donnanorton's comments

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: Have you stopped reading books?

I definitely haven't. I try to read books at least 30 minuntes a day. Sometimes, though, I have to do it on the go, on my way to work. I had some digital versions on my devices (here are some great places to find them, by the way: https://custom-writing.org/blog/free-books-online).

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: Books for Effective Communication

You can read all you want about communication, but if you don't know how to execute it, it will be like learning how to fish on the Internet. You will know what to do, but until you actually try with real water, you won't get any real practice. The best way to learn communication is to 1) try it yourself or 2) watch (and learn) from others who are there.

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: Best way to learn networking fundamentals quickly

Some websites to learn networking: http://www.edx.org/ http://www.coursera.org/ http://www.searchnetworking.com/

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: How do you make your websites/apps beautiful? What tools do you use?

Website should be well designed. Good colors catch the eye, and provide an instant layer of communication. Even before the conscious mind has started thinking, the subconscious has already assessed if something is interesting or not. Purely based on colors.

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: Books that helped you in your business

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries is a startup bible for creating a product, testing and iterating. As an option, you can try to look for a downloadable version on these websites: https://custom-writing.org/blog/free-books-online#business

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: What's Your Process for Learning?

I focus on one topic a day. I realized it helps me to retain knowledge better. As of tools, I suggest you to check out this list of websites for full-fledged-learning: https://custom-writing.org/blog/36-best-websites There are tools sorted by study goals. For example, I use Droptasks to organize my tasks and files, and Braingle to train my brain.

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: How do I stop wasting so much time on my phone?

I LOVE this book!

donnanorton | 4 years ago | on: Ask HN: How do you use Anki to improve your learning?

I practice daily with Anki on a mobile phone, mainly to learn a language (Spanish).

Beyond Spanish, my cards touch on many other subjects. Some are stuff I want to remember all the time (whether related to work or general knowledge). Other are cards I prepared for some exam/professional qualifications. After the exam, some of those cards moved to the former category, the rest are now archived.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: Do you have a smart trick to save time?

Setting up auto-delivery. By inputting my grocery list into Instacart and having the same items delivered every Monday, I not only save money (because I'm not at the store, distracted by items that I may or may not cook), but I save time and always have a fridge and cupboard full of what I know I’ll eat.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: What was the most stressful time in your life?

Probably the most stressful period of my life was when I was studying in the university in a different city.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: I'd like to start a company, where should I begin?

When my dad was starting his first business, back about 30 years ago, the business environment was wildly different than today.

There was far less venture capital floating around, things like “crowdfunding” were non-existent, websites were incipient, social media wasn’t a thing, businesses nearly always had a “brick and mortar” store presence etc.

Today, your options for starting a business are endless...

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: Your experience of using an alternative to WordPress?

I am not familiar with Craft CMS or Ghost, but I am familiar with Statamic; and it is an awesome CMS compared to WordPress.

While it is not a well-known name, Statamic comes out-of-the-box with many features that you would need a plugin for if you were using WordPress. Some of these features include multilingual functionality, advanced customer fields, form modules, search functionality, a backup utility, advanced caching system, etc. It also does not require a database, which is an interesting benefit of using this CMS.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: Are there studies on the most efficient way to learn programming?

The best way to learn programming is starting with understanding the Framework of the programming tool that you would like to use

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: How Do You Blog?

I've always had a passion for writing and started in school. During my studies at the university, I kept improving my writing skills and sought opportunities to get published. Now I blog at https://custom-writing.org/blog helping students in their studying.

I always feel motivated and there are not many difficulties for me in the process.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: What is the most useful object you carry around with you?

My planner. My whole life is there.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: resources for improved writing at work?

I don't know if it helps you much, but here's a list of common writing mistakes and ways to fix them: https://custom-writing.org/blog/rules-of-writing At least it's something to start with.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: What annoys you during online courses

The worst thing that one can experience is having to deal with a course with no media (videos, graphics, etc.). Plain text only. I had it once and it was awful.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: What is your one line wisdom you would like to share?

Little decisions you make alter your life, but they rarely do so all at once.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: What fact-checking sites / sources do you use?

I use https://www.factcheck.org

Also, you might want to check out this guide on how to identify credible sources: https://custom-writing.org/blog/signs-of-credible-sources

As for COVID-19 updates, I only trust the World Health Organization's website.

donnanorton | 5 years ago | on: Ask HN: How to know when an idea is worth pursuing?

I guess there are two ways. 1. Listen to your gut and be passionate about it. If you truly believe in your idea, you won't give up that easily. Even if you do, you won't feel bad about wasting that time. At least you tried and no "what-ifs" will ever haunt you. 2. Do some research. If you are a more practical type of person, explore your idea from every angle. Collect the data and analyze the potential. If you ask me, my personal approach is the first one.