Hacker News with Generative AI: Personal Development

No matter what you do, always leave a breadcrumb (garrit.xyz)
This applies to work tasks just as much as it applies to hobbies. No matter what you do, always create some sort of breadcrumb that you or someone else can pick up down the line.

Productivity, Life Advice, Work, Personal Development

10 points by garritfra 3 days ago | 0 comments

Just Say No – Jeff Geerling (jeffgeerling.com)
Saying yes is easy—at first.

Productivity, Personal Development, Decision Making

8 points by Handy-Man 11 days ago | 0 comments

How to live an intellectually rich life (utsavmamoria.substack.com)
Go to the main page of Wikipedia.

Life, Personal Development, Intellectual Growth, Knowledge

592 points by TheLadyParadox 21 days ago | 323 comments

I just want to code (2023) (zachbellay.com)
I have an angel and a devil sitting atop each shoulder. The angel says, "Just code for fun! What you make can be just for your enjoyment and that's --" the devil interjects, "not enough to get ahead, loser. If you're not coding your next startup then how're you gunna get rich? Coding for fun? Pfft, sounds like the fast lane to being poor."

Coding, Motivation, Software Development, Personal Development

288 points by SCUSKU 26 days ago | 172 comments

Ask HN: What Is a Skill You're Glad You Learnt Outside of Work? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: What Is a Skill You're Glad You Learnt Outside of Work?

Life Skills, Personal Development, Hobbies, Skill Acquisition, Community

15 points by schappim 27 days ago | 18 comments

Things I learned about software and startups by playing video games (ghost.io)
In 2005, Steve Jobs told the graduating class of Stanford a now-famous story about connecting the dots - a story about the calligraphy courses he took in his college years, which later influenced the industry-leading digital fonts that shipped with the Macintosh.

Software, Startups, Video Games, Personal Development

28 points by mprast 28 days ago | 7 comments

Ask HN: I feel pessimistic about the future – advice? (ycombinator.com)
I’m having a hard time moving with the new pace and developments in the world.

Ask HN, Future, Technology, Personal Development, Advice

43 points by hnuu3 36 days ago | 33 comments

I Cannot Be Technical (fightforthehuman.com)
With some regularity, kind-hearted Technical people tell me that I Can Be Technical, Too.

Technology, Personal Development, Communication

72 points by mooreds 36 days ago | 94 comments

Ask HN: What 3 Books Would You Recommend to Anyone? (ycombinator.com)
If you had to recommend just three books to anyone — regardless of their age, background, education level, financial situation, or life circumstances — what would they be?

Books, Recommendations, Reading, Personal Development, Humanities

12 points by systemkwiat 39 days ago | 11 comments

Strengths Are Your Weaknesses (terriblesoftware.org)
“People are package deals; you take the good with the confused. In most cases, strengths and weaknesses are two sides of the same coin.” — Steve Jobs

Strengths, Weaknesses, Personal Development, Productivity, Software Development

346 points by kiyanwang 42 days ago | 110 comments

Don't try to take care of the world (mleverything.substack.com)
In a recent post by Paul Graham, he ponders the question of “what to do”. It’s a question that has plagued most ambitious people, especially early on in their life where they have energy without much direction.

Life Advice, Personal Development, Motivation

4 points by bko 46 days ago | 0 comments

The blissful Zen of a good side project (joshcollinsworth.com)
Yesterday, like just about every other evening, my wife and I put our kid to bed, and sat down on the couch together. But for the first time in months, I picked up my laptop instead of my Switch.

Side Projects, Productivity, Personal Development

567 points by ingve 49 days ago | 136 comments

Ask HN: What's the Most Effective Habit You've Adopted? (ycombinator.com)
Ask HN: What's the Most Effective Habit You've Adopted?

Productivity, Habits, Self-Improvement, Community, Personal Development

12 points by schappim 50 days ago | 5 comments

High Agency in 30 Minutes (highagency.com)
Warning: This is not doom scrolling. It’s an idea so simple yet effective it may change how you view reality.

Productivity, Personal Development, Self-Help

4 points by DeusExMachina 53 days ago | 0 comments

Fuckarounditis (2011) (leangains.com)
Dear readers, it is with troublesome news I break my three months of silence.

