Adding a newsletter to your site sounds simple until you look at the price tags. Mailchimp, Beehiiv, ConvertKit—they all want $20–$50/month before you've even sent a single email. For a personal site or small project, that's a hard ask. So I did what most developers eventually do... I built it myself, and it turned out to be simpler than I expected.

Here's how I set it up, why I made the decisions I did, and what it actually costs to run.

#### 1. The Problem with "Just Use a SaaS"

The big newsletter platforms are great if you're running a media company. But for a personal brand or side project, you're paying for a ton of features you'll never touch: automation sequences, A/B testing, landing page builders, etc. None of that matters when you just need a clean subscribe form and the ability to send an occasional update or two.

What I actually needed was simple:
- Let people subscribe from my site
- Store their emails somewhere reliable
- Send them a welcome email automatically
- Be able to send a newsletter blast whenever I want

That's it! No complex flows, no CRM, no segments. Just email in, email out.

#### 2. Why Not a Full Server?

The first instinct for a lot of developers is to spin up a backend. But for something like this, a dedicated server is overkill and expensive in a different way.

A server runs 24/7... Even if nobody subscribes for a week, you're still paying for it to sit there. You're also on the hook for keeping it running, handling uptime, and managing deployments. For something that handles maybe a few events per day at most, that's a lot of overhead for not a lot of value.

Serverless functions are the right tool here. They only run when something actually happens: someone hits the subscribe endpoint, someone clicks unsubscribe, or you trigger a newsletter send. You pay per invocation, not per hour of uptime.

Firebase Cloud Functions specifically fit well because I was already using Firebase for other parts of the project. But the principle applies anywhere with Vercel Functions, AWS Lambda, Cloudflare Workers, etc. The idea is the same: don't run a server when an event-driven function does the job.

#### 3. The Stack

Three pieces make this work together:

**Firebase Cloud Functions** handles the logic. Three endpoints cover everything:

```ts
// subscribeUser — saves email to Firestore, sends welcome email
// unsubscribeUser — updates status to UNSUBSCRIBED
// sendNewsletter — bulk sends to all active subscribers or add custom filters by specific tags
```

**Firestore** stores subscriber data. Each document is keyed by email address and tracks subscription status, when they subscribed, and which app they came from.

```ts
{
  email: "user@example.com",
  status: "SUBSCRIBED" | "UNSUBSCRIBED",
  marketingOptIn: true,
  source: "website",
  createdAt: Timestamp,
  updatedAt: Timestamp
}
```

**AWS SES (Simple Email Service)** is what actually sends the emails. It's barebones compared to the big newsletter platforms with no drag-and-drop builder, no analytics dashboard, and it's reliable and dirt cheap. I write the HTML templates in code, which means full control over exactly how they look.

#### 4. The Flow

When someone subscribes on the site, here's what happens end to end:

1. The form sends a `POST` request to the `subscribeUser` Cloud Function with the email address
2. The function checks a honeypot field first (more on that in a second), then validates and rate-limits the request
3. The email gets saved to Firestore with status `SUBSCRIBED`
4. AWS SES fires off a welcome email automatically
5. I get a quick admin notification so I know someone joined

The unsubscribe flow is just as clean. Every email includes an unsubscribe link with the email encoded in the query string. Clicking it hits the `unsubscribeUser` function, which flips the status in Firestore. No forms, no confirmation hoops.

Sending a newsletter is a separate callable function I trigger manually. It pulls all SUBSCRIBED users from Firestore, batches the sends to stay within SES's rate limits, and delivers each one.

#### 5. The Small Details That Matter

A few things I added that weren't in the original plan but turned out to be worth it:

**Honeypot spam protection.** The subscribe form includes a hidden field called `website_field`. Real users never see it and never fill it out. Bots that auto-fill forms will populate it. If the function receives a request with that field filled in, it silently returns success without doing anything. Simple and effective.

```ts
if (website_field) {
  // looks like a bot — return success without saving anything
  return res.status(200).json({ success: true });
}
```

**IP-based rate limiting.** Each IP address is capped at a certain amount of subscription attempts per hour, tracked in a `subscribe-rate-limits` Firestore collection. This blocks anyone trying to spam the endpoint.

**Admin notifications.** Whenever someone subscribes, re-subscribes, or unsubscribes, I get a quick email with the event type and their details. It's a small thing but it's nice to know your system is working in real time.

#### 6. What It Actually Costs

This is the part that makes the whole thing worthwhile.

- **Firebase Cloud Functions**: Free tier covers 2 million invocations per month. A newsletter list under ~100,000 active subscribers won't come close to that.
- **Firestore**: Free tier includes 1GB storage and 50,000 reads/20,000 writes per day. More than enough.
- **AWS SES**: $0.10 per 1,000 emails sent. Sending to 1,000 subscribers costs ten cents. Sending to 10,000 costs a dollar.

Compare that to $50+/month for a SaaS platform at the same scale. The only real cost is the time to build it which if you already know Firebase and have a few hours, isn't that much.

### Final Thoughts

Not every project needs a custom-built newsletter system. If you want analytics, automation sequences, and a visual editor, paying for a platform makes sense. But if you want full control, low cost, and a system that does exactly what you need and nothing more, building it with Cloud Functions and SES is genuinely the move.

The biggest lesson for me was that "serverless" isn't just a buzzword, it's the right architectural decision for workloads that are infrequent and event-driven. A newsletter is exactly that. Nothing is running when nothing is happening. You pay for what you use, and for a newsletter at any reasonable scale, what you use is almost nothing.

If you're already using Firebase on your project, the barrier to entry is even lower. The pieces fit together naturally, and you end up with something you actually understand end to end which is always better than being dependent on a black box you're paying monthly for.


Build Your Own Newsletter with Firebase & SES

Standing out in tech isn’t just about the skills you bring to the table—it’s also about how you present yourself. Building a personal brand as a developer isn’t about chasing clout. It’s about creating a reputation that reflects your values, interests, and expertise. Whether you're looking for new opportunities, collaborations, or just wanting to give back to the community, a strong personal brand helps open doors.

Here’s what’s worked for me and what to focus on:

#### 1. Know Your Niche

You don’t have to box yourself into one thing forever, but having a focus helps people remember you. Are you deep into mobile development with Swift? Passionate about cross-platform apps with React Native? Building a SaaS product? Choose an area (or a few) where you want to plant your flag.

The more specific you are, the easier it is for others to associate you with certain expertise.

#### 2. Share What You’re Learning

You don’t need to be an expert to start sharing. Posting small lessons, code snippets, side project updates, or even things you’re struggling with makes you relatable and valuable to others walking a similar path.

Consistency matters more than perfection. A quick thread about a Swift tip, a short blog post about a React Native debugging trick—these moments build up over time.

##### 3. Build a Simple Portfolio or Website

Having a place that’s "yours" online is underrated. It doesn’t have to be fancy—a simple site with a short bio, links to projects, blog posts, or even just a contact form is enough.

Think of it like your digital business card. It gives people a destination if they want to learn more about you or your work.

##### 4. Engage with the Community

Personal brand isn’t a one-way broadcast. Jump into discussions, leave thoughtful comments, give feedback, or ask questions. Whether it’s GitHub issues, X/Twitter threads, or Discord communities, genuine engagement builds real connections.

Sometimes, one good conversation leads to a new opportunity months down the line.

##### 5. Create Value Before You Ask for Anything

This sounds obvious but—share, help, teach, and contribute long before you ever ask someone for help, a job, or a collaboration. People remember those who show up consistently with good energy and useful insights.

Think of your personal brand like planting seeds. You won't see a forest overnight, but if you keep showing up, it grows naturally.

##### 6. Stay Authentic

It’s easy to feel pressure to sound a certain way or present a polished version of yourself. But authenticity beats polish every time. Share wins, lessons, failures, and course corrections.

People relate to people, not brands. The more "you" your brand feels, the stronger the connection you’ll build.

### Final Thoughts

You don’t have to be a loud voice online to have a strong personal brand. You just need to be consistent, focused, and intentional. Share what you’re working on, contribute where you can, and stay true to your path.

Over time, your work and your voice build a reputation that speaks for itself—and when opportunities come knocking, you’ll be ready.

The best time to start building your personal brand was yesterday. The second-best time? Today.


