Blog
Notes on unassisted coding practice, written by the person who got caught out by it first.
Reviewing pull requests all day feels like staying sharp. It's a different skill from writing code from a blank file — and only one of them erodes quietly when AI fills in the other.
HTML gets dismissed as "not real programming" — until a layout bug or a take-home test makes clear how rusty that muscle actually is. Here's why it's worth practicing on purpose.
Sticking to one comfortable language feels efficient. It also hides how much of what you "know" is language-specific muscle memory versus real understanding.
Skill decay isn't uniform — some parts of "knowing how to code" fade fast, others barely move. Here's what actually erodes, and what that means for how you should practice.
Three hundred problems solved, and the freeze-up still happens on ordinary code. Here's why volume alone doesn't build the skill you think it does.
Rubber duck debugging is usually framed as a way to find bugs. It's also a surprisingly reliable test for whether you actually understand code you think you know.
SQL is the language everyone assumes they'll just pick up on the job — until a real incident makes clear they never actually built the muscle. Here's why it deserves practice like any other language.
Reading a solution and being able to produce it from scratch are different skills. Here's why typing code out by hand still does something autocomplete can't replace.
Breakpoints are great, until the environment doesn't have one. Here's how to build the skill of finding a bug by reading code, not just running it.
Once you've solved a problem, moving on feels like progress. Here's why deliberately revisiting exercises you've already solved builds a more durable kind of skill.
A take-home assignment isn't just "build the feature." Here's what's actually being evaluated, and how to prepare for the parts that aren't obvious from the prompt.
Copilot isn't making you dumber — but it is changing which skill you exercise every day. Here's exactly what erodes, what doesn't, and how to tell the difference.
Companies stopped trusting the take-home round and brought back the whiteboard. Here's why, and a practical plan for getting ready.
Copilot won't be in the room. Here's how to actually get ready when you've got days, not months, and the autocomplete safety net is gone.
Turning off autocomplete isn't enough by itself. What deliberate, unassisted practice actually looks like, and why it has to be structured differently.