Health, Personal Development, Lifestyle

25 points by fzliu 60 days ago | 28 comments

Books on Making and Maintaining Friendships (scotthyoung.com)
As I write this, I’m wrapping up the sixth month of my year-long Foundations project. This month’s focus is outreach—making and maintaining friendships. In this post, I’ll share lessons from the eight books I read on this topic. Next week, I’ll share my personal reflections on this month’s work.

Friendship, Self-Help, Books, Personal Development

77 points by sundarurfriend 61 days ago | 36 comments

The Software Engineering Identity Crisis (annievella.com)
Many of us became software engineers because we found our identity in building things. Not managing things. Not overseeing things. Building things. With our own hands, our own minds, our own code.

Software Engineering, Identity, Career, Personal Development

143 points by napolux 61 days ago | 159 comments

Avoiding the Automation of Your Heart (gurwinder.blog)
In an age of automation, how do we maintain our agency?

Automation, Human Agency, Personal Development, Technology

3 points by paulpauper 68 days ago | 1 comments

Knowledge Base as an Across-Time Thinking Tool (wielopolski.substack.com)
A Personal Knowledge Base is an ideal tool for Across-Time Thinking.

Knowledge Management, Productivity, Personal Development

4 points by pfilo 69 days ago | 0 comments

A Committed Year (ramijames.com)
Not diving as deep as I could into software development was something that I've always regretted, and a year ago today, I decided that I wanted to do something about it.

Software Development, Career Change, Personal Development

18 points by ramijames 75 days ago | 7 comments

Math Academy pulled me out of the Valley of Despair (bearblog.dev)
When it comes to learning a new skill such as how to drive a car, playing a sport, or an academic discipline, there is a unique relationship between a person’s confidence and their level of competence at different points of the journey.

Learning, Education, Personal Development, Math

230 points by gmays 81 days ago | 156 comments

Show HN: I built a 1:1 coaching service to reduce my screen time (zabit.com)
A personal coach to cut down on screen time

Productivity, Personal Development, Health, Technology

11 points by roddylindsay 84 days ago | 2 comments

Show HN: I made a website where you can create your own "Life in Weeks" timeline (lifeweeks.app)
"Sometimes life seems really short, and other times it seems impossibly long. But this chart helps to emphasize that it’s most certainly finite. Those are your weeks and they’re all you’ve got."

Life Hacks, Visualization, Web Development, Personal Development

247 points by czue 86 days ago | 68 comments

Knitting Your Parachute (macsparky.com)
At a recent MacSparky Labs event, a few folks started asking about career change—how to do it, when to think about it, and what it feels like to make a big shift.

Career Change, Personal Development, Life Advice

96 points by 1123581321 90 days ago | 23 comments

Be Curious, Always (rishikeshs.com)

Life Advice, Personal Development

10 points by rishikeshs 91 days ago | 2 comments

Johnny.Decimal – A system to organise your life (johnnydecimal.com)
Johnny.Decimal is designed to help you find things quickly, with more confidence, and less stress.

Organization, Productivity, Personal Development

578 points by debone 91 days ago | 291 comments

Ask HN: Advice for someone entering their 30s (ycombinator.com)

Life Advice, Career Advice, Personal Development

12 points by marclave 96 days ago | 17 comments

I conditioned myself to fail (brainbun.com)
Over the years I’ve literally built hundreds of projects. Some with a lof of potential. Others just batshit crazy ideas.

Personal Development, Motivation, Productivity

162 points by brainbun 109 days ago | 78 comments

Ask HN: Are there "story-based" and "fact-based" people? (ycombinator.com)
I'm trying to process some conflict I've experienced, both in jobs and in my personal life. One synthesis I'm converging on is the idea that there are "story-based" people, and "fact-based" people. I self-identify as "fact-based", so I'm trying to articulate this while adjusting for my bias towards fact-basis :)

Psychology, Human Nature, Personal Development, Conflict Resolution

19 points by brw12 114 days ago | 32 comments

How to know when it's time to go (bitfieldconsulting.com)
I don’t have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. When you hate your job, no matter how much you try to put up with it, there comes a point where you’re mad as hell and you’re just not going to take it anymore. So, maybe this is the right moment to reflect: is it time to go?

Careers, Job Satisfaction, Personal Development

20 points by chautumn 121 days ago | 7 comments