Building a Personal Brand as a Developer

When building apps, one of the big decisions is whether to go native or cross-platform. As someone who writes a lot of Swift for native iOS development but also has experience working with React Native, I've seen both sides up close. The choice depends on the project—but cross-platform development has matured a lot in recent years, and it's worth exploring the advantages it brings.

Here’s a breakdown of what stands out when working cross-platform, especially through the lens of someone who knows native well.

#### 1. Shared Codebase, Faster Development

One of the most obvious benefits: write once, deploy everywhere. With React Native, a significant chunk of business logic and UI code can be shared between iOS and Android. That means fewer duplicate efforts, quicker iterations, and simpler maintenance.

This becomes even more valuable when you’re building MVPs or internal tools, where speed and coverage matter more than platform-specific perfection.

#### 2. Consistent UI Across Platforms (With Some Caveats)

React Native allows for a consistent look and feel across devices—especially with custom component libraries or design systems. But it’s important to note: it still helps to understand native behaviors, because sometimes a component looks or performs differently depending on the platform.

Coming from a Swift background, it’s easy to spot where the abstraction cracks. That said, with the right attention to detail, the user experience can still be polished and cohesive.

#### 3. Lower Engineering Costs for Multi-Platform Teams

For startups or small teams, supporting two platforms natively can be a stretch. Cross-platform frameworks allow you to scale mobile development without needing two separate native teams. You can ship features faster, keep the team tighter, and reduce the overhead of syncing roadmaps across platforms.

#### 4. Native When You Need It

React Native lets you drop down to native code when necessary. That’s where having Swift or Kotlin experience becomes powerful. If there’s a feature that needs deep integration (like camera APIs or custom animations), you can write platform-specific code and still benefit from shared infrastructure elsewhere.

This hybrid approach—common in real-world apps—gives flexibility without giving up the benefits of a shared foundation.

#### 5. Strong Ecosystem and Tooling

The React Native ecosystem has matured a lot. Libraries like Expo, tools for debugging and profiling, and a strong open-source community make it easier than ever to build robust cross-platform apps.

Of course, Swift has its own solid ecosystem—and nothing beats Xcode for native iOS workflows. But React Native's tooling is catching up in terms of dev experience, especially when paired with TypeScript and modern bundlers.

#### 6. Choose Based on the Problem

There’s no one-size-fits-all. For apps that need deep platform integration or demand ultra-smooth performance (like high-end games or super complex UIs), native is still the best call. But for a lot of product-driven apps—especially those that are content-heavy or form-based—cross-platform makes sense.

I tend to lean native when polish and platform-specific behavior are essential, and cross-platform when speed, flexibility, and broader coverage are the priority.

### Final Thoughts

Cross-platform development isn’t about replacing native—it’s about expanding your toolkit. If you’ve got a solid Swift foundation, React Native (or similar tools) can be a powerful addition. It opens the door to faster builds, smaller teams, and broader reach—without giving up the ability to go native when it really matters.

In the end, it’s not about picking a side. It’s about choosing the right tool for the job—and being fluent in both worlds helps you do that with confidence.

---

If you have any questions or want to reach out, send me a message through my website or my instagram!

Instagram: [@Lzctrl (Posting daily content of my work)](https://www.instagram.com/LzCtrl)

Habite: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615)

TimeCrunch: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timecrunch-homework-tool/id1485810060)

Exploring the Benefits of Cross-Platform Development

The tech industry evolves fast. New frameworks drop weekly, tools shift, and what was popular last year might be outdated today. Staying current isn’t just about keeping up—it’s about sharpening your edge and knowing where the industry is heading. But with so much noise, how do you filter what matters?

Here’s what’s worked for me:

#### 1. Follow the Right People
X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, and even Mastodon are full of devs who live at the cutting edge. I follow engineers, founders, and product builders who share insights on trends they’re seeing or tools they’re excited about. A quick scroll can often highlight a new library, a shift in best practices, or an industry debate that’s worth paying attention to.

You don’t have to follow everyone—just curate a small list of voices that align with your areas of interest (like frontend, mobile, or infrastructure).

#### 2. Read Weekly or Curated Newsletters
There’s no shortage of great developer newsletters—ones that distill everything happening into quick, digestible updates. A few go-tos:
- **JavaScript Weekly** – Covers frontend frameworks, Node.js updates, interesting repos, and tutorials
- **iOS Dev Weekly** – Curated list of tools, articles, and insights for iOS developers
- **TLDR dev** – Daily high-level summaries of dev news and trends
- **The Pragmatic Engineer** – Especially useful for engineering leadership and scaling tech teams

Subscribing to a few well-curated newsletters is like having someone do the heavy lifting of filtering the noise for you.

#### 3. Use GitHub Trends and Explore
If you’re curious about what people are building or watching, GitHub’s trending section is a goldmine. I check in weekly to see new repos gaining traction. Sometimes it’s a novel tool, sometimes it’s a framework that’s picking up steam. Either way, it’s a pulse check on what devs care about.

Bonus: starring interesting repos helps GitHub’s algorithm recommend other relevant tools.

#### 4. Learn in Public
Writing, tweeting, or talking about what you’re learning not only reinforces the topic but attracts others doing similar things. I’ve found that sharing thoughts on a new API or tech stack invites good conversation—and more recommendations.

Even a short post about what you’re experimenting with can open the door to feedback or tips from people who’ve already gone deeper.

#### 5. Try New Tools (Lightweight)
You don’t have to rebuild your stack every month, but playing with new tools in small projects or side experiments is a great way to understand them. I’ll often clone a repo, try out a CLI tool, or scaffold a new project just to get a feel for it.

That familiarity becomes useful down the road when the tech goes mainstream or becomes a team discussion. And it’s less about mastery—more about exposure.

#### 6. Chat with Other Engineers
Real conversations cut through hype. In team meetings, 1:1s, or casual chats, I’ll often ask what tools people are exploring or what articles stood out to them. Some of my best learnings have come from those quick conversations—not from an algorithm.

If you're a lead or work cross-functionally, use those natural interactions to absorb what others are excited about—it gives you a broader perspective beyond your core focus area.

#### 7. Ignore the Noise
Not every trend is worth chasing. It’s easy to get distracted by hype cycles. I focus on trends that either:
- Improve developer experience
- Gain long-term traction
- Are relevant to the problems I solve daily

If something doesn’t check one of those boxes, it goes on the back burner. Just because something’s hot on Hacker News doesn’t mean it needs to be on your radar today.

### Final Thoughts
You don’t need to read everything or jump on every new tool to stay current. The key is being intentional—knowing where to look, what to try, and when to tune out. Staying updated is less about hustle and more about building a steady rhythm of awareness. That way, when things change (and they will), you’re ready.

Find a few sources you trust, make time for lightweight experimentation, and stay curious. Trends come and go—but curiosity and consistency keep you sharp.


Staying Sharp in a Fast-Moving Tech World

Staying Sharp in a Fast-Moving Tech World

Balancing coding, meetings, debugging, and staying up to date with the latest technologies can be overwhelming for developers. Time management isn’t just about squeezing more tasks into the day; it’s about working smarter, maintaining focus, and avoiding burnout. Over the years, I’ve refined a few strategies that have helped me stay productive while keeping a healthy work-life balance.

#### 1. Prioritize Deep Work

Context switching is a productivity killer. Emails, Slack messages, and notifications can break concentration and slow down meaningful work. I schedule my meetings in the morning to align with team discussions and collaboration. Then, in the afternoon, I block off a few hours for "Focus Time"—a dedicated period where I can dive into deep work like coding, problem-solving, or architecture planning without distractions.

#### 2. Use the Right Productivity Framework

Rather than using a rigid system like the Eisenhower Matrix, I take a straightforward approach: I write down the most important tasks or things to focus on, ensuring they take priority. Anything that lingers but isn’t urgent gets tackled after my main tasks. Throughout the day, I also balance reviewing PRs, participating in meetings, and discussing architecture with the team—considering my role as a lead engineer, staying hands-on is essential.

#### 3. Automate and Optimize Repetitive Tasks

As developers, we automate workflows for users—why not for ourselves? I leverage scripts, aliases, and automation tools to handle repetitive tasks like setting up environments, running deployments, or even formatting code. Investing a little time in automation upfront saves hours in the long run.

