarchical databases are not used much today due to their limited ability to organize most data and because of the overhead of accessing data by traversing the hierarchy

The first flat file databases represented information in regular, machine parse-able structures within files. Data is stored in plain text, which limits the type of content that can be represented within the database itself. Sometimes, a special character or other indicator is chosen to use as a delimiter, or marker for when one field ends and the next begins. For example, a comma is used in CSV (comma-separated values) files, while colons or white-space are used in many data files in Unix-like systems

Some advantages of this format

While flat file databases are simple, they are very limited in the level of complexity they can handle

One of the earliest interactions with a customer is to signal a lack of trust. The bartender is suggesting the customer will leave without paying.

I think many business owners do not consider the subconscious effects on how they manage their business

In another example, there is a plaza near where I work that has a number of eating options but my preferred is a sandwich place at the far end of the building. When I pull in I often look for parking in front, if there is not I might need to go to the opposite end of the plaza to find parking. While walking to the sandwich shop I pass by 3 other places to eat. I almost never make it to the sandwich shop. I always convince myself to try something different before getting to the front door of my go-to lunch spot

the experience his customers have while visiting him was very important to him and it started when they pulled into the parking lot. In his view, they should have front row parking

"Secrecy is the first law of Magic" - from Julia Cameron's Artist's Way.Talking about your project seems to spread your energy in every direction other than towards completion.

Four different tests of 63 people found that those who kept their intentions private were more likely to achieve them

W. Mahler found that if a person announced the solution to a problem, and was acknowledged by others, it was now in the brain as a “social reality”, even if the solution hadn’t actually been achieved

Announcing your plans to others satisfies your self-identity just enough that you’re less motivated to do the hard work needed

Pretty much the same things as the engineering blog, but make sure to skim through the “Issues” section to see if you can find anything else interesting.

What projects/products have they developed recently? And more importantly, what led them to build these things? What business challenges or goals drove the project? What technical challenges drove it?

The list of product(s). Is there anything similar you’ve worked on that you can show you understand the business problems and domain? Anything similar you’ve worked on where you helped make UX and/or feature decisions (where you stepped outside your developer-world bubble?). Anything similar that you had to develop a unique technical solution for? You want to show you can understand the business/product side of things and translate that into technical solutions. List of customers (company’s love to list customer logos!). While on the surface this might not seem that helpful, it can actually provide helpful information. Is there a particular type of customer they have that you have developed solutions for before? (i.e. – government, insurance, etc). Any specific customer you have built products for before? News section. Companies will often talk about new customers, recent acquisitions, and new product developments here. This will give you a sense of where the company is headed and is really useful to bring up in interviews as it shows you have an understanding of the current state of the company.

Things to look for are: What are recent things they’ve worked on or tools they’ve built? What are things they’re working on now? Projects/products/etc What projects/products do they mention that you would be working on? Do they mention any specific technologies you have experience with (not Node/React etc, but for example, performance testing tools -> this suggest they have a lot of traffic and they need to profile their services, something that you would be a good fit for if you have this experience) Anything they explicitly mention they need help with? Sometimes job posting will say things like “We just had a huge increase in users and need to hire another developer to help us re-architect some of our core services”.

At a very high level, it is:

The job search process is a sales process – one in which you are selling your skills and experience

Anki seems more common among software engineers

Engineers are creatures of habit. Make reviewing your flashcard app your first work task (or the train, the toilet right before Candy Crush). Stop StackOverflowing "how do i amend my git commit" five times every month.

Outside of medical students and language learning apps like Duolingo, spaced repetition isn't common. It's not as cool as cramming, but it works. Medical students use it to memorize those awful thousand page textbooks. Duolingo uses it because it's effective

But Why Option 3?

Spaced repetition is a remembering technique that will remind you concepts at spaced intervals to maximize memory retention efficiently

in SM, learning and remembering are blended into one: you read (learn) and review (remember) at the same time. Incremental Reading is essentially “spaced repetition-ing” your reading

Learning = reading and understanding new things Remembering = memorizing what you learned

75 countries already using the technology

However, if you believe that you are indistractable, you empower yourself to respond more healthily to whatever distractions get in your way

identity pact is another way to change your response to distractions. Your self-image has a profound impact on your behavior

price pact puts money on the line. If you stick to your intended behavior, you keep the cash. If you get distracted, you forfeit your funds

effort pact is a kind of precommitment that involves increasing the amount of effort required to do something you don’t want to do

you can take back your smartphone in four steps

The right approach is to ask whether the external trigger is serving you, or whether you are serving it

research shows that ignoring a call or message can be just as distracting as responding to one

After all, the most important people in your life deserve better than the leftover time in your day

Go ahead and scroll through social media, but at allotted times

Turn your values into time

Don’t pick your goals, pick your values

“leaves on a stream” method. Imagine yourself beside a stream, on which leaves gently float by. Place each thought and negative feeling in your mind on one leaf and watch them float away

You can’t control how you feel, but you can learn to control how you react to the way you feel.To start, you can change how you think about the bad feelings that can lead to distraction.

