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Ris Adams
Software Mentor
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3 min readParentinghabitsdiscipline

Watching your child grow and learn is amazing, but what happens when your child starts to develop negative habits?

Sadly, good or bad, most habits are out of your control. And although you might have shielded them from cultivating these habits at home, school, friends, or other family members are places and people where they can encounter them. There's nothing you can do to change that environment.

habitsdiscipline3 min read

3 min readCareerinterviewingjob-hunting

You made it past the initial filter — your resume caught their attention, and now you're in the room (virtual or otherwise). This is where the real work begins.

Here's the thing: most candidates treat interviews like pop quizzes they hope to survive. That's the wrong mindset entirely. You've got a few good options here — approach it strategically, and you'll stand out from the pack.

interviewingjob-hunting3 min read

2 min readHealthanxietystresshealth

It's easy to get caught up in planning your future. Planning for a secure and happy future is a significant undertaking. However, spending too much attention on unknowns can significantly inhibit your ability to focus on the here and now.

At this very moment, you can begin to enjoy your everyday life that is currently flashing unnoticed right before your eyes. So let the future come naturally and live joyfully and willingly in the present moment!

anxietystresshealthfamily2 min read

2 min readHealthanxietystresshealth

Thinking hard about a decision is good. Thinking about the same decision for the fourteenth time in three hours? That's a different thing entirely. I've been there. You sit down to plan, and somewhere between "let me consider the options" and "let me consider the options again," planning quietly becomes rumination.

The tricky part is that overthinking feels productive. Your brain is busy, so it must be doing something useful, right? Not always. Sometimes it's just spinning.

anxietystresshealth2 min read

3 min readDigital Marketingdigital-marketingSEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is a great addition to any online marketing effort. Proper implementation can lead to amazing results, with a higher search engine ranking leading to an increase in traffic (website visitors) and sales.

Of course, the opportune place to be when someone is looking for the types of products, services, or information you offer is at the top of their search results. This is what SEO is all about.

Let’s look at the factors that affect on-page and off-page SEO and how these can impact your search engine rankings.

digital-marketingSEO3 min read

To grow your business online, you may be wondering whether you should invest your time and money into Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Pay-Per-Click Advertising (PPC).

SEO and PPC are both great tools for increasing your website’s visibility and ranking; however, they are not the same, and you should be aware of the differences between the two.

Both have their positives and negatives, but is one better than the other?

digital-marketingSEOPPC3 min read

2 min readHealthmental-healthdepression

When the weather is cold and the skies are dark and cloudy, it's easier to feel down and despondent. If you struggle with gloomy feelings during the winter, it's good to know that there's help and hope available to you without a prescription depression drug. Of course, you'll want to check with your physician before making any changes to your health regimen.

mental-healthdepression2 min read

2 min readPersonalpersonalparenting

Two years ago

Two years ago today my son was born, We had known early on that it would be traumatic--He was diagnosed with a congenital diaphragmatic hernia and had a low survival chance. Over 50% of all diaphragmatic hernias are fatal.

personalparenting2 min read

2 min readCareercareercommunicationrelationships

Good communication allows many life situations to run smoothly. However, there are certain relationships that deserve extra attention, such as the relationship you have with your boss. You and your boss have drastically different roles, and when each of you fulfills these roles with a hard working and understanding attitude, you'll both feel fulfilled.

3 min readCareercareercommunicationinterviewing

Find Out What YOU Want to Know

Job interviews provide an important opportunity to discover if you and your new employer will be a good match before you leap into a new position.

Not only are they interviewing you, but also you're interviewing them! Will you be happy in their employ? Think about what information matters to you and find tactful ways to ask your interviewer what you need to know.

4 min readHealthcareerstressmental-health

Work stress in tech isn't just about tight deadlines or difficult stakeholders. It's about context switching between fifteen different priorities, debugging production issues at 2 AM, and trying to maintain code quality while everyone wants everything "yesterday."

Here's the thing: stress is often a symptom of deeper systemic issues. You've got a few good options for addressing both the immediate pressure and the root causes.

careerstressmental-health4 min read

5 min readCareerconflictgossipmental-health

Workplace gossip is like technical debt — it accumulates slowly, seems harmless at first, then suddenly becomes a massive problem that affects everything from team velocity to code quality. The difference is that gossip spreads faster than a memory leak and can be just as destructive to your work environment.

In tech teams, information flows matter. When that flow gets corrupted with speculation, rumors, and interpersonal drama, it creates noise that drowns out legitimate communication. Let's debug this problem systematically.

conflictgossipmental-health5 min read

6 min readCareerchangecareer

Change in tech happens fast. New frameworks, shifting priorities, team restructures, platform migrations — if you're not adapting quickly, you're falling behind. The question isn't whether change will happen; it's whether you'll be ready when it does.

I've seen developers react to change in two ways: they either resist until they're forced to adapt (usually painfully), or they develop systems for navigating change smoothly. The second group consistently has better careers, less stress, and more interesting opportunities.

changecareer6 min read