There goes 2020.

This was the year I started writing seriously. It started off as a way to remember what I read, with this newsletter being an effective forcing function.

So how did the year go?

• 17 articles written
• 6 became prominent on HackerNews or reddit.com/r/programming
• 26 newsletters mailed out
• 1,346 of you all who found them worth subscribing to (I'm still shocked, but super grateful)
• The best part: New friends met along the way

As for those six articles, chances are you found me through one of them:

• Interview advice that got me offers - Unconventional interview advice
• The impostor's advantage - Turning impostor syndrome into a strength
• What's it like being a Senior Engineer? - It's no longer about the code
• I didn't want to abandon yet another side project - Cut scope & get more done
• Remembering what you read: Zettelkasten vs P.A.R.A. - The note-taking philosophy that worked best for me
• Falsehoods Programmers Believe about Time Zones

I'm looking forward to continue learning, sharing, and meeting more folks. Some of the coolest stuff I've learned has been from replies people sent.

Now, your nuggets for the week:

1. Hide complexity to get simplicity
2. Make Discovery Easy
3. Let people feel smart

#1 Hide complexity

#2 Make discovery easy

"When people use something, they face two gulfs:

• The Gulf of Execution, where they try to figure out how it operates,
• The Gulf of Evaluation, where they try to figure out what happened

The role of the designer is to help people bridge the two gulfs."

- From The Design of Everyday Things

#3 Let them feel smart

When it works, your users get to discover something.

"When you build applications that let users be smart, they love you for it.

Set up situations where there is a problem that must be
solved and let the user solve it.

Give them subtle clues, but don’t take away that ‘aha’ moment."

- From Building a Princess Saving App