As a software engineer, you undertake a lifelong journey of continuous learning and growth. In this rapidly evolving field, keeping up with the latest developments isn’t just advantageous — it’s crucial.
A well-curated reading list serves as a powerful tool to navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology. It guides you towards the most relevant and valuable content. But how can you build this list effectively, without being overwhelmed by the vast amount of information out there?
In this blog post, I’ll provide insight into my personal reading list workflow. Prepare to enhance your learning and stay ahead in your software engineering journey.
Content sources
Over the years, I’ve assembled a carefully curated list of technical blogs. These blogs consistently deliver high-quality, thought-provoking articles. They form the foundation of my reading material, as I read all their published posts to ensure a consistent supply of valuable content.
Here are a few examples:
My quest for knowledge doesn’t end there. I also monitor a variety of blogs that span beyond my main areas of interest. Not every article may be relevant, but I stay open to finding unexpected treasures. Using a discerning eye, I select the most intriguing pieces to add to my continuously expanding reading list.
Here are a few examples:
Serendipity often plays an enjoyable role in my content discovery journey. Whether I’m reading an article and follow an interesting link, or I find an engaging piece while scrolling through my LinkedIn feed, I welcome these unexpected encounters. Regardless of whether I’m using my laptop or mobile phone, if something sparks my curiosity, I take the opportunity to add it to my reading list.
In essence, my content sources fall into three main categories:
- Trusted blogs: These are my primary sources. Every article they publish ends up on my reading list.
- Other blogs: I selectively choose articles from these blogs to ensure a diverse range of perspectives on my reading list.
- Serendipity: When I stumble upon something intriguing, whether through a link or by chance, I can quickly add it to my reading list for later review.
By adopting this diverse approach to content curation, I create a rich and varied mix of knowledge that continually broadens my understanding and satisfies my endless curiosity.
Format of reading list
Notion serves as my reliable tool for organizing my reading list, making the process smooth and efficient.
The journey starts with the feed view, a dynamic hub filled with new articles and content. Like a careful curator, I spend time every Sunday reviewing this feed to prepare my reading list for the upcoming week.
As I go through each item, I thoughtfully assign it to a relevant category and decide its status, either moving it to the “Backlog” or placing it in the highly regarded “On radar” position if it genuinely piques my interest.
Notion’s database views allow me to easily filter my articles by categories like “Angular” or “Soft skills.” These views are displayed in an intuitive board format with three distinct columns: “Backlog,” “On radar,” and “Done.” The purpose of the “Backlog” and “Done” columns is clear, while the “On Radar” column highlights the most interesting reads for when I have dedicated reading time.
As I delve into each article, I can write down notes and insights while I absorb the content. A useful checklist accompanies me, ensuring that I complete a set of essential tasks before considering an article fully read.
At the end of an article, I pause for reflection and adjust its categorization if needed. I then decisively mark the article as either “Done” or “Archived” — the latter for articles that may not have deserved a place on my list upon further thought.
A special “Daily bites” checkbox lets me highlight particularly share-worthy articles. This sets the stage for future discussions with my colleagues — a topic I’ll explore in a future article.
Finally, I select the best articles and add them to dedicated boards. These boards serve as repositories for the most valuable content on specific topics, like “Change detection” in Angular. They become rich sources of knowledge that can be revisited and referenced as needed.
Through its meticulous and engaging process, Notion not only helps me stay organized, but it also enriches my reading experience. This in turn, fuels my growth and keeps me updated in my field.
Updating the reading list
Make has become an essential tool for me, transforming how I build my reading list and making the process more efficient and convenient.
At the core of this transformation is a process of automation. It begins with a webhook waiting for a new reading list item. Input data includes a link and an optional title. Quickly and efficiently, a new item is created in my Notion reading list.
The response, indicating success or failure, prepares me to implement a fallback solution if any unexpected issues occur.
Now that the core scenario ([Reading List] add item) is firmly established, it’s time to bring it to life through a series of strategic actions.
The first caller is an automation that monitors the feeds of my “trusted blogs”. It ensures that every piece of content is placed correctly on my reading list. The scenario runs weekly, ensuring smooth integration of any new findings.
Next, I have a pair of macros empowered by the Shortcuts app on iOS / macOS. The first one, used within Safari, quickly collects the link and title of the current website and sends an HTTP request to the core scenario’s ([Reading List] add item) webhook.
The second macro, invoked from the share sheet, takes an article link and sends a similar HTTP request.
If the response status indicates issues in the Notion database, these macros serve as protectors, preserving the important article links in the Notes application. This backup strategy ensures that no valuable content is lost, allowing me to manually add them to Notion when convenient.
The first macro (Save page), activated by the magic of Raycast and a dedicated hotkey, is triggered whenever I encounter an interesting article, either randomly or during my visits to “other blogs”.
Its counterpart, the second macro (Save link), remains alert during my iPhone adventures. It’s ready to be called upon from the share sheet as I scroll through the endless LinkedIn feed, keen to save the most engaging links.
Note that you can enhance the core scenario by incorporating AI, such as the Perplexity module. This can provide additional information about the article, such as title, keywords, and summary. I use it primarily to retrieve the title when it is missing in the initial data.
Feedly acts as my trusted sentinel, monitoring new articles from the “other blogs” category, freeing me from the need for constant monitoring. Once a week, I review the accumulated articles on Feedly. If an article proves valuable, a simple keystroke adds it to my reading list.
To guard against automation errors, I keep a dedicated “_Fallback” tab that tracks content from my “trusted blogs”. If automation fails, this tab helps me find new articles that need my attention. I can then manually add them to my reading list with a hotkey.
In conclusion, creating and updating a thorough tech reading list is a dynamic, ongoing process. It requires consistently finding valuable content from various sources and organizing it efficiently. Tools like Notion and Make facilitate this process, enabling automation and efficient content categorization. More so, a diverse approach to content curation ensures a consistent supply of insightful articles, making the learning journey exciting and unpredictable. While this process may initially seem complex or time-consuming, the knowledge and skills acquired are well worth the effort.
I hope you liked my blog post, thanks for reading! 🙂
