Reduce Urgent Crises
In 2015, I quit my job to start a company with some buddies of mine. I did 14 hour days. I built real-time data pipelines with Kafka. I’m still impressed with what we built. But after 9 months, we ran out of money. I was so tired. I couldn’
TTT 17: Smooth Tamil
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from New York City! Thing I did Last week, I went to Houston, Texas to visit my cousin. I booked the tickets on Tuesday and left on Thursday. 2 days in advance. Life is for the living. I
TTT 16: Obsession
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from Nashville, Tennessee! Thing I did I took the entire week off of work from my job. I didn’t open my work laptop. In fact, I didn’t even bring my work laptop. As someone who has
TTT 15: Content Flywheel
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from New York City! Thing I did I wrote a Twitter thread that went viral! I got a 48% raise this year. I didn't threaten to quit. I didn't get competing offers. Even with inflation at 17%. Here's
TTT 14: Just Say No
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from Maryland! This is where I grew up and where my parents still live. We added 30 newsletter subscribers this week! Thank you to everyone who read and shared "Brag Doc". The feedback was both encouraging and overwhelming.
How To Ask For A Raise
I got a 48% raise this year. I didn’t threaten to quit. I didn’t get competing offers. Even with inflation at 17%. I thought you had to do both, but luckily I saw this LinkedIn post from Louie Bacaj in Feb 2022 - during Performance Reviews. Let me
TTT 13: Feeling Lucky
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from New York City - let's get into it! Thing I did As promised, I wrote an essay on software things! It’s called “Brag Docs: Why and How”. This is the first in a series aimed at
Brag Doc: Why and How?
I started keeping a Brag Doc at work in Aug 2018. I learned about them from Julia Evans on Twitter. The premise is simple. You’re already doing awesome work, therefore, you should get recognized for it. Since I started, I’ve been promoted every year - except for 1.
TTT 12: Give, Give, Give
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from New York City - let's get into it! Thought I had It’s easy to write about what you’re already doing. It’s tough to write about what you’re an expert in and feel disengaged
TTT 11: How to Not Force It
Hi friends, இரவு வணக்கம் (iravu vaNakkam), Buenas Noches, and Good Evening from New York City - let's get into it! Thing I did I called my aunt, Giri Mami, and we practiced speaking Tamil on the phone for 5 minutes. We'd never spoken over the phone in Tamil so