The truth is, we overuse video games, social media, and our cell phones not just for the pleasure they provide, but because they free us from psychological discomfort

The opposite of “distraction” is “traction.” Traction is any action that moves us towards what we really want. Tractions are actions, done with intent.

distractions aren’t necessarily your fault, they are your responsibility

People who frequently consume artificially sweetened drinks biologically look 5-10 years older compared to those who don’t

3 lessons in branding

16 MOOCs offered by the University of Pennsylvania through a company called Coursera. They found that completion rates averaged at around 4 percent.

The UT System invested $5 million in edX and committed to spending another $5 million on course development. It was in good company; Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology had each ponied up $30 million to launch the service. Rice University, Texas’ elite private institution, also partnered with edX.

Some of the best and most affordable premium laptops on the market are now shipping with Linux pre-installed. More specifically they’re shipping with Deepin

Segway was $5,000 at launch in 2001, which is a whopping $7,248 in inflation adjusted dollars. Here in 2019, cheap $200 to $300 electric scooters are basically the transformational technology the Segway was supposed to be, aren't they

Did I mention there's a bluetooth connection, and an app, and it is possible to hack the M365 firmware?

There are some challenges with electric scooters, starting with the biggest one: your local government has no idea how to regulate the darn things.

46% of Uber's rides are under 3 miles

What killed the electric scooter back then is the same thing that killed the electric car of year 2000: terrible lead-acid battery technology

it's not that there are new vulnerabilities that have been identified in the implicit flow, just that PKCE offers a more secure alternative that you should use if you have the option

PKCE (which stands for "Proof Key for Code Exchange" and is pronounced "pixie") was originally developed to solve a problem specific to native mobile apps using OAuth 2.0

While this has worked and continues to work for a wide range of web applications, security experts had (and continue to have) concerns that it leaves open some potential attack vectors

click a button that says "Sign in with GitHub." I am then sent to GitHub to sign in and, if this is my first time, grant permissions

If eating more realistic fake meat was about health, the offerings would be far lower in salt content, contain fewer calories and have a bit less dietary fat. None of them do, because the point was never to live up to the marketing of healthier eating. It was to simply act as a smooth replacement for the meat we worried about eating in our day-to-day lives

Most of us don't truly understand how to feed ourselves in a way that doesn’t leave us susceptible to life-threatening illnesses

excessive amount of salt in one's diet has been linked in several different ways to heart disease

Heart disease and cases of type 2 diabetes are on the rise, no matter where you look, and research has suggested that cutting red meat and processed meats (like bologna and other deli meats) might help people facing these conditions

In fact, when you start to compare all of these offerings to their meat-based counterparts, you realize it’s the same story no matter what brands you’re talking about — you might possibly save a few calories or carbs, but you'll probably get way more salt.

By nine to ten years of age, children’s sensitivity to the distinction between sarcasm and verbal irony highlights their impressive understanding of how people’s feelings are affected by others’ speech

these signs will help you prevent burnout before it starts – or work to fix it if you need a way out.

People who feel burned out at work find their home life is more likely to suffer too. This may be because when jobs get more demanding, people put more time and resources into them, often at the expense of their private lives.

57% reported feeling like they need to check in with work – even when they are on vacation

these symptoms suggest that you may be more than stressed:

when the feeling of being completely overwhelmed at work persists, it can spiral into burnout – a growing epidemic with serious consequences for your health and your career.

XMATCH which has a similar signature to XLOOKUP but returns the index of the matching item. XMATCH is both easier to use and more capable than its predecessor MATCH.   XMATCH(lookup_value,lookup_array,[match_mode],[search_mode])

While VLOOKUP was widely used, it has several well-known limitations which XLOOKUP overcomes: 

XLOOKUP(lookup_value,lookup_array,return_array)   lookup_value: What you are looking for lookup_array: Where to find it return_array: What to return

you don’t have to learn alone. In fact, it is the uniqueness of the people with which you learn and the discussions you have together that make what you learn unforgettable

being able to communicate what you’ve learned is one of the main skills that differentiates a good developer from a great one (IMHO).

When facing procrastination, think of process over product. I often procrastinate when I’m overwhelmed by the thought, “Ok, I have to get X done”. Instead, it can be beneficial to think, “Ok, I will spend an hour on X” — which isn’t overwhelming, doesn’t require a long breakdown of tasks, and gets me started (90% of the battle)

Know when to apply a particular concept is as important as knowing how.

Spread it out over many sessions and over many different modes of learning.

test yourself as you’re encountering new material. Recall is a simple example of this mini-testing.

taking a couple minutes to summarize or recall material you are trying to learn

Recently, I found this great application called Highly (you should use this!). They make it really simple to highlight any article that I’m reading on the web using a Chrome extension.

Highlighting or underlining are also techniques that often lead to this illusion of learning. On the other hand, brief notes that summarize keys concepts are much more effective.

First, survey and priming — this involves scanning a book or the syllabus of a course, for example, to get a general idea of the bigger picture. Second, observe an example. Then, do it yourself. And, finally, do it again and again in different contexts.

take breaks, meditate, think about other things, and give yourself plenty of time in both modes.