Programming · by Maksym Bondar · 2026-09-14
A gentle rant about tools and expectations before coffee
This is probably obvious to veterans here, but it clicked for me only recently. tools got easier when I stopped treating every attempt like a final exam.
Part of me wanted the fancy version with all the tools. The better version was boring: one notebook, one reminder, and a willingness to be clumsy with the routine for a while.
57 sparks · 22 comments
Comments
Jiho Lee · 23 likes
That last line is excellent. I would love to see a follow-up after 3 weeks.
Tomás Gómez · 7 likes
Do you think this would work in a smaller place than Mexico City? That is where the boring checklist helps. I would love to see the benchmark numbers.
Isha Menon · 6 likes
This made me smile more than expected. I keep a note about java for exactly this reason.
Kabir Khan · 1 likes
Good clarification — I read it differently at first.
Chinedu Adeyemi · 4 likes
This sounds sensible, though I would need to test it myself. The winter version is even more interesting.
Sara Ahmed · 3 likes
This is useful for some cases, but terrible advice if the stakes are high. I keep a note about tools for exactly this reason.
Felix Weber · 1 likes
Totally agree, especially for beginners.
Maya Putri · 2 likes
Really good advice, and it feels doable.
Luca Bianchi · 1 likes
I was going to disagree, but your second sentence got me.
Jasmine Cruz · 2 likes
Not wrong, but I think this underestimates how different people's constraints are. This pairs weirdly well with mango sticky rice.
Laura Gómez · 2 likes
The tools angle is what sold me. My only addition is to make the first step visible. This is exactly the kind of tradeoff teams argue about for weeks.
Mango Mango · 1 likes
This is the kind of useful internet I still show up for. My friend tried it in Lagos and had the opposite result.
Ngozi Bello · 1 likes
I am saving this for the next time I overthink rant. The first week version is even more interesting. Naming things remains undefeated as the hardest problem.
Oussama Alaoui · 0 likes
Honestly, great taste. This is more useful on a tired commute than on a perfect day. The boring solution is probably the reliable one here.