#### 4. Learn to Say No (or Defer)

Every feature request, bug fix, or meeting invite might seem urgent, but not all of them are important. Learning to push back on unnecessary meetings or delegate non-critical tasks keeps you focused on high-impact work. A simple "Let’s revisit this next sprint" can often save hours of wasted effort.

#### 5. Avoid Overloading Your Schedule

Overcommitting is a fast track to burnout. Developers often underestimate how long tasks will take—factor in buffer time for unexpected bugs, refactoring, or context switching. I aim to keep at least 20% of my schedule open to handle unforeseen issues without feeling overwhelmed.

#### 6. Make Use of Asynchronous Communication

Not every discussion needs a meeting. I often go deep into Slack threads with people or discuss in direct messages with specific individuals to keep discussions targeted and efficient. When necessary, I hop on a quick huddle to align faster. This keeps communication effective without excessive meetings.

#### 7. Take Breaks (Seriously)

Burnout isn’t a badge of honor. I don’t follow a strict work-break cycle, but I make sure to take a break after 1-2 hours of work—walking around, stepping away from the screen, or just resetting. I tend to take lunch a few hours into work, and if I start feeling burned out in the afternoon, I shift my focus or take a break before diving fully back in.

### Final Thoughts

Effective time management isn’t about cramming more into the day—it’s about structuring time intentionally. By prioritizing focus time in the afternoon, tackling high-priority tasks first, and using async communication strategically, developers can stay productive without feeling overwhelmed. Small adjustments, like scheduling breaks based on energy levels and keeping room for flexibility, help maintain long-term efficiency. If you’ve found any other time management strategies that work well for you, let’s discuss them!

If you have any questions or want to reach out, send me a message through my website or my instagram!

Instagram: [@Lzctrl (Posting daily content of my work)](https://www.instagram.com/LzCtrl)

Habite: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615)

TimeCrunch: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timecrunch-homework-tool/id1485810060)

Time Management for Developers

Time Management for Developers: Staying Productive Without Burnout

It’s been a while since I’ve written a blog post, and I’ve been meaning to reflect on the journey over the past few years. A lot has changed since my last update, and I thought it would be fitting to share where I’ve been and what I’m focusing on now.

### The Journey So Far

#### Transitioning to a Startup

One of the biggest changes in the past few years has been my decision to switch over to a startup. It was a big leap, and I have no regrets. The fast-paced environment has forced me to adapt quickly, and I've had the chance to be involved in projects that are pushing the boundaries of what we can do.

##### From Full-Stack to Lead Engineer

I started my career as a full-stack engineer, and over time, I’ve transitioned into a lead role. Leading frontend development has been an incredibly rewarding experience, especially because it’s also given me the chance to focus on the architecture of the software we’re building. There’s something deeply satisfying about shaping the structure of an app from the ground up and ensuring that it’s scalable and maintainable.

##### Growth on All Fronts

Over the years, I’ve been committed to growing my skillset—both technical and non-technical. On the tech side, I’ve broadened my expertise across frontend, backend, and even operations. But it hasn’t been all about the code. I’ve spent a lot of time honing my people skills and focusing on self-growth. The balance of these two areas has been critical in my personal and professional development.

##### Travel and Personal Growth

I’ve also had the opportunity to travel and explore the world. There’s something about stepping away from work and immersing yourself in different cultures that sparks creativity and offers new perspectives. These experiences have not only enriched my life but have also influenced the way I approach my work and interact with others.

##### Taking Time for Myself

Along the way, I’ve realized the importance of taking breaks. There were moments when I stepped back to recharge and focus on personal growth. These pauses gave me the space to breathe, reflect, and come back to work with a clearer mind.

### Looking Ahead to This Year

While the last few years have been filled with growth and exploration, I’m excited about what’s to come in the next year.

#### Continuing to Hone My Skills

This year, my focus is on continuing to level up. I plan to dive deeper into new technologies, explore different aspects of software development, and keep pushing myself to grow both as a developer and a leader.

#### Building More Apps

I’m excited to build more apps this year. I’ve realized that I love the process of taking an idea and turning it into something real that can make a difference. I plan to create more applications for myself and start branching out into different areas of software development.

#### Expanding My Presence on Social Platforms

Finally, I want to expand my presence on social platforms. I’ve seen how much sharing knowledge can help others, and this year, I aim to create more content to help those who are looking to break into tech. Whether it’s through blog posts, videos, or other platforms, I want to share what I’ve learned and help others on their own journeys.

If you have any questions or want to reach out, send me a message through my website or my instagram!

Instagram: [@Lzctrl (Posting daily content of my work)](https://www.instagram.com/LzCtrl)

Habite: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615)

TimeCrunch: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timecrunch-homework-tool/id1485810060)

Let's reflect 2021-2025

Let's reflect on the last few years [2025]

The wait is finally over, the M1 review is here! A month ago, I had turned in my 2017 MacBook Pro 13", and bought a brand new 2020 MacBook Pro 13" with the M1 chip. Many of you have been asking if I like it, if it is worth it, or if it is overall better than the older models with intel. Well, let's take a quick dive into my thoughts the past month, and what I have been able to come up with so far!

### The Machine

Jumping right into it, the M1 blew my 2017 MacBook with intel out of the park the first day I began using it. The overall speed has been pretty crazy to see. Specifically working with my old mac in Xcode, it felt like a constant drag trying to run any code or in some cases opening / running applications. Shifting over to the M1, and running code took barely any seconds or opening / running application is a breeze. The speed is very noticeable when transitioning to the M1 just like the battery life (though that tends to come with most new macs).

#### Battery life

There are certainly no complaints with the battery life considering I had Xcode, multiple terminals, Sketch, and other programs running at once for a couple hours without a charger, and it barely moved the battery. It feels like my productivity with getting work done has most definitely improved just because I don't really sit around waiting for simulators to load or code to compile.

#### Storage

The model I bought has 8 gb of ram and 512 gb of storage. I have barely cracked over 100 gb of storage, and I have a lot of files / projects. So if you are deciding with the 256 gb or 512 gb, in most scenarios, I would say go with the 256 gb just because you will save yourself some money if all that space is unnecessary. Another note to add, if you are deciding over an air or a pro, the only noticeable difference I have come to is the touch bar. So it practically comes down to preference and whether you will really utilize it or not (I use it a bit, but I have not really customized it as it I do not need it in most cases).

#### Graphics

Personally, I do not play any games on my MacBook, so it tends to be on a gaming console here and there. Though, I have heard that the fps for most games is pretty decent. So if you are looking to game a bit on your next M1, it should be able to hold up pretty well with most video games!

#### Display, Camera, & Speakers

The difference with all three is pretty noticeable compared to intel MacBooks. The display is a lot more sharp and vibrant along with the brightness being higher than the intel Macs. The camera is a lot sharper as well, I have tested it through multiple zoom / facetime calls, and I can see the difference just by looking at my screen. Finally, the speakers seem pretty similar to the intel Macs, but they do sound a little more crisp and louder from what I have gathered so far.

### Final Thoughts

Overall, the MacBook with M1 overules the MacBook's with intel specifically through the performance. If you are looking to switch over to the M1 or upgrade, I would suggest either buying the 2020 MacBook with M1, or if you have some time, wait it out until Apple releases their next model in September / October 2021. If you have any questions or want to learn more on my experience with the M1, feel free to reach out [here](https://www.instagram.com/lzctrl), and I will be more than happy to help you out! 

Macbook with M1 Review

I have covered in a previous [post](https://lzctrl.com/blog/tools-for-designers-and-developers) some tools that are useful for designers and developers. Today, I am going to take a dive into some tips that could be (or could not be) useful for you as a designer, developer, or both!

### Let's take a dive

I think one of the most frustrating things whether you are designing or developing a project is sometimes not seeing progress or something not clicking. This might be something that you have experienced where you end up wanting to start over, giving up, or just moving onto another project. This feeling is not the greatest, you may feel like your work is meaningly or not going anywhere. I will tell you, after the years I have had so far with both, that feeling is what will transform your work over time.

When I first started building [Habite](https://www.habiteapp.com), the app looked terrible. I do not know what I was thinking at the time with releasing such an ugly first version, but I am so happy I did. Habite v1 is what started most of my current journey, if it was not for those grey and green initial colors, I would not have improved my design techniques and continued forward. The app itself with functionality has come a long way, but as has the design. There's a lesson there that continually working on something over time will make things better. That might sound cliche with the idea of 'practice makes perfect', but in reality, I can really agree with that statement just with how my journey has been so far.

