In this article, I want to talk about blog-driven development. Now, the concept of blog-driven development has probably existed for a while now. I'm honestly not sure if that is what it is called, but whatever, let's call it that for now.
I want to go over one of the best strategies for learning and mastering something as a programmer, and also tell you why you should have your own blog.
Why have a blog?
Storage of Knowledge
By writing about the stuff you've learned, you store your learnings, your knowledge, in a single place that is always accessible to you which you can refer to whenever you need it.
It's funny how many times I've referred to my older blog posts. It is like my past self helping my current self. It truly makes you grateful for having written those articles.
From my experience, your blog sort of becomes like your second brain, I'm not sure if that's how I'd describe it, or perhaps we could describe it as your own, public digital library.
Reinforcement
By writing about the stuff you learn, you will better remember them. When you're writing about something, throughout the process of writing, you will think about and reread your content a lot.
If you decide to do research and look things up, possibly to drop references in your article, that will eventually help you understand things better, and possibly even clarify some of the existing knowledge you've had.
Career
By writing, you will increase your opportunities. It is outstanding for a developer to have a tech blog where they are constantly writing about things. You will find new people reaching out to you, interacting with you, and making new friends, which in turn exposes you to more opportunities.
If you're interested in technical writing gigs, there are plenty out there. I've been writing articles for over a year now, and have gotten more than 15 emails about paid opportunities where I'd either write or help with writing something.
Helping others
Honestly, I see this one as a bonus, since I wouldn't be writing articles if it only helped others, and not myself first, to be completely honest.
And yes, it may sound egoistical because that is what it is, I gotta be wise with how I use my time, life is short.
Best strategy for learning
The best strategy, at least from my experience, which I learned from Kent C. Dodds:
- Learn
- Build
- Teach
We're gonna focus on the 3rd point, but essentially learn something via a resource (tutorial, book...), build projects with the thing you learned, then write about it.
Writing will help you better understand the stuff you've learned and remember them as mentioned already.
Conclusion
If you want to level up yourself as a developer in numerous aspects, start a blog, start writing, and make sure to be consistent with it.