Dev 'n Life

The last episode got JD thinking. What projects are important enough to work on, given the limited time we have? How might the science of habit formation help stick to a project? And when do JD and Rob start their business? Big questions that Rob had as well, and that neither has a good answer for yet.

Show Notes

Summary

We are back to our normal recording schedule.  Rob found a new intermediate programming course about Elixir that he started this weekend. It's by The Pragmatic Studio, and it slowly builds up a web framework from scratch. Rob is super excited about this, as he expects to learn a lot from the course.

JD has been thinking about the last episode, and Rob's and his differing opinions on Rails and whether it does too much. Exploring Domain-Driven Design, he wonders how to apply the lessons he has learnt to Rails. Another thing on his mind has been the question how many projects one can do in one lifetime, raising the question if he is working on something important right now. He is reflecting on their goals to put something valuable into the world, and the reason they started the podcast in the first place. And finally, he saw the announcement of a talk that combines side projects with the science of habit formation. It also reminded him of Basecamp's Shape Up methodology, which is focused on delivering a working piece of software as quickly as possible. This made him think that there must be better ways to approach his projects than what he is doing now. All three thoughts combined raised the big question for him what to focus his attention on next.

And since Rob and JD started the podcast to explore entrepreneurship, the two start to discuss what that means for their projects as well. Rob has been inspired by the Rework episode The Bookshop Around the Corner about a socially responsible business, and is thinking about how a business might help diversify his income as a freelancer.

The two end the episode in agreement that there is a lot to think about, and that they'll have to continue the discussion in the next episode.

Stay in touch

Website: https://www.devnlife.com
Jan David: https://twitter.com/0x6a64
Rob: https://twitter.com/RobPando

What is Dev 'n Life?

Dev ‘n Life is a podcast by two friends who record their casual conversations about software development, technology, and personal growth. Follow along as Rob and JD discuss their ideas and views on technology and life as they maintain their long-distance friendship.