Following five or so pieces of advice form the core pillars of prudent behavior, especially for the new comers and those on a budget. Always try to adhere by this code of conduct if you would like to manage your life carefully without infuriating the others around you — especially your more well-read, more competent, and seasoned seniors — and wasting unnecessarily on items that you would probably not use even a few times, forget about infrequently.
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Always try to rein in the urge to declare yourself the last word on the matter. Keep your ears, eyes, and mind open to other truly knowledgeable people’s opinions on the matter, and be willing to consider their thoughts with an open mind. Even if you have acquired expertise in a field, do not let arrogance get the best of you. Never try to disparage or denigrate your extremely competent and seasoned seniors even if you were deemed and consider yourself supremely talented. By mastering the subjects that extremely few choose to study, they prove themselves worthy of other people’s respect. Always treat them with their much earned respect even if you disagree with their opinion. When writing missives or communicating with them, always communicate your points with humility. Corroborate your points or opinion on the matter, but never try to communicate it with arrogange.
Always operate with an open mind and willingness to change if your current opinions or chosen setup eventually prove inferior to what a more informed and experienced person is suggesting or promoting. Always consider life a learning experience; learn from your mistakes and other knowledgeable people’s experiences and experiments.
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If you are a member of the knowledge economy and not a blue-collar worker, always allocate some time for reading. Always keep an eye on emerging trends and keep comparing them to your current choices. Having been in the computing and reading business for over 20 years now, I can say with a very high degree of confidence that most of the emerging trends prove to be merely a minor twist on an available alternative, nevertheless, the chances of discovering a significant improvement to your current setup always exist, so occasionally, say after every 6 to 10 months or so, evaluate your options. Allocate a couple of days or a week to compare your current setup and options to what the current trending and in-vogue choices are in your chosen field.
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At all times, keep a list of items that need your urgent attentino. With that list in place, strictly hold yourself accountable in this regard that whether you are making any progress or not. Prioritize those items based on their potential return on investment (ROI) of time and how big a difference they can make to your life. When prioritizing tasks, try to learn early in your professional life which artifacts, items, or activities have greater value than others. Having created this list, keep it at least a few different locations that you visit regularly. For example, I keep my ToDo List pinned to the top of my inbox so that I simply cannot forget its existence. When it is pinned to the top of my inbox, it serves as a daily reminder that I have certain high-priority tasks that need my attention. Keep your ToDo List in at least another such regularly visited place, and try your utmost to persist with your agenda that you have to eliminate those items from your ToDo List.
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Based on my last 20 years of observations, I have concluded that an absolute majority of mankind, mostly on an extremely limited budget, persists with buying extremely poorly made, almost always very uncomfortable but brand new items. I have observed that masses take delight in telling their companions that they bought the item in question brand new; it had its tags in place and it had never been used before.
Try to rid yourself of this mentality as early as you possibily can. Think about buying spectacularly useful products like books second-hand. A book on a very dense subject like Compiler Construction or Operatin Systems would cost you either around $100 or even around $130 — $150 when bought brand new. A good to very good student truly vested in the course would probably read that book twice, and then it would become a reference work in his or her bookshelf. Instead of buying a book that costs $130, if you are on a tight budget, consider buying a used book on compilers that has been labelled by the seller in at least very good condition. I have personally purchased used books from Amazon.com that were listed as “In Very Good Condition” to “Almost Brand New”, and not a single one of them disappointed me. Upon arrival here in Pakistan, they most certainly were in very good condition, condition good enough for a person on a budget. If I remember correctly, I paid probably less than half the listed price of the brand new works in every case.
Do not attach any notion of shame to buying used stuff that is in perfectly good condition if saving a few dollars by purchasing certain used items would allow you to spend on items that can elevate your overall daily experience. I have also purchased second hand music CDs on Amazon.com that were listed in very good condition for $2 each, and they actually turned out to be in excellent condition.
Try to save on items that you would be using either only once, for example, a book that you would probably read only once or twice, and invest those small savings in buying items that you would be using every day, for example, think about buying a better work chair instead of always trying to buy a brand new book. You would be using that work chair daily, so look for at least a good one. Instead of drinking expensive bottled water or spending on avocado toasts and expensive coffee, think about saving that money to purchase an at least a good quality, solidly made work table with an at least an adequately sized table top. You would definitely thank yourself later for having that extra space to put additional needed items on that table, items that you routinely require even now or may start to require often during the course of the day as you grow as a professional.
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Adding to that point where I talk about saving money by resisting to spend on non-essentials items to buy a good or better than good artifact that the user would be using for a long time, think about changing your habits for a few monhts to save for an excellent item. For example, if you have a good or excellent public transport system, then abandon your car for a couple of months to few months and switch to your local transport system to save on the petrol or gas prices and daily maintenance. Focus on the quality of the item that you would be using for a very long time instead of next two or three months’ comfort. Extremely good quality artifacts or products of engineering become an absolute pleasure to use when bought carefully.
