WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:06.290 Mike Bifulco: This is Tiny Improvements. 00:00:06.320 --> 00:00:07.369 I'm Mike by ko 00:00:10.764 --> 00:00:11.244 Growing up. 00:00:11.274 --> 00:00:13.254 I spent a lot of time in the garage with my dad. 00:00:13.914 --> 00:00:17.183 He's a man of many projects and hardly a weekend went past where I wasn't 00:00:17.214 --> 00:00:20.554 helping them work on something from cars to household repairs, to lawn 00:00:20.584 --> 00:00:22.534 work, to tinkering with electronics. 00:00:23.014 --> 00:00:24.903 I learned a lot about tools and how to use them. 00:00:25.024 --> 00:00:27.874 And I learned that the right tool for the job can make all the difference. 00:00:29.174 --> 00:00:30.884 There were two things that he always used to tell me. 00:00:31.444 --> 00:00:34.203 First power tools are always out to get you. 00:00:34.714 --> 00:00:37.893 They may feel like they'll help get the job done fast, but they're powerful 00:00:37.893 --> 00:00:39.453 and they don't care about your fingers. 00:00:39.854 --> 00:00:42.614 Respect them and act as though they're always trying to hurt you. 00:00:43.873 --> 00:00:44.384 Second. 00:00:44.623 --> 00:00:46.634 There's nothing worse than having to fix your tools. 00:00:47.114 --> 00:00:49.064 If you take care of your tools, they'll take care of you. 00:00:49.333 --> 00:00:51.434 Keep them clean, sharp and in good working order. 00:00:52.513 --> 00:00:53.354 These are both true. 00:00:53.474 --> 00:00:56.263 And while rule number one is less applicable to software tools. 00:00:56.474 --> 00:00:58.964 Rule number two is absolutely something that I've found to be true 00:00:58.964 --> 00:01:00.584 in my career as a software engineer. 00:01:01.513 --> 00:01:04.854 The tools we use to get our work done are incredibly important and taking the 00:01:04.854 --> 00:01:06.864 time to tune them to work just right. 00:01:06.864 --> 00:01:09.564 Can make a huge difference in our productivity and happiness. 00:01:11.034 --> 00:01:12.654 Tuning your tools just feels good. 00:01:13.107 --> 00:01:16.287 I use visual studio code for nearly all of my coding and writing. 00:01:16.437 --> 00:01:19.107 I love it because it's quick and customizable and it just works. 00:01:19.107 --> 00:01:20.277 Well, no shade. 00:01:20.277 --> 00:01:21.867 If you're a fan of VIM, you do, you. 00:01:22.557 --> 00:01:25.197 I dig vs code and I've spent some time recently changing up 00:01:25.197 --> 00:01:26.487 my setup to make it even better. 00:01:27.057 --> 00:01:30.537 Here's a few of the things I've done recently to tune my vs code experience. 00:01:31.197 --> 00:01:31.317 The 00:01:31.317 --> 00:01:32.067 Houston theme. 00:01:32.727 --> 00:01:35.817 There is an installed theme for vs code called Houston, which was actually 00:01:35.817 --> 00:01:37.377 made by the team that makes Astro. 00:01:37.917 --> 00:01:40.977 If you prefer a dark theme and like some spicy neon accent 00:01:40.977 --> 00:01:42.297 colors, you might like Houston. 00:01:43.237 --> 00:01:43.777 Zen mode. 00:01:44.467 --> 00:01:47.887 Is that mode for vs code is a great way to tune your IDE to be more focused. 00:01:48.337 --> 00:01:50.347 I use it for writing articles and newsletters. 00:01:50.437 --> 00:01:52.057 It's built into vs code. 00:01:52.057 --> 00:01:55.687 So you don't even need to install anything, just press command, K, and then 00:01:55.687 --> 00:01:59.577 Z to enter Zen mode or use the command palette and type in toggles and mode. 00:02:00.147 --> 00:02:01.077 Straight out of the box. 00:02:01.107 --> 00:02:04.467 Zen mode is pretty damn minimal and that's not for everyone. 00:02:04.557 --> 00:02:05.427 Myself included. 00:02:05.587 --> 00:02:09.307 You can customize InMode by opening up vs code settings with command comma, 00:02:09.337 --> 00:02:10.657 and then searching for Zen mode. 00:02:11.587 --> 00:02:14.437 There's a number of settings within there that you can use to do things 00:02:14.437 --> 00:02:17.617 like center the layout, make it go to full screen mode, hide the 00:02:17.617 --> 00:02:19.387 activity bar, hide line numbers. 00:02:19.387 --> 00:02:19.897 You name it. 00:02:20.627 --> 00:02:22.277 Next up pieces for vs code. 00:02:22.517 --> 00:02:23.897 Pieces is amazing. 00:02:24.017 --> 00:02:28.727 It's a contextualized note-taking app and code copilot that helps you store annotate 00:02:28.727 --> 00:02:30.677 and generate code snippets in your IDE. 00:02:31.127 --> 00:02:34.487 Not only is it context aware as in it knows what you're working on and 00:02:34.487 --> 00:02:37.497 as well as the places where you're doing research, but it also features 00:02:37.497 --> 00:02:41.547 an on-device privacy first LLM that can generate code snippets and notes 00:02:41.547 --> 00:02:42.927 without sending your data to the cloud. 00:02:43.197 --> 00:02:43.917 That's pretty cool. 00:02:44.667 --> 00:02:47.907 If pieces sounds familiar, you probably know about it because of my interview 00:02:47.907 --> 00:02:51.417 with their founder, salvo, not on software engineering daily, a few months back. 00:02:51.687 --> 00:02:53.367 And definitely not from Scott. 00:02:53.367 --> 00:02:54.987 Hanselman's recent podcast about it. 00:02:55.467 --> 00:02:56.307 No shade to Scott. 00:02:57.787 --> 00:02:59.887 I think it's a good idea to get your tools to a place where you're 00:02:59.887 --> 00:03:02.867 happy using them for you that might mean that you're already set 00:03:03.057 --> 00:03:06.267 for other people, it might mean toggling every setting and making everything 00:03:06.267 --> 00:03:07.797 just so, so that they feel at home. 00:03:08.187 --> 00:03:10.137 Like that says you should keep two things in mind. 00:03:10.287 --> 00:03:13.647 The pointy tools are always out to get you and the ones that you really want to use 00:03:13.677 --> 00:03:15.327 all the time should be ready to be used. 00:03:15.327 --> 00:03:17.307 So make sure they're in good working order. 00:03:17.397 --> 00:03:20.487 And the next time you pick up a project to work on, you'll be much happier for it. 00:03:21.505 --> 00:03:23.365 In the end, if you're happy doing your work, that's all 00:03:23.365 --> 00:03:24.145 that should really matter. 00:03:25.164 --> 00:03:27.755 If you end up spending some time customizing your IDE, I'd love it. 00:03:27.755 --> 00:03:31.635 If you shot me a message about it, you can email me at hello@mikebifulco.com 00:03:31.655 --> 00:03:33.275 or find me on threads at irreverent. 00:03:33.275 --> 00:03:33.665 Mike. 00:03:33.875 --> 00:03:34.595 Thanks so much.