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    Swizec's articles in the "productivity" category

    I aim to write mindblowing emails with real insight into the career and skills of a modern software engineer. "Raw and honest from the heart!" as one reader described them.

    Below are 21 articles filed under productivity. Enjoy โค๏ธ

    You can side-step a yak, they don't all need to be shaved

    When yaks aren't procrastination, they might be tunnel vision. You're so focused on the right solution, you miss the good enough solution

    Better is good

    A small improvement that lands is better than a large improvement stuck in review

    Scaling Fast, my talk on lessons from tech startups

    This talk from C3Fest summarizes the key lessons I've learned in the past ~15 years of working in tech startups. It's a high level overview of a new book I'm writing (60% done).

    The dangers of spurious automation and how to automate anything

    Discover the potential pitfalls of spurious automation and learn a foolproof three-step process to automate any task effectively. Don't miss out on understanding when automation is truly beneficial and when it can become a hindrance.

    Outputs are not outcomes

    Doing the work is not the same as getting things done

    Be action oriented

    Unearth the surprising connection between the CIA's Simple Sabotage Manual and your productivity, and learn how to transform tiny actions into big wins. Dive into Swizec's engaging exploration of how small actions can make a huge impact on your progress.

    Software engineers, exercise, health, and productivity

    Don't worry about the hype, just get some sun, some rest, and remember to hydrate.

    Done means Shipped

    Don't overthink, just ship

    Squash merge? Really!?

    Learn why squash merging is your friend - from hating it to loving it! Squash merging helps you keep moving and focus on the work instead of recording the work.

    Why trunk-based development is best

    Merging finished work straight to main and deploying to production right away, scales to teams of thousands. This approach is counterintuitive to many engineers who may be used to working on their own

    Scaling teams is a technical challenge

    A founder friend asked me about growing pains on his team. How do you avoid stepping on each other's toes?

    The art of the cowboy merge ๐Ÿค 

    how do you catch a critical deadline that cannot be missed? We're talking external stakeholders, millions on the line, and it all hinges on *your* team getting it done on time. No overtime

    Reader Question: What do collaborative teams look like?

    New members on our team invariably say 2 things: 1. Wow I've never seen a team move this fast 2. This approach feels weird. I'm uncomfortable Teams like this are not common.

    Reader question: So about that perfect burndown chart ...

    If your approach works so well, why isn't every team doing this?

    Reader question: Feeling guilt as a tech lead

    Keep getting the guilt, that I'm not able to code, just running around for discussions and solving other issues, managing people. Any idea to manage all the fronts and get rid of this guilt?

    A work ritual that keeps me sane

    A coworker asked me for tips on how to stay focused during the day. Here's what I said.

    How we made the best burndown chart you've ever seen

    My entire career I've never seen a sprint finished on time. The new manager said "Oh I think we can fix that" ... 18 months later he proved me wrong

    WorkInProgress kills your progress

    If it takes 6 engineers 10 days to complete 6 projects in parallel, why does it take 8 days when you work together ๐Ÿคจ

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