J. B. Rainsberger

I also accept questions in English. #IngaTidsestimater

The old joke says that an American will always do the right thing once they've exhausted every other option. As a Canadian, I have a cultural duty to be better. What if I suddenly started practising non-judgmental observation frfr? fivepinbowling.substack.com/p/non-judgme...

When I advise people to calm their mind and tame their workload by writing things down, they often become even more anxious. Write which things down? How much? How many? What's too much? What's enough? I get it. First, breathe. Next, watch the video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc1jitMQxZk

When I run an errand down at the other end of Main St, I often have some observation or anecdote in mind, drawn from my daily practice. I record these in the hopes that you might find them helpful: instructive, uplifting, hopeful… whatever you need. blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/in...

If D minor is the saddest of all the keys, then this is the saddest of all the possible outcomes of having Too Much to Do. youtube.com/shorts/fpAny...

One reason to prefer the pizza kitchen to the world of software development: concreteness. This concreteness avoids one of the oldest ongoing battles in professional software development. youtu.be/0Np-YtHOpWs?...

Not letting tasks that matter to you fall off your priority list is simple, but maybe not easy. youtu.be/hWoOZgERENk

Don't try to catch up. That way lies burnout. Try these two strategies instead. youtu.be/9Mk6ZvPMBEE

Four lightning talks about evolutionary software design. If you'd like to learn more with me, then visit Codecamp Romania in October 2026 or join The jbrains Experience. youtu.be/BIPKLyKReXE codecamp.ro/masterclasses experience.jbrains.ca

It starts with making lists. It leads somewhere much more significant, if you give it time.... youtube.com/shorts/nEzwD...

When starting a project, I notice three stages: 1: Deal with the torrent of new things. 2: Rest. (Do the minimum it takes to tread water.) 3: Hack away every day until you find your groove. So many folks feel guilty in Stage 2 and rush to Stage 3. I recommend against it. youtu.be/5UOn6auOFjM?...

When you need pizza late, please call your order in early, so we know to keep the light on for you. Thanks! (And thanks to the person who did that for us tonight!) www.minnedosabowl.ca/gutters-pizza

One Weird Trick for snapping myself out of the Blaming Stance, when all I _want_ to do is tell everyone else that everything is all their fault. The Blaming Stance is strong in this one. 💪 🤷 youtu.be/Fi4qNt7f67k?...

Sometimes, when you submit a feature request, they actually ship it! Even a bank!! "We made improvements based on feedback from customers like you. Now, sort by date to view your most recent transactions first, or your oldest."

@cassidoo.co Yay! Thank you for cassidoo.co/post/astro-7... wherein I learned how to force some desired extra whitespace in my text.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=095w... #gtd

It's in the paper, so I guess it's official now! See you soon, Manitoba! It's been a minute... #5pinbowling #Manitoba #Westman

Who's fault is it when a reader takes away a different message than the one the writer intended? Mu. (Unask the question.) blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/a-...

I've updated a classic for computer programmers: Avoiding Distractions While Programming. (Now with more indirection!) blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/av...

fivepinbowling.substack.com/p/progress-i...

One more weekend, one more tournament. This time, a playoff appearance. Now 15627/60.9 games, averaging 256.6. This is a new level of performance for me. #5pinbowling

I'm planning to uproot my life and move, but I don't feel stress from the explosion of things to do, because of #GTD. I have a long list of things to do. I keep having more ideas. There's on the list. I'll get to them. I won't forget anything important. It'll be fine. #GettingThingsDone

There is a new address for forwarding my mail! On August 1, 2026, we become owners and managers of Minnedosa Bowl & Gutters Pizza (& Lounge) in lovely uptown Minnedosa, MB! #5pinbowling Stay tuned for information on leagues, tournaments, casual bowling, and theme nights. minnedosabowl.ca

Reduce the pain and suffering associated with waiting for other people to get out of your way. You have a task to finish!! blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/po...

Two weekends. Two tournaments. 40 qualifying games. Zero playoff appearances. Still, for the first time, scoring 10001 for 40 consecutive tournament games, averaging 250.025. Round numbers aren't so important, but a milestone is a milestone. #5pinbowling

When interactions "go wrong", the very thing you are most likely to complain about and try to change is the very thing that most people find hardest and most painful to change about themselves. Result? Merry chaos. I propose an alternative that might actually work. blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/th...

Strategy: Say things so egregious and obviously stupid that the listener is stunned into inaction and can only :shrug:. Example: "All women love ballrooms." I would call it "genius" if I thought it were intentional.

Getting Things Done is only about making lists and setting reminders on the surface. There are greater powers in there and it might help you to know what they are... blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/an...

My webcam image is all... red?! jb.rainsberger.ca/permalink/wh...

I ended up having two long consultations with clients, both free of charge. I really enjoyed the work. I also really hope to continue to do great work by being paid for it. #devoxxgr experience.jbrains.ca

"I should add a comment to this task for next year to visit their shitty site in Chrome, because it doesn't work in Firefox." I did that last year and failed to notice the note.

The Doctor is In at #devoxxgr. Join me for free consulting or coaching. Simply sit down and let's start!

Is there truly nobody struggling with mock objects out there? I asked Claude Code to generate an example of a Java project using mock objects and it generated my Point of Sale teaching example.

Intéressant! Que font mes amis francophones à l'écrit? C'est une reforme qui j'avais entièrement raté. 😉 www.ledevoir.com/culture/9729...

"Should I pull more tickets?" These two answers are clearly wrong: "Yes" and "No". A helpful answer is significant more complicated. We handle these questions are other thorny problems as part of Office Hours. Not free, but excellent. office-hours.jbrains.ca

"Playing Well With Others: An Example" Choosing not to perpetuate LinkedIn as a cesspool of self-proclaimed thought leaders yelling past each other. blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/pl...

Iterations/sprints are dead. Scrum is dead. Agile is dead. Hold on... maybe. blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/wh...

Few things can wake you up quite like downloading accounting information and then seeing a bunch of it disappear. At least, this time, there was a simple explanation for their bug.

When I started practising #GTD I didn't realize that I would come to know focusing on a task itself as rewarding and even addictive. I notice more and more, when I feel scattered, an abstract longing for doing something I can focus on.

Consider treating your inbox as containing options, not obligations. I know: it's easier said than done. Even so... blog.jbrains.ca/permalink/yo...

I just drafted 1400 words about mock objects (and why you might struggle with them) that have been trying to get out for a long time now. These words might see the light of day, but members of The jbrains Experience are reading them now. ;) experience.jbrains.ca

WAT. blog.thecodewhisperer.com/permalink/a-...

The @oredev.org conference is interested in an atproto architecture talk. The CFP is open until the end of March - get your submission in before AtmosphereConf! oredev.org/callforpaper

It's a little thing, but when you can't figure out which window you need, you need to set the window title using a`tmux` configuration setting you barely understand. Everyone starts somewhere. https://jb.rainsberger.ca/permalink/byobu-session-name-in-terminal-window-title