The Holistic Developer

The Holistic Developer

By David Michael RossBusinessCareers
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The Holistic Developer episodes

  • Episode 13: Meditation

    I just finished a wonderful meditation session and I want to share my joy with all of you. You know what happened? You won't believe it. You ready? Here's what happened: nothing.

     

    And it was wonderful.

    GUIDES

    20 Practical Tips for Understanding the Mind

    Buddhism for Busy People (chapter 3)

     

    APPS

    Headspace

    Buddhify

    Omvana

    Calm (Android)

    Calm (iOS)

     

    MUSIC/SOUNDS

    Drone Zone

    Deep Space One

    Ambient Sleeping Pill

    Sound Sleeping

    Calm

     

    AND IF YOU JUST NEED A POWER NAP

    Sleep Cycle Power Nap (iOS)

    Sleep as Android (Android)

    8 min
  • Episode 12: Tech Culture and Corporate Culture
    Culture is a scary word. It's only seven letters long, but it defines so much, the overarching values and artistic endeavors of a society down to the shared beliefs of just a handful of people. Leadership gurus preach the positive impact of a strong corporate culture, and employers reject candidates for having a bad "culture fit".
    When I was younger, I bought into the idea of programmer culture hard. Specifically, the hacker culture of the mid 1990s. It was all a bunch of social signaling and ego stroking. And I didn't get a lot of lasting value out of that effort.
    Don't just accept the culture you're given. If you're a leader in your organization, use your position to foster a healthy, positive culture among your employees.
    7 min
  • Episode 11: Estimating

    We're so used to thinking about an estimate as a number, or a range of numbers, how many hours or days or weeks we think it'll take to do something, how many people we'll need to get it done in a certain amount of time.

     

    It's an artifact, a deliverable.

    The estimation process itself is important,too. A good estimate doesn't only communicate how long a task will take but the plan for getting the work done in the allotted time. There are other people who benefit from our estimates, such as project managers.

    It may be frustrating to be asked for an estimate when you just want to roll up your sleeves and code, but it puts the entire project on a path toward success.

     

    6 min
  • Episode 10: What are your values?
    There's a quote, usually attributed to J.C. Watts but sometimes to C.S. Lewis because that's how it goes with quotes. Someone who may or may not have gone by their first & middle initials once said that "Character is doing the right thing when nobody's looking." When nobody is looking over your shoulder, judging you, then everything you do reflects on your values, what you truly value, what matters most to you.
    I want you all to take stock of your values.
     
    This week, I recommend some other podcasts on personal growth for developers:
    1. Developer Tea
  • Managing Smartly
  • Soft Skills Engineering
    • 5 min
  • Episode 9: Learn the Fundamentals
    Are we pushing new developers into programming languages too fast instead of teaching the fundamentals? Sure, we all loved the first time we saw our computer print"hello world", and we're eager to share that experience. But when I see people asking how they can pass a variable from JavaScript code to PHP, I wonder if we aren't doing people as much of a favor as we think we are.
    You veteran developers out there -- you're not off the hook. Now's the time to figure out how your tools are built, how the fundamentals themselves are composed from other fundamentals.
    Unsolicited plug: Microsoft's WordFlow keyboard
    5 min
  • Episode 8: Get Some Sleep Already
    Programmerculture has a weird relationship with sleep.Sleep deficiency hasbeen linked to heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, stroke, depression, andobesity. And all those conditions bring their own comorbid effects with them.It also kills our productivity and makes it harder to make good decisions.
    Check out Drone Zone from Soma FM, a free, streaming ambient music station. Send them a donation if you appreciate what they do and check out the cool Soma FM swag they offer.
    5 min
  • Episode 7: Rituals
    Nobody likes when their boss throws more overhead at them. What I do like are rituals, things teams do together to mark project milestones. Even as individual developers, we have rituals. Isit logical? Heck no. Will it make your code better? I doubt it. But ritualsbreak the monotony of our days, and bring us closer to the people we work with.
    4 min
  • Episode 6: Fashion!
    Let's
    talk about one of my guilty pleasures. Let's think about something you don't
    hear about much in programming circles. Let's talk fashion.
    6 min
  • Episode 4: Stereotypes and Pigeonholes
    Some people love to pigeonhole programmers based on the technologies they use today. What's worse is when we willingly do that to ourselves. We need to push our own boundaries and resist the urge to do the same to others.
    5 min

About The Holistic Developer

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Career development, tools, techniques, clever hacks and life hacks for web developers. Bite-sized advice for busy engineers.