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
If you’re active in the Android community, you’ve probably seen the many memes and funny images illustrating how computers get brought to their metaphorical knees by trying to run Android Studio. Apparently, our favorite IDE eats RAM like M&Ms and subdues even the strongest PC set-up. Of course, these images and jokes are exaggerated, but … Read more
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
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
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
What do Facebook, video games and slot machines have in common? If you don’t watch out, they can easily get you addicted and occupy you for hours on end every day. Sure, Facebook is a useful service, but why do so many people completely lose control over their usage and almost impulsively need to check … Read more
“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
Learning programming is not easy – I think we can all agree on that. But with enough effort and perseverance – and a lot of patience – we can slowly but steadily get good at it. It’s just a matter of time. However, you have to make sure that your approach to learning is right, … 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
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