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Regardless of the field or activity that you are planning to eventually embrace or undertake as your profession or even a pastime, if it involves the use of certain tools, then your most prudent first step, the biggest favor to yourself, would be to set aside at least a couple of weeks to one month to find the right tool for the job. Do an extensive search to find which tools work best for the newcomers, and then set aside time to try them out thoroughly, if that’s a possibility as sellers of physical goods rarely let newcomers try out their products. Do not just select the first tool that appears on any list carelessly, and start using it as your tool of choice. If you are entering a field that requires the use of physical tools instead of computer applications, do not just go for the cheapest available tool.
If you are on a spectacularly limited budget, then even in the lowest segment of the market, look for the tools that have received excellent reviews and endorsements from proper professionals who have left reviews and guidance for upcoming craftsmen. If you can find a high-end toolset in excellent condition in a discount shop selling used tools, then think about purchasing a second-hand, high-end tool in good condition instead of a brand-new cheap tool. Although there is much truth to the saying that “a bad worksmith blames his tools,” however, take my word on this matter that there is no shortage of spectacularly poorly designed tools, as well. If without due diligence, you swiftly select one such poorly designed tool, creating quality artifacts will always remain an uphill task. Select your tools of the trade extremely carefully.
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When choosing tools that allow you to enhance their functionality by either installing extensions or attaching some complementary parts, then research that aspect of the tool that you have finally chosen and look for the best available extensions or add-ons. As an author and programmer, I spend most of my working day in a text editor, and Vim extension or bindings have been an invaluable addition to my setup. The whole experience of working with text and code has become immensely enjoyable.
Similarly, the Visual Studio Code’s automated code and Markup formatting feature is an excellent addition, as well. Look for other such features that the tool allows its users to install to enhance the core functionality.
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If you are planning to use a tool regularly, then always try to find information regarding the options the manufacturer has left for the users to reclibrate or reconfigure the tool’s look and feel and capabilities to suit that user’s style of work. For example, almost all downloadable applications since at least 2008 have included configuration files to redefine or reconfigure the look and feel of that application. Some applications come with a .json or .ini file containing that application’s settings that can be redefined in that .json file or .ini file. By changing just a few settings, users can completely change the layout and execution sepecific settings. These applications almost always allow users to modify those files to recalibrate the application to suit that person’s individual style of working and using that particular application. Therefore, always try to find out if that application has such a file or settings options for its users.
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If you are planning to enter a field that would require you to work on a computer all day or for most of the day, do not go for the cheapest model if you can invest in a better device. Invest in at least a mid-range device even if that means cutting down on other non-essential items like coffee or drinks for a month or two. You would thank yourself for purchasing a device that offers better performance and storage capacity than purchasing the cheapest available version.
Cheapest or very cheap computers over time become extremely annoying to use as they simply cannot run demanding applications optimally or satisfactorily. As you will start to mature or grow as a user of the computer system, you most certainly will start to rely on heavier and feature rich applications. Cheapest models just cannot run such feature rich applications in a satisfactory manner. If your work would require you to spend most of the day with that device, then make sure to buy at least a satisfactory one, if not one of the more expensive ones. If you can afford a system with a good SSD (Solid State Drive), then always prefer such a system over a cheaper model with spinning drives.
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While we are on the subject of computers, if you are on a budget, then definitely consider purchasing a refurbished high-end system that comes with at least one year’s warranty instead of buying a brand new cheaper model. Professionally refurbished computers from established firms with warranties almost always tend to last. Do not buy one without a warranty; electronics that are destined to disappoint you do so within a month or two, so buy a refurbished system with at least a year’s warranty. If it continues to work past the first 4 months period, then it’s going to last a long time. The same applies to other segments of the wider market, as well. When buying any other kind of tool, if you can, then set aside time to visit shops specializing in selling second-hand, refurbished toolsets. Look for the rating of these shops, and visit them to find the one that would be an excellent alternative to a poorly designed brand newer item.
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Those of you planning to work on computers and use computer applications to create works, invest time in becoming a touch typist as it would be immensely rewarding. Becoming a touch typist elevates the whole experience of working with a computer and computer applications manyfold. You would verily relish the whole experience of working with your computing setup upon becoming a touch typist. If you have the time, switch to the Dvorak typing layout instead of the Qwerty layout. Dvorak has a much superior typing layout.
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When looking for information, tools, and services online using Google or Bing, never, ever just settle for the suggestions mentioned in the first couple of articles. People have devised complete methods, mostly unethical, to get higher rankings on all of these search engines. Consequently, you are never guaranteed the finest information in the top-ranking two or three articles. I always try to read the first ten results, and if I am not in a rush, I even look for results on the second page, too. On numerous occasions, the finest answer was never available in the first five or six results, so try to make it a habit to at least read the first ten results. Learn to skim through the articles, as well. Most top-ranking results come with way too much unnecessary information; adding that unnecessary information is one of the few ways these website owners use to get higher rankings, so learn to skim the information.