![Habite v1.0 vs Habite v2.3](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/6cbJIlgb2RgVypg2fnMdYh/9f8faaa59c35ca05d4cdaab68dd15c20/tips-for-designers-and-developers-1.png)

#### A few small tips for you

Now, let's say you are either a starting designer interested in designing websites, or you are an aspiring developer getting started in mobile development. Things are not going to start off perfect, great, or just how you want them to go right off the bat for you. There may be some things that you are crazy good at, but then also some things that you cannot get right. That's how it should be, you will always have things to improve on and that should not frustrate you. It is all apart of growth in whatever field / area you are in, it is how you get better and gain experience (when you focus and work on those more difficult areas).

Shifting to something like designing a website or mobile app, it might not look the greatest initially, and that's how drafts are supposed to be. You most likely will not design / build the next best thing on your first try (or maybe you will, prove me wrong :) ), and not have to redo any parts of it. We can also looking at building a project, when you first start it most likely (same situation as above) will not be the perfect product for everyone to use and love it right away. There really is no such thing as overnight success because behind that one night where everything goes viral for a person / team / company are hours and hours of frustration, sleepless nights, and hard work. So to put it simple, do not let frustration get the best of you, keep working on that problem / thing you are trying to get done (whatever it may be).

We have covered the tips of not letting frustration get the best of you, building skills take some time, and with hard work come great rewards (like I said, it takes time). There are super general, they are not anything that are out of blue, or that have never been said before. Though, what I shared with you through this post are my own experiences / examples of how even a little bit of improvement / work will go a long way over time! It is also important to note that you NEED to take breaks especially when feeling overwhelmed. Sometimes a walk to the kitchen, bathroom, park, or anywhere can help your brain refresh, and find a solution to a problem you may have. If you are interested in learning a bit more on some of my personal tips, feel free to reach out to me [here](mailto:lzctrls@gmail.com), cheers!

Tips for Designers and Developers

In our last [blog post](https://lzctrl.com/blog/building-a-plan-for-your-next-app), we went over the fundamentals of creating a plan for your next app. In this post, I am going to cover some basics for when you start building your app. I will share some tips on what programming languages you should understand and the process of building an app!

### Getting Started

To get the basics down, we need to decide what platform we want our app to be on. I think the best idea is to go with mobile first and focus on iOS or android. Aside from a native mobile app, you can create a web app or a cross platform mobile app! For this post, we will focus on a native mobile app.

For starters, when building a native mobile app, we need to decide which operating system we will build for (iOS or android). For all of my current apps, I have used iOS and the programming language Swift! If you plan to make an app for iOS users, I suggest learning the programming language Swift. Otherwise, if you plan to build for android users, I suggest learning either Java or Kotlin! No matter which path you take, you will follow a similar pattern to all other mobile developers.

### The Process

When you have a structured plan for your app, you will find yourself in the position of beginning the process of building it. First things first, you should have some sort of design down for how your app will look (remember: this does not have to be the best design out there, it is ok if it looks ugly). When I began Habite, the initial design was incredibly ugly, but overtime it has developed into a much cleaner design!

Now that you have some sort of design for your app, you need to begin learning (if you have not already) the programming language for your specific operating system! I find Swift to be easier to understand compared to Kotlin or Java, but not everyone can work on macs or wants to build for iOS. Some great resources to get started can be found all over Youtube, Udemy, Udacity, and more (especially the free courses / videos, it is how I learned). I cannot teach all of the basics on mobile development in just one blog post considering there are so many, but I can share some tips! When building your mobile apps, do your best to structure the files and folders so that they will be readable to you in 6-12 months. Along with this, you do not need to know everything there is to know about a programming language, just make sure you understand the basics and overall functionality because you will learn more and more as you go down the path!

Apps are no easy task especially if this is your first time ever building them. There will be frustrations and periods of time where things do not work. Though, that is the time where you grow and learn who you are as a developer. When you are working on your app, it may take some time from researching bugs to learning how to program a certain function. The process for building the app might take some time, and that is something you should prepare yourself if you plan to have a specific launch date!

### Next Steps

To close off this short post, I believe when you have a structured plan, some sort of design, and dedication, you will go a long way in building almost anything! I plan to start sharing a few blog posts over the next few weeks on covering the process of actually building an iOS app (with code). This will connect with a youtube series I am working on, so stay tuned for that!

Starting Your First App

A question that tends to come up a lot, through my instagram dm's or in my email, is where to start when building an app. There are so many different ways to go about this, and there is no one right way either. So I have decided to split up this week and next week into a little mock up of starting & building your next app! I will cover a plan for a potential future project, and then dive into sharing how to physically get started.

### Draw Up a Plan

This might sound extremely obvious, but in a lot of cases where I have spoken with people interested in starting some sort of app / website, they do not have any starting point or plan. Before you jump into anything at all, writing down goals, ideas and a small structure of what you plan to do will be crucial for success down the road. When I first started out, I failed at this in my first application which caused some problems when I was launching my app, but overtime I have written up structures for future versions! Before we begin, I will share access to a *Plan Template* below in which you can use.

[Access the App Plan Template](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aoMfMhr0MuStFBzud08zfOHuoe_VIjPhP5XYPE2wZJg/edit?usp=sharing) created by LzCtrl

Going about this as simple as possible, the best way to start drawing up a plan is to grab pen and paper or open up a note app / web document ([Habite](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615) has this)! Then from here we are going to start writing down what we need to happen before we start building the app, while building the app, and during launch of the app.

![Key components for your App Plan](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/47bevCJzLNcujgHXhCgXCr/9e87ff9f9a21c931a525b6540526bca1/building-a-plan-for-your-next-app-1.png)

You have now grabbed some sort of tool to write down a small step by step plan for your next idea. Let's start with some key headers for this plan: **Define the idea / goals**, **Define the audience / market**, **Projected Dates**, **Marketing / Advertising strategies**, and **Define the flow**. These headers can either be filled out in bullet points or just small sentences. The idea here is not to write an essay, but instead point out certain items that will stand out for the development of your project. I will break down each point below:

#### Define the idea / goals

This one goes as the way it is written, you have some sort of idea and you want to build an app for it. This is the spot to jot down what your idea will consist of such as a problem and how to solve that problem. Let's use the below example for our entire plan.

*The Problem*: A person named Matt goes to work everyday. He tends to ride his bike to work considering the commute is about 15 minutes. However, he also has an option of taking the bus to work which takes about 20-25 minutes. The problem that comes up for Matt is that he needs to prepare his schedule accordingly in case there is snow or rain in which he may not be able to ride his bike.

The above problem is a real world example that happens a lot around the world. Now, let's say we have a solution to Matt's problem:

*The Solution*: We want to build a new app that will show Matt the forecast around him for the following days, along with a way to check-in to upcoming buses plus show his bus schedule. Going further with this solution, we may want to add a way for Matt to add what he wants to do for a particular day such as a scheduler inside the app. 

We have just came up with a small solution for a problem. On top of this solution, we want to write down some goals for the app. Let's say our top 3 goals for our app will go as follows: *Help users save time commuting*, *Increase safety of commuting*, and *Grow to a large user base*. You can add these goals into the current header, and move onto the next header.

![Going from problem to idea to solution!](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/73O9Pz4X2raPCo1mKdXDDh/7bb104ffdc2b21195e4f39ede44da5f2/building-a-plan-for-your-next-app-2.png)

#### Define the audience / market

We know that users who will to use this app are those who have multiple commute options and need to get from point A to point B in a safe and time saving manner. We have just defined who our target audience is, now wasn't that simple.

#### Projected Dates

We need a rough draft of when we plan to start designing, building, testing, and launching the app. For this section, just jot down some main dates that you see your application needing.

For our app above, say we came up with the app idea on *Feb 1*, we want to start designing right away so we will give ourselves a couple days to come up with a broad design idea (remember: it does not need to be perfect). Then we expect to build this app in about 1-2 months considering we will use location for our users which means we need to find any helpful tools for grabbing local transits in a specific area, along with that we need to find tools for grabbing weather forecast. So with this in mind, we plan to have a beta of our app done by *April 1*.

