Most of my code now starts as something a model wrote. My job is reading it, checking it and fixing it. Those skills don't build themselves — so I practise them on purpose.
- Read code fast Good readers see shapes, not characters: a guard clause, a retry loop, a lookup map.
Drill: type out real, idiomatic code in your language. Typing makes you see every character once.
- Spot wrong code Generated code compiles and looks right. When it's wrong, it's wrong in the logic.
Drill: write small functions from memory — debounce, binary search — then compare with a correct version.
- Edit without friction The work is hundreds of tiny edits a day. Friction is mostly mechanical.
Drill: learn editor shortcuts until they're reflex, and practise typing brackets and operators specifically.
- Learn syntax (beginners) You can get working code without ever learning syntax. Then you can't judge the code you get.
Drill: retype short, correct snippets for a few minutes a day.
- Ask precisely Prompting well is writing a clear ticket.
Drill: write one sentence saying what "done" looks like before you ask.
I built Typre for drills 1, 3 and 4: 2,590 real snippets in 14 languages, VS Code and Vim shortcut drills, and chess you play by typing code. Free, no account.
What are you practising on purpose these days?
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