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For those of you who like to participate on social media websites, I have discovered that masses usually share clickbait sort of stuff that only marginally differs from their previous posts. If you have such companions on your social media platforms who share often and with whose views you rarely agree, then the habit of writing down your responses in a text editor of your choice for later use can save you a significant amount of time. Whenever you see another provocative post and feel the urge to participate, instead of starting a response anew, select your previously written opinion on that matter from your editor window and paste it in the comments section. If it requires minor adjustments or modifications, make those amendments in your editor and store that modified text, as well. The chances of that modified response eventually proving reusable definitely exist in this world where people are obsessed with sharing material that can only be deemed inflammatory or provocative written or composed deliberately to trigger a response from excitable or mercurial parties. Do not let that mercurial aspect of your personality become a drain on your precious resource called time. Try to minimize the effort put into writing those responses by recording your answers in a text file, make adjustments where needed and repost.
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Those of you who feel that you can add depth to such discussions, start a blog and compose your answers in the form of detailed blog posts with links to corroboratory material available on what you deem as trustworthy sources of information. Add links to posts on such subject matters that have been written by experts whom you respect and trust. People tend to have temperamental personalities and this aspect of their personality, if not managed carefully, can become a huge drain on a precious, precious resource called time. Focus on more useful activities than merely writing and rewriting your already-formed opinions on a matter. As I belong to the computing field, hence, I can share an idiom from my field abbreviated as DRY: Don’t Repeat Yourself. If you can record or save your responses in one file or folder, then keep your answers available there, and keep selecting the most appropriate one from that selection. It would satisfy your desire to participate without being a major drain on your time.
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Those of you who like to write, always try to use correct and precise words to phrase your opinions. Not only declare it to yourself but make online dictionaries your best friends, and whenever writing a post or response, always try to double-check the meaning for accuracy and precision. Instead of choosing long-winded phrases, look for words that can help you eliminate those phrases.
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If you are planning to start publishing online, instead of purchasing a domain, start with a blog first; keep the blog’s URL as short and memorable as possible. Try to become as polished an author as you can while publishing on your blog, then, if the idea appeals to you, turn your blog posts into an ebook and try to sell it on Amazon KDP. For marketing, you will almost definitely need the services of a marketer, so try to find one on UpWork or Freelancer. If you eventually find yourself in this situation where you have plenty of long posts that you would turn into a book, even your financial situation permits, always get a second opinion from an experienced editor on what changes you can make to your initial texts to make your writing even more compelling.
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Whenever writing a comment, composing a blogpost, or writing an email, always evaluate it for spelling and grammatical correctness using an AI tool like Grammarly. I am a former school topper and class topper (percentage wise — I missed a few lectures, hence some of my papers were not complete) in the compulsory English language course at my undergraduate engineering degree program at FAST—NUCES, Lahore, yet I almost never submit any written works without first letting the grammar assisstant check for minor issues. No matter how good an author you may be, the chances of making minor mistakes, especially spelling mistakes or forgetting to use the right article, exist. Do not become too arrogant; even the best of us are not infallible.
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If you plan to work with or eventually find yourself in a field that involves working with copious amounts of textual data, especially code and markup based text, then learn to use regular expressions well. Proper use of the regular expressions to work with text can save a person a lot of time. Reformatting the text and removing redundant text becomes spectacularly easy with Regular Expressions.
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If you plan to become a front-end developer, then definitely try out Emmet for a couple of weeks to see whether you would enjoy using this HTML Markup generation tool or code generator.
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If like me, you rely heavily on your web browser to find information and share ideas, make sure to learn to use your web browser optimally. Try to become an expert user of the modern world’s window to an ever expanding universe of digital information. Learn the short cuts designed to allow the users of the browsers to use them efficiently and effectively.
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As almost all of us now rely on one search engine or another to find information, therefore, learn their search restrictors to limit the results to the most pertinent. Specially learn to remove unwanted websites and types of content that you either quite dislike or disfavor. Scrolling through half of a page just to find pages presented in your preferred format itself is a waste of time; therefore, learn to eliminate such results before the result’s page has been presented to you.
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Wherever you can, delegate the task that you do not necessarily like to perform yourself. Learn to take good advantage of places like UpWork and Freelancer. Try to find highly rated workers on such platforms and delegate. Try to focus on tasks that you find truly engrossing instead of struggling with the ones that you do not like at all. If you have the monetary resources, buy time by delegating unappealing tasks to people who specialize in them and are offering their services on freelancing platforms.
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