DEV Community: Laurence Cruz

As a software engineer, I should probably write things down. So I built a thing.

Laurence Cruz — Sun, 12 Apr 2020 15:23:23 +0000

I like writing code but I also like to write.

I read this article on how software engineers should write about 5 years ago and it still resonates. It's a quick read so please have a look when you get the chance.

As a full-time software engineer, taking notes and simply writing about what happened during my day has served beneficial. At the end of each work day, my team is asked to submit a daily "stand-up" / summary of our day via e-mail.

So how can I mix writing code with writing?

My teammate at work showed me a bash script that he wrote that automatically made a notes "template" in markdown I was inspired to make something like that for myself. So as a result, I wanted to write one in nodeJS.

...Voila!

The tool is called dev-note and you can check it out here.

How it works (I mean...at least for me)

Once you've installed it on your machine, you should have access to the dev-note executable. In whatever current working directory you're in, it will automatically create a /notes directory along with a Markdown file that is date stamped.

> dev-note
Looks like this is your first time running dev-journal this month
We made a "notes" directory for your notes. Happy writing!
./notes/apr/2020-04-12.md successfully created!

Example

You can look at the example note that I made. It follows a similar template that we use at work:

Notes 2020-04-12

========================

Today

I made this example note for this repository so I can show it on my dev.to blog
Had a good chat about async / await with a co-worker
I attended this meeting about something I'm interested in so I think I'll keep going

Tomorrow

Finish refactoring some code
Call my mom

It's only fitting that during these odd times of self-isolation / distancing, writing has served to be therapeutic.

Even if nobody reads your essay, writing it will make an impact on you. It will clarify your opinion on a topic and strengthen– or even weaken– your beliefs. The process alone of putting jumbled thoughts into concrete words is valuable.

Happy writing.

For those WFH due to COVID-19 and not feeling organized.

Laurence Cruz — Mon, 23 Mar 2020 23:59:49 +0000

tldr;

No one should know the right answers now. These are very odd and confusing times. Cherish little victories right now - even if that means making a simple schedule.

If you've recently started WFH, build out a schedule. Somewhere. Google Calendar. Your computer's built-in calendar. Post-it notes. Doesn't matter.

This post was inspired by a teammate of mine at Squarespace. We were having a virtual call with the whole team and going around giving our standup updates. She had posed the following question as Squarespace has recently required employees to work remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic:

How do you all organize your day? I don't find myself reviewing pull requests as much as I did when I was in the office and I just think it's because I don't feel organized because of working from home...

My team lead put it best:

We're all in this together. There's no need to feel like you need to be optimal at any of the tasks you're doing right now. We're all trying to figure it out.

It's true. There's a lot of things going on right now that need priority and are a lot bigger than websites. That's the reality.

That being said, we still need a way to find a sense of solace when we feel confined to our home. So, feeling good for me means organization.

Organization means...a schedule?

Below a WIP schedule that I have on a weekly basis with this new WFH routine:

Breakdown

8AM - 10AM
Coffee / Workout / Breakfast

Need caffeine to work out. Need food after workout.

I'm currently doing this bodyweight workout routine and am enjoying it a lot.

Make sure your breakfast includes protein + fruits / vegetables.

10AM-11AM
Email / Slack / Notes

Go over notes from yesterday and catch up on email. Also look at any notable slack conversations. Pretty straightforward.

11AM-1PM
Focused Work

"Focused" in this sense typically means I have headphones on and am deeply into writing code / working on a task (which probably means writing code). Slack might be turned off / muted for me. I work with the goal / intent of having something to demo or put up in a pull request for code review.

1PM-2PM
Lunch

Nom nom nom.

2PM-4PM
Pair Programming or Focused Work Continued.

This is a window of time where I make myself available for video calls and pair programming. If no one is available for a call, I'll continue on with focused work.

4PM-5PM
Coffee + Code Review

Make another cup. Review some code that my team and other engineers wrote.

5PM-6PM
EOD / Notes

Collect any notes and email them to the team.

Call it a day.

Like I said, this is still a WIP. I'm still adjusting it but this so far has worked. Feel free to share how you're scheduling out your time with this new reality.

Be good. Wash your hands.

Hello, World!

Laurence Cruz — Thu, 12 Mar 2020 14:36:27 +0000

(had to do it)