Is there something specific you wanna know? My arrangements look pretty similar: I bill per hour, clients pay me to create web applications (usually SaaS), and I work either alone (preferred) or on small teams.
I have a no-recurring-meetings policy, all clients are informed upfront. I overcommunicate and post regular updates on Slack, etc. I had zero issues with this so far (e.g. a client dropped me because I refused daily standups).
I've found that, once people have a clear idea of how much you cost per hour (not monthly or yearly), they tend to value your time more.
My work calendar has been completely free for over 3 years now.
I think you're right. I see a lot of tools for Node.js, Python, and even Rust, but not so much for other languages.
I'm a bit frustrated with openapi.tools too, I think they could do a better job curating and keeping the tools updated. Their issues page on GitHub makes it look like they are not actively maintaining it. I actually bought openapi.cool this week and I'm thinking of building my own version of it.
To offer a different perspective, I believe the ecosystem around OpenAPI has vastly improved in the last year or so, at least in my technology stack (Node.js & TypeScript).
- I am currently building a product in the space and I've got competitors tackling the problem from many different angles
- Lots of tools & libraries to choose from when working with OpenAPI specifications (yes, lots of outdated stuff too)
- New platforms like Platformatic are making big bets on OpenAPI and building features around it
- People are using OpenAPI specs with ChatGPT to make custom integrations
For code-generation in particular, there's a handful of libraries that use OpenAPI specs to "glue" the backend and frontend together in different ways (ts-rest, openapi-fetch, openapi-types, orval, feTS). Many startups also offer seamless OpenAPI -> SDK generation.
It's an obvious resource at this point, but this site[1] is a good starting point.
I cannot recall how many hours I've spent there going deep into some rabbit hole, browsing pictures of old Sony devices from the 90's.
The only reason I stopped using was because, like many modern apps, I couldn't get over how slow it got over time. I wish someone built a mix of Pinboard and Are.na, where you could save your things - including media - privately and explore what other people have been creating, while still being fast.
This reminds of a 17yo boy in Brazil who learned how to program on broken smartphones.
The phones were seriously broken. One had a faulty touchscreen in the middle and the boy could only use it upside down with a reduced screen size. He described in a Twitter thread[1] all the struggles he had with the broken phones.
His story got picked up by the media[2]. He was hired by one of the biggest fintechs in Brazil and has been working there since then. He also got many donations, which helped him buy a new computer and finish reconstructing his family house.
1. Work on your hobbies _before_ your actual work (or when you feel rested the most).
Don't spend all of your "prime time" in your job. In the morning, when I am rested and focused, I dedicate the first one or two hours of the day to work on my things. Of course this pushes my schedule and I finish work later, but at the end it feels like an accomplished day. There's no feeling of guilt because you "only worked on your job". This of course only applies if you have a flexible job.
2. You cannot do everything at once.
I had very similar goals as you in the beginning of the year. I was trying to write posts for my blog, learn my partner's language, study for the Terraform associate exam, and exercise daily. All combined with a moderately demanding job. We simply cannot have that many things in our buffer. Try to focus on what's more urgent or important for you. Do one or two things at a time.
I run a blog myself and the money that keeps it running comes exclusively from my pocket. All the content is free and fully accessible (no paywalls, reading quota, etc.). I build the website and write the articles during nights and weekends.
I share your discontent with the current state of things. However, I plan on having a small piece of real estate on the page with an ad banner as long as it's privacy-focused, non intrusive and doesn't hurt performance.
Doesn't this depend a lot on _what_ and _where_ you are reading?
I suspect people have completely different styles when reading e.g. a fiction book on a Kindle vs. a tutorial about deploying a Docker container. I wouldn't be surprised if generation/age played a factor too.
Vue might have a similar learning curve as React if you are only used to Vanilla and template engines. Never really checked Svelte. Alpine.js [1] could be an option too.
Some of the workflows I'm trying to unlock:
- Track every breaking change pushed to your API and notify your team on Slack and e-mail
- Generate a changelog from your OpenAPI automatically
- Generate mocks for every endpoint to share with your frontend person/team
- Public, private, and password-protected API reference pages to share with partners
Here's a link: https://frevo.dev (still in early access)