From here, we will ask potential users to test the app for about 2 weeks. We are now around mid April, the last part of April we can spend fixing bugs, doing more testing, and improving the app. Finally, we will prepare a public launch on *May 1*. Our app now has four rough dates starting from Feb 1 and ending on May 1. When we actually begin building the app, we may run into problems which may push dates back, or better yet, we may find ways to speed up development which may bring the dates closer to us.

![Going from problem to idea to solution!](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/3LrA9q694Bf8M3W7mVfNnw/bd772357a78ecb1b0538a092b2a47c35/building-a-plan-for-your-next-app-3.png)

#### Marketing / Advertising Strategies

This could be something as simple as starting an Instagram page for the app or building a website with a countdown timer for the app launch! Marketing is one of the biggest factors when it comes to gaining exposure and users. If you are not sharing progress, features, goals, and getting potential users then you may not reach your user acquisition goals. For both of my applications, I began sharing small snippets and designs of the app's when I began the Instagram's along with grabbing potential users and creating a spreadsheet of who I would email when the app's would launch.

On top of this strategy, it is a great idea to begin researching into [Google Ads](https://ads.google.com/) or [Apple Search Ads](https://searchads.apple.com)! They are both great to use for gaining exposure and users, but I will note, do not overspend for either of them. Make sure you are monitoring how your ads are performing, and tracking them to where you see what each potential user does (i.e. Open the website, ask questions / contact, etc).

#### Define the flow

The last step here for your plan is to jot down exactly how your app will be used. If we continue with our example from above, we can state that the app will consist of authorization with logging in, getting the users location, showing forecast, having transit options around them, and allowing the users to schedule their days. This is a very basic flow of how the app should act, but of course there are sub flows within each major flow. Though we will not get into those considering we may write down a lot more for each sub flow.

### Final Thoughts

Starting a new app, one that you want to be successful, is no easy task. However, taking that extra step to create a plan / layout for what you want will go a long way once you get your app on its feet. From my personal experience, doing what I have shared above will help a lot from the development / testing processes all the way to maintaining process. If you want to solve problems and help change the world step by step, it will not be easy, but you will most certainly learn a lot!

[Access the App Plan Template](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1aoMfMhr0MuStFBzud08zfOHuoe_VIjPhP5XYPE2wZJg/edit?usp=sharing) created by LzCtrl

Building a Plan for Your Next App

Time, we are always racing against it even though it never stops. It is seamless, so one wrong move and your schedule might be backed up or you may miss an event. I understand that we are not perfect and that things happen, but it is always best to be prepared for any situation and create a balance in our lives. With this, I am going to dive into some tactics I use to stay on top of my busy schedule, and share some tips I have found are considered best practices for balancing your busy schedule!

### How I Balance My Schedule

To start off, this might be your first blog post of mine that you are reading, or you may have just started following me, so I will share a quick background on myself. I just moved to a brand new city over a month ago, and began a brand new chapter of my life in which has completely shifted my schedule into becoming extremely busy. Breaking that down, I am a full stack engineer thus a normal day will consist of going to work from 8:30 AM to about 5/6 PM. From there, I have about 5-6 hours of time in which I need to workout, cook dinner, work on my personal projects, and sometimes take a second to relax. This schedule is not always stress free or laid out exactly as I said above, it can vary and change almost everyday which means I have to adjust.

Now that we know what my schedule may look like on any given day, what is the secret to how I balance it out? I want to say it is pretty simple (at least for me) in how I stay on top of my day to day events / to-do's. To start it off, I plan my weeks out every Sunday, and use my own app [Habite](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615) to draw out a day to day plan for the given week. This helps maintain myself to a specific time for every task I need to get done (aside from work). To add to this, I do use another tool that I find extremely helpful for myself, and that tool is a whiteboard! It allows me to see bigger events for any given day the second I wake up. Using these two minimal tools side by side, I am able to maintain my crazy schedule of work and some personal time! It might not be perfect (right now), but I have been adding to it with being a little more hard on myself especially through some of the tips I will share below!

### Tips for Balancing Your Schedule

#### 1. Put that Phone Away :)

Now, this is easier said then done, and maybe it is not always physically possible to put your phone away. However, the main idea of this tip is that sometimes you might be on your phone just to 'drain time'. I know I have fallen to this quite a bit in the past, and ultimately, it took away some valuable time that I had / needed. Looking back at the past month, I have taken action on this tip, and at the end of most days my phone tends to be close to 80% of battery remaining because I barely touch it that day. This tip might sound a little silly, but it will go a long way once you realize how much time you are taking away from your phone, and use it for other useful tasks!

#### 2. Prepare Your Days

Like I shared with my schedule, being prepared is a fundamental key to success and balance. This could be as simple as setting up your day the evening before, or writing down problems you could run into during the week. I have found that we as people use various tools to prepare ourselves, some people may enjoy using apps and others may use pencil and paper. There is no specific perfect tool that will help you keep track of your specific daily schedule, but being able to somehow track your day is already a step toward preparation for balancing your schedule! Remember that if you can track your tasks throughout the day, then you will find yourself living a more balanced life then if you went day by day with no system.

#### 3. Take Action

What exactly could this mean? That's pretty easy, control yourself and your time. This is the same idea of putting your phone away, you need to be able to control your time thouroughly. Say you have a crazy busy Thursday evening filled with working out, cooking, and some late night work you need to get done for Friday. Well, if a close friend asks to hangout that night then you need to be able to say 'no', or set up a different day that will coorelate with your schedule. Going with this, you need to stay on top of your time frames such as being on time to where you need to go, and doing what you need for when you assigned it. Of course there are circumstances and not everything will always go as smoothly as it should. Though, if you are not putting in the effort or 'taking action' for most situations, then you will not get yourself into that balance.

### Wrapping It Up

No one said that finding that balance for your busy schedule would be easy. However, once you find and use those elements to help you start that process then you will be taking a huge step forward for yourself. Ever since I began using a few of thsese small tips I have noticed a drastic change in my day to day life. I feel as if I have a stronger pattern for how certain days should go, and I find myself more prepared for any change in my schedule. Some of these tips may not be for everyone, but it does not hurt to try when you need to start balancing out your life more!

Key Tips for Balancing a Busy Schedule

Everyone has to start somewhere. You do not decide to start an instagram page one day, and instantly receive 10,000 followers. You do not become a youtuber, and out of no where get 25,000 subscribers. Building an audience on a social platform takes time, hard work, and a little bit of luck at times. Though building an audience can be stressful or difficult at times, it can help go a long way for your business, projects, and overall the ability to have a network back you up.

### Where to Start

You might be an artist who wants to start sharing your art with the world, an everyday programmer who enjoys taking picture of your setup, or just a very passionate photgrapher. Well, whatever you are or aspire to be, getting started with building an audience is not too difficult. I have built multiple social accounts since 2012 that have varied from 15,000 to 22,000 followers and counting. I have restarted many accounts, and have went back up to what I had left. So to me, I look at building an audience or community as a very possible thing even if it takes you 2-3 years.

When you decide that you want to take that next step of building an audience or community, you go and start your page. Starting out initially, you should focus on three main items: a catchy name, strong bio / description (not too long), and a unique profile picture. These three items will begin to define what you want your page to be showcased as to your growing audience.

![LzCtrl on instagram, showing the name, bio, and profile picture](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/5u4TS3y9eiNRXVhGpuF1Cb/3c277aae1b5381f50685c1b3a737d52d/build-your-audience-through-social-media-1.png)

### Sharing Content

Once your page is created, you need to begin sharing content, this is the part that is customizable to you. Sharing content means that you begin posting to your audience the photos or videos you want them to see (i.e. art, setup, scenery, etc). I would recommend posting only once per day where you share a little bit of your process, journey, goals, or whatever you think your audience would want to hear. When sharing content especially through instagram, it is alright if the quality is not where you want it to be. You are just starting out, this means nothing will be perfect, but instead, you are creating that foundation for yourself. One side note I will add, if you are posting to instagram or youtube, make use of hashtags on every post. Find an app or website that generates hashtags that are coorelated to your specified content, and use them! This will help your content become more recognizable from the start. Along with this, make sure to find any accounts that may be reposting content similar to yours, and tag them in your posts. Whenever someone reposts your content, your audience will begin to grow a little more.

