I’m in this funk wherein I can’t code at home. I just can’t. I feel like my head needs a break from all the semi-colons.
And anyway, I’m supposed to be on vacation this week, but yet I don’t want my brain to turn into mush. I’m spending some time in Silicon Valley after all, and it’s hard not to be pumped about python and productivity and passion and pitches when one is in the area.
So this time, I thought I’d share what I do when I can’t code or read about anything too technical. Or when I don’t work on my reading list or when I don’t feel like hitting the gym like I should be. I read these blogs. Some of them are about startups, some are about life, some are about careers, some are even have tidbits on dating, but all make me feel like I’m not vegging out on the couch completely. 🙂
- Elad Blog by Elad Gil. Former Googler and entrepreneur. Founded a company that was later acquired by Twitter.
- A VC by Fred Wilson, a partner at Union Square Ventures. Now that I’m getting really interested in the startup scene in Silicon Alley, this blog has been quite a treat.
- The Levo League, great blog and community focused on empowering young women to achieve their dreams. Love their Office Hours video feature!
- Gotham Gal features a woman entrepreneur every Monday. Check it out! She also happens to be the wife of Mr. Wilson. Talk about a rockstar couple, eh?
- Seth Godin, engineer turned blogger, writer, and management expert, he delivers quite a powerful punch in brief posts.
- Foursquare’s former Head of Talent, Morgan Missen has everything on the intersection of tech and recruiting top talent.
- Stanford’s Chuck Eesley‘s master list of to-reads. He heads the class Venture Lab – Technology Entrepreneurship, if I’m not mistaken.
- Both Sides of the Table, a blog by a former entrepreneur turned VC. Guess what the author’s first job was? Programmer at Accenture!
- Recommended by one of my bosses, A List Apart is a great magazine for everyone who creates on the web, design, development or otherwise.
- Tough love (and often hilarious) advice on living an accomplished life as a “gentlewoman” from Jen Dziura.
- Signal vs. Noise, the blog of the software company 37 Signals.
- Startup Lessons Learned by the genius behind the Lean Startup movement, Eric Reis.
- Joel on Software. Because if you’re a software engineer and you’ve never heard of Joel Spolsky, step away from the keyboard, please.
- Orange and Bronze Software Labs. Great posts on Java, Agile, Android, Spring and Grails from the Manila version of Fog Creek Software.
- Life After College by Jenny Blake. Great posts that resonate with my fresh-out of-college heart. I love how she allows herself to be so vulnerable, and yet stay so positive, when she writes.
- Claudia Chan has insightful interviews with successful women. I feel like I’m being mentored by women I’ve never even met before!
But my inner programmer feels guilty, so I’m appeasing her by reading the book Clean Code – A Handbook of Agile Software Craftsmanship while I’m on vacation too. Will you guys hold me accountable? Maybe I’ll write a summary/book review on it. Yep, now I do have to read it!
Frances just graduated with a degree in Computer Science with specialization in Software Engineering. She works as a Software Developer for Accenture Software. She also contributes toThe Levo League, Women 2.0, and STEMinist. A proud geek girl, she’s sure she is the only one who can’t play video games. Follow her random musings at @FranAdvincula.
