This week was good. I was able to complete a few tasks at work and I was able to spend some time reading the books I started earlier.
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📝 The first post is about adding a yearly post count visual to an Astro blog. It talks about the approach that pulls all posts at build time, groups them by year, and renders the totals as a simple chart so my publishing cadence is obvious at a glance. It stays fully static (no client JS needed), fast to load, and makes it easy to spot active years and gaps.
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📝 The second post is about adding a Vale rule to check for smart quotes in the content. It talks about the issue of smart quotes in documentation and how to catch them using Vale.
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📝 The third post is about the yearly list of apps I use and rely on, throughout the year. I have been writing this list since last two years and some apps have stayed the same, while others have changed.
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📚 This month I have read two books:
- I finally completed Above the Shoulders by Jason Nacey. I started this book in October and it took me a while to finish it. It argues that mental toughness is the real competitive advantage. Each battles starts in mind and resilience is deciding your response and moving forward even without confidence. It provides a mental mastery pyramid. I feel the core takeaway is to choose discomfort on purpose, repurpose negative spirals quickly, practical visualization, and repeated action to form habits.
- The second book I completed was HBR Guide to Your Professional Growth. It is a collection of articles from folks who have been featured in/contributed to Harvard Business Review. It emphasizes that your career is your responsibility and you need adopt an owner’s mindset. It also highlights the importance of building self-awareness through honest feedback and leveling up is non-linear.