![LzCtrl on instagram, showing the name, bio, and profile picture](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/5bhinw4gTSLycTfPduOEpw/c28ea68db070f93862b789d4c217518d/build-your-audience-through-social-media-2.png)

### Stay Active

So your account has began growing, you are sharing content daily, and are interacting with your audience, this is where more of the fun begins! You now more than ever, need to make sure that you do not stop sharing content and interacting with your growing audience. The more you continue to be active and providing for your audience, the bigger it will grow, and eventually the better your content will become. This is the idea that with practice, comes a lot of success and growth. If your content started out as crap, but you continued bettering it everyday and sharing more of it daily. Then after some time, you will see a significant change in how your content or posts look!

No matter where you are in your stage of building an audience, consistency and effort will always help you down the road. It may get difficult of always being there to share content or you may have days where you feel like no one cares, but those are the days that matter the most. Those are the days that show who you really are when it seems no one is watching.

When I first began LzCtrl, I grew to about 100 followers in a few weeks, and then stayed there for a few months. To me, I felt like no one really cared, but I told myself I needed to push more and continue being consistent. Then about half a year later, that progress of when times were low began to show. Some people may grow very large over night, but with that, you do not see the endless and sleepless nights prior to that that almost made them give up...

Build Your Audience Through Social Media

2020 was a year that will be remembered for a long time. I had a lot of different experiences, opportunities, and growth in those 366 days. The year brought a lot of up and downs, but I am thankful for where it took me. If one year ago you told me that I would that I would be where I am today, I would have  thought you were insane. In this short blog post, I am going to recap my year, elaborate on some successes and failures, and share my expectations / goals for the upcoming year.

### Recap

The year started off on a rough patch with not much motivation and barely any work on my apps. I didn't start doing any actual work on updates for my apps until March when I decided to do a full app rebuild for Habite. What I thought would take me a month, ended up taking me from March until October to ship out v2. With that, I spent most of my summer rewriting all of the code for Habite, as well as making sure it still worked for all past users. Then the rest of the year I spent working on building small apps, rewriting my websites, and starting new projects. Overall the year was more productive toward the end especially when I landed my full stack engineering position! The year may have had a rough start, but it was built up as time went on finishing off very strong.

### Successes & Failures

Looking back at 2020, I had a few failures here and then some success there. Habite did not have a great start to 2020 which put it below my goal for the first half of the year. Along with this, TimeCrunch was not too hot for the winter/spring semester as many students had transitioned to virtual courses which made the app not as focused on an in person forum. Overall, the start to 2020 for both my apps was not too great and they were both in failing stages...

One factor that kept me going to change my apps altogether was that I had more time than before because of quarantine. With almost unlimited time, I was determined to bring my apps back to life. Habite specifically needed a revamp, and rebuilding it from the ground up with a new user interface helped change the results at the end of the year. I learned a lot with maintaining applications and building them to appeal to the user. From v1.6 to v2, Habite had a complete face lift which partially helped drive new users! With working on updates most of this year, I was able to build on more of my swift skills. This specifically allowed me to expand my search for an ios engineering position, and with a lot of no-responses to being denied, I was thankfully able to land one! The year had so many ups and downs, but with a lot of hard work and drive, I was able to have more success than fail this year!

### Expectations & Goals for 2021

For this upcoming year, I have a few major goals that I am planning to complete. I set out multiple minor goals that will be focused on being completed every 3 months. These minor goals will focus on app updates, progress reports, and have something to do with social media as well. I plan to share these minor goals every week specifically through my instagram and Lz weekly! For the major goals, I will be sharing them every few months and sharing what they were and if I was able to complete them at a given time. My personal expectations will include being more driven to work harder on my side projects and mentally preparing myself instead of dragging things on over time. I plan to launch a few apps this year, and possibly launch some web, android, and macOS apps! 2021 is going to be the biggest year yet for LzCtrl! Happy New Year to all!

If you have any questions or want to reach out, send me a message through my website or my instagram!

Instagram: [@Lzctrl (Posting daily content of my work)](https://www.instagram.com/LzCtrl)

Habite: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615)

TimeCrunch: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timecrunch-homework-tool/id1485810060)

Let's Look Back at 2020

This might have come unexpected to you, but I landed my first Full Stack Engineering position a few weeks ago. I am now a week into my new position, and am amazed with where I am. If you are looking for a position or interested to learn how I landed this position at 20 years old, continue forward. I will go over some of my skills, the interview process, and how the first week went!

### My Skills

To start off, I am an iOS & Website developer. I have been working with both for a few years, and they are both apart of my passion. With this though, I am a huge fan of iOS development thus it is my ideal perfect position for work. Now, you might be thinking what these two skills have to do with being a full stack engineer. They are both included in full stack positions considering they work with frontend and backend which is what makes a full stack engineer.

So with my skills, I have been working on full applications solely for a few years now. This means I design, build the ui, work with the backend, and then ship apps all by myself. This may not seem like much at a glance, but looking at larger projects, it can take quite some time to build a product and ship it out. You may know one of my apps [**Habite**](https://habiteapp.com), which is ultimately a calendar that helps you get tasks done and start habits all while providing detailed analytics. This app is particularly one of the reasons I was able to land a full stack engineering position. From the couple years of work to the constant updates, I am constantly improving my iOS skills one way or another, thus helping me stand out since I had something to show for all of my work.

### Applying

I can concur, one of the hardest parts of applying, is 1) getting some sort of positive response back, and 2) getting an interview(s). About a month and a half ago, I began applying for iOS engineering positions across the US. Initially, I believe I recieved over 50 rejections after applying to about 100 different companies. I believe one of my main problems was that I did not have a degree in my resume, but at the same time, one of my positives was that I had experience in my resume. Truthfully, I do not think many of the recruiters cared about experience as much as they did about a degree. Personally, I do not understand that way of thinking considering people who have experience or some sort of practice are already ahead of someone with a degree and little to no experience especially in the tech world. This is where if you never tried to gain experience or never did some sort of practice, then you may not be as motivated to accomplish a goal as someone who is constantly trying to better themselves, but that is another topic. With this though, I will say that you should never let 10, 50, or even 100 rejections get you down because that one application after those numbers could be your winner.

From my perspective, I did my best to not become discouraged when I received rejection after rejection. It actually helped me, I became even more motivated to prove myself wrong that I could do it. After about 200 applications, I recieved a message on LinkedIn from an engineer. The day prior I had applied for a Full Stack Engineer position focused in iOS for their company, and they had reached out to me. You can probably imagine the joy rising within me when I first opened their message to see that they were interested in me and my skills. This small message allowed a seed to be planted and begin sprouting into a beautiful flower.

### Interviews

Probably the best part before either receiving a thumbs up or a thumbs down for a position you applied to. Within this particular position, I was able to land both interviews, and a coding test! Now let's take a look at the break down: initial interview, coding assessment, and final interview. The **initial interview** consisted of getting to know me (background, experience, goals, etc), discussing what the position was, and questions. Honestly, this interview should have been only about 20 minutes, but it lasted for over an hour. Which in my opinion, was very a positive thing considering it showed that I had high interest. Next came the **coding assessment**, I received it a couple days after the initial interview. The assessment went well except for a few mishaps in which I was allowed a second chance to show my skills in iOS, but overall the problems were not too difficult. They consisted of standard small problems in which I had to write an algorithm to solve.

![iOS & Web Development icons for Xcode and for React.js](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/fTIIf59Hy43tiVzQjB8z5/c58901213bc018e0cb1d68c577d469d8/landing-a-full-stack-engineering-position-1.png)

A few days after the assessment, I received a message that I would move forward in a **final interview** with some more of the team. This interview ultimately would consist of some straight forward questions on different aspects of iOS development in seeing what I knew. Overall, it went well considering I was able to answer all of the questions exccept for a couple, and laid down a strong foundation of what I knew. Once the interview concluded, I put the position in the back of my head to not create more stress. Doing this helped, I did some things to occupy my mind while I awaited a response for the position. A few days passed after the final interview and I received an offer...

### My First Week

Moving to a new city is one crazy adventure, especially when you are moving somewhere to be on your own. The adjustment from learning how to do everything on your own to planning your days can be a little difficult. Though, receiving help when moving is huge especially if your family and/or friends are helping! I found the process to moving to a new city to go pretty swiftly because of the huge help from my family with moving and getting settled in. Their help allowed me to prepare for the start of my new position.

