Tech Productivity Issue #313 (Death of the Hands-on Engineering Manager)

Issue #313 (Death of the Hands-on Engineering Manager) 02/10/25

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At least three of the articles in this week's "Articles & Resources" section are geared towards those in leadership roles. Although I mainly share tools and articles for general tech workers, it should go without saying that a team with good leadership will thrive and succeed.

To that end, if you are in a leadership role, you might want to check out yet another resource that might help improve your team's performance: The 2024 Workplace Flexibility Trends Report.

Figure 9 from the 2024 Worklace Flexibility Trends Report

The report, conducted by two independent consulting firms on behalf of TechSmith, looks at workplace flexibility findings and best practices for balancing employer and employee preferences. It's a well-designed resource with lots of good info that can help both large and small organizations.

Now on to this week's hand-picked productivity links!

Tools & Apps

Neurofit — A mobile app for iOS or Android that attempts to regular your nervous system, to end chronic stress and burnout, by means of a specific set of exercises.

Password.link — A platform that provides a service allowing you to share one-time links with team members and clients, securely and privately, for sharing passwords and other sensitive data.

Bricks — An AI-powered spreadsheet app that allows you to fill and refresh data, create formulas, perform join operations, and lots more, all with the help of AI.

CleanMyMac — A 5-in-1 Mac care tool that enables you to clean up the junk, maximize Mac speed, scan for threats, and delete tons of duplicate files, to help your Mac become uncluttered and avoid sluggish performance.

Sick of Biased News? — Sign up for 1440, a free newsletter for staying up to date on the latest news. No biased opinions and it's only a 5-minute read. sponsor

MassInvoices — A service that makes it effortless to download all your Stripe invoices in bulk, from a specified time period, with a single click.

Twake — An open source, privacy-first workspace that offers an all-in-one digital suite of tools including a messenger, chat app, encrypted email, data storage, and more.

Articles & Resources

Rethinking Goals: the Science of Nonlinear Goal Setting — Briefly considers the example of Spotify and how they strayed from their original roadmap, something that can lead to success for others too.

The Art of Calling Out Room Dynamics — A powerful communication tip for leaders who want to defuse tense meetings and improve team dynamics.

Brain Food, Delivered Daily — Every day we analyze thousands of articles and send you only the best, tailored to your interests. Loved by more than 500,000 curious minds. sponsor

The Slow Death of the Hands-on Engineering Manager — Many managers have become mainly focused on meetings, 1-to-1s, with zero coding time. This article shares two ideas to overcome this problem.

Digital Consumption Keeps Me From Getting Better At My Job — "With all this information occupying my brain, I no longer had the energy and resources to produce a tangible output."

If You Need the Money, Don't Take the Job — An excerpt from a book, this is actually an interview with some great advice on pricing your services as a freelance developer.

Why Do Employees Really Quit Their Jobs? — According to the author, who is an executive coach, it boils down to eight words: "I want to take ownership of my work."

Suggestions?

Have a suggestion for a productivity-related tool, article, or other resource? Send me a direct message via X (@LouisLazaris) and I’ll consider including it in a future issue.

Stay productive!

Louis
techproductivity.co
@LouisLazaris

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