| I can totally relate to the premise of the blog post. Thinking (for most people) benefits from some sort of free form scribbling and drawing to make sense of it, and realize what you're missing. At least for me it makes a huge difference. I remember reading a tip more than a decade ago from a senior developer, that you should always have pen and paper next to your keyboard, to take notes, visualize problems, keep notes of where you are. Most of the thinking happens there. When I'm working on bigger things alone, it helps me keep track or the bigger picture, how to keep separation of concern und understand where my abstractions started leaking. Moving that pen and paper to digital unfortunately was never low-barrier for me. I thought about acquiring a reMarkable for that purpose, but it isn't perfect either. I used excalidraw in the past, but it also does not integrate too well with my environment. Now, with everyone being remote I would really love to have something that not only replaces my own scribbling and conceptualizing, but also serves as "whiteboard" for collaboration. I clearly clearly miss the whiteboard when discussing abstract things/ideas/problems with peers. The app mentioned in the post seems a little abandoned unfortunately. Does someone out there use something similar? |
Recently, Apple has made playgrounds more useful on iPads, so I can now save something that I’m working on, and play with it on the road.
My default issue tracking system is a sticky note pad on the desk. I write a brief description of the problem/feature, and stick it on the desk, to the left of the keyboard. When I am working on it, I move it above the keyboard. When I fix/implement it, I move it to the right. When I’m done testing, it goes in the trash. I use code and checkin comments for posterity. I’ll also use GitHub Issues. They allow me to enter bug reports from my phone or pad, and associate checkins with issues.