Not to go into too much detail, but this past week has been incredible. From joining my company and already working on an app to exploring the city, I am extremely happy with what I have accomplished so far. This week has consisted of some learning in aws, building an entire ui for an app, and beginning models for the backend. With this just being the beginning, I am already halfway through having the application complete for the company. There has been a lot of new learning especially within iOS, and it has created new pathways for my future projects/apps. I am super stoked to continue sharing this journey and see where I go from here. The past month I have learned that you should never give up no matter the size of the road block infront of you because there is always something bigger on the other side. I will be sharing more of my journey through my social accounts, make sure to follow me on [**instagram**](https://www.instagram.com/lzctrl) to receive daily updates!

If you have any questions or need help, feel free to [**contact**](mailto:lzctrls@gmail.com?subject=Contacting%20From%20The%20Website) me!

Landing a Full Stack Engineering Position

It has been one hectic year to say the least. One that has been filled with stress, unknown, and a lot of learning. Starting with me, I have not created a blog post for over a year now, nor have I been too active on my social platforms aside from [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lzctrl). However, that does not mean that I have not been putting in work into projects and my brand. Let's take a look at the year I have had since my last post!

### 2019

After wrapping up work on Habite v1.6, I had some time on my hands to work on other projects and start new beginnings in the summer of 2019. This time allowed me to do research, start a new chapter in my life which included college, and do a lot of learning. A snippet about me, I am someone who plans out their days and organizes work, school, and hobbies. Once I began college in August of 2019, I found myself researching homework apps. This idea had been in the back of my mind for months prior as I had wrapped up an update for Habite. Once I began classes, the idea became a lot more clear to me. It was as if I was planting a seed that would sprout into a new flower! Little did I know what I would be doing for the remainder of 2019.

#### TimeCrunch (iOS)

Starting college in late August / early September, a new idea sparked that would soon be developed into a product. Initially, I had the idea of building a complex iOS application focused with course work, but it quickly turned into building something small and simple. That allowed my mind to wonder to [**TimeCrunch**](https://www.timecrunchapp.com), a small homework planner app that allows students, varying from secondary to college / university, to organize and stay on top of their classes. The app has two main functions: assignments and courses. Breaking that down, the app allows you to add, edit, and delete assignments that you may have for the current day, the week, or any day in the future. Connecting this to courses, students can see all of their classes they have during the day going from time to professor name to building and room number!

![Timecrunch: A homework planner app available on the App Store for free!](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/1LnhoylejnUgG2wjamVpPp/686b66ccd4846a1b2740e0b0171a8427/what-have-been-up-to-this-past-year-1.png)

This app, being relatively small, was not built in the span of a week. The full idea began in early September, the design began that same week and spanned for a few days, and I dove into the code in the middle of September. Though, of course with my new college schedule, I did not have hours upon hours to work on this app. This did, however, allow me to plan and prepare various days to work on this new app that I was planning to ship. Once I did dive into the code in the middle of September, it took about 6-7 weeks to build, test, and ship out. I think this app could have been built a bit faster than that, but with my schedule and building the website, the app did not ship until early November.

Looking back over the past year since [**TimeCrunch**](https://www.timecrunchapp.com) shipped, I have to say that I have learned a lot about various students across the globe on how they stay on top of their schedules in earning some sort of degree. I do plan to add more value to this app in early 2021 and add more support such as macOS and android, but for now, it is serving its purpose for simplicity and ease of use!

### 2020

The year that has been one to remember, I cannot stress enough how much I have learned through everything that has happened. If I could, I would sit down for hours, and write a book on all of the lessons I have learned. Let's just highlight a few major parts of 2020 so far!

With being in my second semester of college, I had more time to work on apps and websites in my free time, but it was not all the time I wish I had. That would quickly change a couple months into 2020 when the world went in a global pandemic and countries began locking down. Going with the short version, my classes changed to online, my time freed up, and I started focusing more on iOS apps and websites! Let's break down 2020 so far into these categories: Habite v2.0, Other projects, and What the future holds!

#### Habite v2.0

With the year starting not so lightly, [Habite](https://www.habiteapp.com) itself was not doing so well. From the backend side, the code was old, there was a ton of garbage, and it was not stable enough for all users. The first major step I took was in March 2020 when I decided to rebuild the app completely from the ground up. This created a lot of doubt, some second thoughts, and long nights. The app was poorly written from v1.6 and down, there were a ton of storyboards, and there was no real value there. So I took the new app step by step, I began learning code only, and focused more on building iOS apps with a MVC pattern. To begin with, I redid the app design completely, looking at common likes that users enjoyed in v1.6, and focusing more on white space and clean looks. This took me about a week of reaching out to users, designing and redesigning, and finalizing my ideas for the new version.

![Habite: Calendar and task app on the App Store for free!](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/69tDd4U3IT5dmQUvttZhUI/e96ae430400f38698c59afd52d6a3d8f/what-have-been-up-to-this-past-year-2.png)

From March to October, I spent countless days and nights rebuilding this app. The process took a little too long in my opinion, I did have to rebuild every controller, delete all the storyboards, write new classes for the databases, and rewire the app to work like before especially for existing users. It was stressful, but fun at the same time, for the first time in sometime I was building and learning something new! I did have a lot of trial and error especially through testing, but the outcome has been incredible so far. [Habite v2.0](https://www.habiteapp.com) shipped a week before its' 2 year anniversary (mid October), and has so far been growing everyday since. Although this new update took way too long, it brought me a new way of building iOS applications that has completely changed my vision for future projects. Early in 2021, I plan to launch the macOS version and then a couple months later the android version. Along with this, I will be converting the app into multi device support allowing users to use multiple devices in staying on top of their schedules.

#### Other Projects

Aside from working on [Habite v2.0](https://www.habiteapp.com) for most of 2020, I did dive in react.js and next.js with building websites. So far it has been an exciting experience of building websites in a completely different manner than I had before. I am planning to convert all of my websites in the coming months to react based, and starting a [youtube](https://www.youtube.com/lzctrl) series on it soon!

Building websites has been pretty exciting the past month, but I have also began working on various new iOS apps I plan to ship around the new year. These will start relatively small, and focus on a couple main features that help users from a photography view to a book lover view! I am super stoked to begin sharing more on those soon, to stay updated on them, follow me [here](https://www.instagram.com/lzctrl)!

#### What the Future Holds

This might be the most exciting part that I have yet to reveal! I have many projects and revisions coming in the next few months that vary from iOS to macOS to websites and even android. Though, one of the most exciting I will be announcing next weekend (Dec 12, 2020). There is still a lot of room for growth in building iOS applications, but I feel that I have a better foundation now than I did a year ago. With this being said, the next few months will also consist of me helping you learn iOS and website development through my [youtube channel](https://www.youtube.com/lzctrl). I will be posting multiple times a week on various series aimed at different programming structures. Plus, make sure to look out for weekly blog posts [here](https://www.lzctrl.com/blog) or on my [medium](https://medium.com/@lzctrl) page, and a new weekly newsletter that starts next week as well. So much to look forward to, and I cannot wait to begin sharing more with you.

If you have any questions or want to reach out, send me a message through my website or my instagram!

Instagram: [@Lzctrl (Posting daily content of my work)](https://www.instagram.com/LzCtrl)

Habite: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/habite/id1438646615)

TimeCrunch: [Download for free](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/timecrunch-homework-tool/id1485810060)

What I have been up to the Past Year

You have found a passion, a possible hobby, or want to learn something new and plan to jump into the Designer or Developer world or maybe both! Let’s explore the main tools most Designers/Developers and I use on a daily basis. These are not all the tools out there available but a few that I believe can help you grow, help you create and build projects, and allow you to build a strong foundation for design or programming!

### Designer Tools

When I started out with programming, I had never thought of designing my projects before jumping in. This was a rather large problem as I would build a certain UI with code then realize I do not like it and change it completely. This would be a repeating process the entire time of building projects thus wasting so much of my time. I grew sick of it and after launching my first business app, I was introduced to [Sketch](https://www.sketch.com) app by a few developer friends. I was amazed with Sketch from the start, a tool that let me design practically anything. This would be a tool I would use every day from writing down some ideas to even designing them.

