Articles By Rishi Dhanaraj

Best Articles

How To Retain Friendships Over Years

you ever think of all the people you still think about that u never reach out to anymore? isn't that sad. three ways to change that.

How to Feel Good More Often And Automatically

How I got out of a rough patch in life with help from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

How I Actually Stay Productive (as a Software Engineer)

A rundown of the two tools I use to stay productive as a software engineer: my startup routine and my work journal.

How To Retain Friendships Over Years

you ever think of all the people you still think about that u never reach out to anymore? isn't that sad. three ways to change that.

How to Feel Good More Often And Automatically

How I got out of a rough patch in life with help from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

How I Actually Stay Productive (as a Software Engineer)

A rundown of the two tools I use to stay productive as a software engineer: my startup routine and my work journal.

The Essential Guide to Grabbing More Software Engineering Interviews

With the 7 concepts in this guide, you’ll get more interviews (and internships) than you'll have time for.

How To Invest in Index Funds

Set up a passive investing system in just an afternoon with this actionable and complete guide to IRAs, index funds and investing.

How Not To Die

Most deaths in the United States are preventable, and they are caused by what we eat.

How To Retain Friendships Over Years

you ever think of all the people you still think about that u never reach out to anymore? isn't that sad. three ways to change that.

How to Feel Good More Often And Automatically

How I got out of a rough patch in life with help from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

How I Actually Stay Productive (as a Software Engineer)

A rundown of the two tools I use to stay productive as a software engineer: my startup routine and my work journal.

The Essential Guide to Grabbing More Software Engineering Interviews

With the 7 concepts in this guide, you’ll get more interviews (and internships) than you'll have time for.

Latest Articles

dead people

I have a folder in which I like to collect dead creators. I’ve been at it a month, and let me tell you, I get a real rush when I add a name to the list...

spin content like BTS

tips for creators from the music industry

what i eat

how to eat lots of protein and dr. greger's daily dozen

dead people

I have a folder in which I like to collect dead creators. I’ve been at it a month, and let me tell you, I get a real rush when I add a name to the list...

spin content like BTS

tips for creators from the music industry

what i eat

how to eat lots of protein and dr. greger's daily dozen

the myth of sisyphus (existential crisis solution)

Albert Camus, the novelist and philosopher compared the meaninglessness of the human condition to the Greek myth of Sisyphus.

stop fetishizing deep work

do you use focus time as an excuse to ignore friends and family? this and other questions

useful keyboard shortcuts you don't know yet

Keyboard shortcuts I use every day, on Mac. One makes you more charismatic.

dead people

I have a folder in which I like to collect dead creators. I’ve been at it a month, and let me tell you, I get a real rush when I add a name to the list...

spin content like BTS

tips for creators from the music industry

what i eat

how to eat lots of protein and dr. greger's daily dozen

the myth of sisyphus (existential crisis solution)

Albert Camus, the novelist and philosopher compared the meaninglessness of the human condition to the Greek myth of Sisyphus.

Book Notes

Notes From A Masterclass in Fiction

Interesting and useful ideas from A Swim in a Pond in the Rain. It's a book by George Saunders, that guides us through seven short stories.

How to Take Smart Notes (Zettelkasten) in 800 Words

Loose summary of a seminal book on note-taking. Permanently changed how I approach writing.

How to Feel Good More Often And Automatically

How I got out of a rough patch in life with help from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Shorts

what i eat

how to eat lots of protein and dr. greger's daily dozen

stop fetishizing deep work

do you use focus time as an excuse to ignore friends and family? this and other questions

the myth of sisyphus (existential crisis solution)

Albert Camus, the novelist and philosopher compared the meaninglessness of the human condition to the Greek myth of Sisyphus.

Rabbit Holes

Rabbit Hole To Make You Smile: BTS

Need new music? Try BTS. Because oh my goodness it will fill your soul

dead people

I have a folder in which I like to collect dead creators. I’ve been at it a month, and let me tell you, I get a real rush when I add a name to the list...

Need a New Book? My Favorite Booklists, in One Place

While there are many lists of books, there are few lists of lists of books, so I add to the list with my list of lists of books 😝

Finance

Your RSUs got you confused? Same, have some answers and also more questions

How To Invest in Index Funds

Set up a passive investing system in just an afternoon with this actionable and complete guide to IRAs, index funds and investing.

Social

How To Retain Friendships Over Years

you ever think of all the people you still think about that u never reach out to anymore? isn't that sad. three ways to change that.

How to Keep In Touch With Friends Over Text

What a successful texting habit looks like and how it can help.

A Hilarious Game to Share with Old and New Friends

A hundred years passed and my brother and I discovered a new application, a two player game named...

Travel

Learning to Take Care of Myself While Traveling

Should I Move to Amsterdam in April?

Today, my recruiter called me and told me I could work in Amsterdam instead of San Francisco.

Productivity

The Deload Week: A Novel Way to Balance Work and Life

If you get confused on how to balance work and play, consider a deload week.

How to Change Your Life—A Corollary to Conway’s Law

Conway's Law says that startups ship products that reflect their org charts. My corollary says...

Why I’ve Decided I Should Always Be Asking

Three reasons I try to always ask people to explain when they drop a reference I don't get.

Life

How to Feel Good More Often And Automatically

How I got out of a rough patch in life with help from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Work in Progress: My Life Philosophy

The trouble with Buddhism and Stoicism, and why I like Nietszche's response.

I Used a Gap Year To Change My Identity. And It Worked!

When I was in school, I didn't see myself reaching for my dreams.

Software Engineering

The Essential Guide to Grabbing More Software Engineering Interviews

With the 7 concepts in this guide, you’ll get more interviews (and internships) than you'll have time for.

What It Was Like Interning at Qualcomm and Apple

"Not sure if I have impostor syndrome or am an actual impostor." Aka, what I learned at my first two software engineering internships.

What It Was Like Interning at Google

At Google, I finally learned how to be productive as a software engineer... mostly.

Writing

How to Take Smart Notes (Zettelkasten) in 800 Words

Loose summary of a seminal book on note-taking. Permanently changed how I approach writing.

Copywork: A Proven Method to Improve Your Writing

Minor deity Benjamin Franklin used copywork to improve his writing. Now I try the same.

Bigger Is Not Better: A Response to My Good Friend Ray

An unnecessarily passionate case for using small words over big words.

Startups

In Search of Product Market Fit: Education for the First 100 Days

Varied insights on product/market fit from Paul Graham and others.

How to Flail at Doing a Startup, Part 1: The Story So Far

An indie hacker (me) in the thick of it. A fascinating map of my headspace two months into working on Quickapply.

How to Flail at Doing a Startup, Part 3: A Wild Cofounder Appeared

An indie hacker (me) in the thick of it. A map of my headspace while going from a reasonably validated MVP to a V1.

Books

How To Read More and Better: My Lightweight Reading System

My current reading practices distilled into 11 steps and 400 words. These practices keep reading light and fun :)

Need a New Book? My Favorite Booklists, in One Place

While there are many lists of books, there are few lists of lists of books, so I add to the list with my list of lists of books 😝

On My Favorite Book, J.D. Salinger's Franny and Zooey

"I’m sick of not having the courage to be an absolute nobody. I’m sick of myself and everybody else that wants to make some kind of a splash."