![Sketch app](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/6oLadisOUykBQtrvDimmER/0da28256be5af7279fcf781f3435e4cb/tools-for-designers-and-developers-1.jpeg)

Sketch is a powerful design tool for macOS. It offers an incredible amount of features that seem endless with creating anything you want. There are alternatives to Sketch, however, for Windows or Linux OS users: Adobe XD, Affinity Designer, Figma, and Gravit! All have their positives and negatives. I have never looked into Affinity or Gravit but their reviews are pretty solid from what I have read. If it was not for my MacBook, I would useAdobe XD or Figma as they are very similar to Sketch. The layout is almost the exact same and they perform the same task of designing. Another popular macOS design tool is Invision Studio. Very similar to Sketch in its layout and designing tools yet it has a powerful way of adding prototyping to the flow. Prototyping is an incredible tool for creators and designers who make their designs come to life. Invision does an astounding job of making everything connect together.

![Invision Studio Launcher](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/4rkNk7eOeyxrffHQsY2mer/5acfb3c9c1782e68a002a1f4a5f022e8/tools-for-designers-and-developers-2.jpeg)

These are just a few incredible design tools that can help you get started in UI or UX. Most of them depend on your preference and how you work. They are all similar in designing but they each have ups and downs. These are not all of the design tools out there and there are so many more great tools!

### Developer Tools

You are looking to get started with programming but have stumbled upon what you need. You should break down the process from the start. The first step in your break down should be: what are you going to focus on. There are an incredible amount of things to create out there from programs on computers to videos games to iOS or Android apps to almost anything you can imagine. The list goes on and on.

#### Mobile

Once you have your main idea of what you plan to focus on (this will not be a short term focus either) you can jump into IDE’s and languages. Here are the quick and easy ones for iOS and Android Developers. For iOS, the main IDE is Xcode which is an incredible IDE that uses storyboards and code or just code to create iOS applications or macOS applications! The native languages for iOS are Objective-C and Swift, I personally recommend learning Swift as it is newer and more simple to understand (from my personal experience) than Objective-C. It still is never a bad thing to learn something new and it all depends on your preference. For android, I recommend Android Studio which is almost the same as Xcode except it is for Android. Android Studio uses Kotlin as its native language. It has the same focus on creating views in your app and writing code to perform certain tasks for your users!

![Xcode IDE](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/49oOkZYhMo5U6IOxUR0EJI/ab9e6c036f83f45fc6884c261981eed1/tools-for-designers-and-developers-3.jpeg)

#### Web Development

For those looking to get into web development, I would recommend jumping into HTML (HyperText Markup Language and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and getting the basics down. Some great editors that I would recommend are Atom, Microsoft Visual Studio, or Sublime Text. They all have a focus on having plugins and allowing users to simplify and personalize the editor to their own liking. Atom is my personal favorite but I have not dove into Visual Studio. However, I have heard great things about Visual Studio and will be looking into it myself soon.

![Microsoft Visual Studio](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/1bHPYwe2kjvzFoBSSdiiEf/4cffa0b98b425d40d917ee636e1c5ecc/tools-for-designers-and-developers-4.jpeg)

#### Other

If you plan to build your own game or get started with a certain language, you may need a certain IDE. I would recommend looking into the docs on the best editor for what you plan to complete. From my personal experience, if you are going into Java development, some great IDE’s to try out are Netbeans, IntelliJ IDEA, and Eclipse. They all have powerful compilers and can help you get done what you need, however, Eclipse is better, from what I believe, as it gives better insight on your code and does more than the other two.

### Final Thoughts

These are just a few tools that I personally have experienced with and know others who have tried them. I did not go into so much detail for each tool but I just showed you tools which can get you started. Not everyone knows where to start or what they need but hopefully this gave you more insight on what you may need to start your next journey!


Tools for Designers and Developers

Welcome to my blog! You can call me Lz, I am an iOS and Website Developer who is based in the U.S. I have been programming for over 5 years learning Java, Python, Web Development (HTML, CSS, and Javascript), and Swift!

The number one question I am asked through my email or my messages on [instagram](https://www.instagram.com/lzctrl) is:

###### "How do I start iOS or Website Development?"

It gets to a point where the question is repetitive and annoying, so I decided to write about it. So buckle up because I am about to show you my story and how I have arrived at where I am today!

### High School

My story begins in high school (late 2015) where I chose to take a Computer Science class. It was a random decision at the time, I had no programming knowledge and did not know where it would take me. Our first task on the first week was to get an understanding of what programming was and how it worked. Everyone was instructed to create anything in Scratch (a block-based visual programming language) and make it unique. I had created an ice hockey player (a jpeg image) who would move forward or backward based on key press and eventually if he moved forward enough, he would shoot a puck into the hockey net and score. This project was what made me start falling in love with programming because I was able to put whatever I chose together and create a project that would be my unique work.

![The final product of the Scratch project](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/4wdY6mAdVJGIbDjQfhIDYa/e1ed0c1b96c5292785069f3ee8cf88a7/how-i-became-an-ios-website-developer-1.png)

The course focused on Java (an object-oriented language) after the first week and it would dive deep into objects, methods, and classes. It no longer felt as if I was being at school to get by time but rather it felt like I was experiencing a new opportunity every single day to grow myself. After the course, I built mini applications in my free time then began to pursue website development.

### Diving into Website Development

I started about a year later (early 2017) on learning HTML (HyperText Markup Language) and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). I downloaded an app at the time (SoloLearn) and dove into how websites were created. It was not a great period of design since every website I created looked awful. It took a couple months to get used to tags and styling. I was not good at understanding how to style and create certain sheets to change tags throughout the entire website. It took a while to get the idea of web development down and designing before jumping into any code. All that time I never just watched something and did not practice it on my own. Many people think you can watch someone do something and you will be able to do it easily on your first try without even attempting it after.

### New to iOS Development

In the middle of 2018, I bought myself a MacBook Pro 13". I became fond of how iOS applications were made and so I found a free course on Udemy and jumped into iOS development. I fell in love with Swift from the beginning, it was a simple and a fun language. The limits seem almost endless with it. After building a small tap game from the course, I went on to build a business an application (not a large application). It was no where near perfect and had an incredible amount of bugs (this was my first application). It launched in the middle of August with strong retention and user engagement which was very exciting and surprising!

![Xcode, the IDE for iOS Development](//images.ctfassets.net/xrh70dk13jlm/6aHfZ2KBHp7CqM4xxYzMzv/724d5d52c1fd5e444acb70cb6705a4be/how-i-became-an-ios-website-developer-2.png)

During the time of developing this companies application, I decided I would build an app for myself. I went with the productivity side in which I wanted to build an application that took tasks to a different level. The idea was that users received a score based on each task completion / miss. At the start of September 2018, I dove into designing my idea. It was a quick and small application at the start with focusing on users creating tasks, seeing their scores, and having a global rank board to compete with friends! It took almost two months to design, develop, and launch out [Habite](https://www.habiteapp.com) which went out on October 24, 2018. The user engagement skyrocketed from the very beginning and it was incredible to watch actual people use a product I built. The app is coming up on four months on February 24, 2019 and it is completely different from what it was before. It now has a white interface, contains a Premium version which includes daily Schedules, Check Lists, Notes, and Goals, and continues to grow everyday!

### How you can start

I have seen many people who want to try new things but use minimal effort. That is not going to cut it for web or iOS development. You need to be able to write a lot of code, break down and fix bugs, and practice as much as you can. [Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/) is an incredible source for starting. They provide free and paid courses in which teach you almost anything. [Teamtreehouse](https://teamtreehouse.com/) is another great source for learning. I have not looked into it but I have heard great things about it! There are more courses and resources all over the web including Youtube. It just takes a couple minutes to search and find what you want to jump into.

The experience and learning process has blown me away so far. Everyday I am learning something new and practicing my skills doing what I love. The best advice to anyone starting out is start small, learn from others, and build any kind of projects you can. Practice is what will help you in the long run as you grow yourself in a certain language or skill!

If you have any questions or want to reach out, check me out here:

Website: [Lzctrl (About, Contact, Portfolio, and Blog Posts)](https://www.lzctrl.com)

Instagram: [@Lzctrl (Posting daily content of my work)](https://www.instagram.com/LzCtrl)


Tech, apps, & developer life