Half a Thousand Devs Walk Into a Newsletter...

Before we talk dopamine, chaos, or cursed side projects let me start with something real:

Thank you.

After last issue where I shared that my aunt passed away—I wasn’t sure what would happen.

I thought maybe I'd skip a week. Or spiral. Or quietly buffer in the background.

Instead, my inbox filled up with kind words, gentle replies, and some extremely on-brand ADHD condolences like:

And honestly? That's the kind of energy I needed.

Grief scrambles your brain.

ADHD already does that.

Combine the two and I was basically a browser with 47 tabs open and zero audio playing.

So truly thank you.

You reminded me that this newsletter isn’t just a weekly experiment in dev chaos… it's a place.

And I'm glad you’re here.

And now somehow… 500 of you are subscribed to this thing.

Five. Hundred. Human. Beings.

That’s like…

• a small conference
• a large guild
• or a very supportive bug report thread

Which raises the obvious question:

Are you all okay?

Kidding. (Kind of.)

But seriously: I’m grateful.

Thank you for reading, skimming, doomscrolling, forgetting to unsubscribe, or opening this by accident.

However you got here - you’re welcome.

So.

We hit 500 subscribers. I cried a little. Buffer cried a lot.

And then I did what any ADHD developer does when something starts working:

I opened a blank page and decided to rebuild everything.

(Again.)

Because the truth is I want to make Almost Done even better for the devs who keep showing up.

More code. More tools. More weird metaphors that somehow explain TypeScript.

Starting next issue, we’re pivoting slightly:

🔁 Less "Simen’s weekly brain spiral."

🔧 More “Neurodivergent friendly dev survival manual with mascots.”

🎯 So What’s Coming?

💬 A Community (aka Screaming Together But Nicely)

I’ve started setting up a Discord server.

It’ll be a safe space for neurodivergent devs to:

• Share tools that actually help
• Post side projects at 2am
• Ask, "Is it executive dysfunction or just bad UX?" (Answer: yes.)

It’s not ready yet but it’s close.

Buffer is writing the onboarding flow. Ping is setting up rules. Zap is adding way too many emoji channels.

⚡ 10-Minute Concepts & Builds

These will live on the site:

Tiny pages. Big ideas. Low commitment.

Think:

• "Explain React Suspense like I’m already overwhelmed"
• "Here’s a CSS fix that won’t make you cry (probably)"
• "Why this tool helps my brain, not just my workflow"

Some will be code-first. Some will be vibes-first. All will be quick enough to read before your focus runs out.

They’re taking a bit to build (ironically), but they’re coming.

📬 Dev Essays That Actually Help

Still funny. Still human.

But you’ll start seeing deeper dives into stuff like:

• Working memory + code recall
• Side project shame spirals
• ADHD-safe workflows (that aren’t just do Pomodoro but better)

No hustle. No shame. Just tools, truths, and a little validation on the side.

📚 …And Maybe a Book? Or Three?

I’m slowly building a series of ebooks:

• Just Ship It (snackable JS/TS snippets)
• Git Happens (a survival guide for broken branches + broken brains)
• Ctrl + S for the Soul (you’ve seen it if you’ve read this far)
• Why is it always undefined (Javascript and Typescript Edition)

They’ll be fun, short, and downloadable. Possibly even readable. Stay tuned.

We’re not pivoting into Serious Thought Leader Land™.

We’re just evolving - with purpose.

If you’ve been here since Issue 001, I freaking like you!

If you just subscribed and have no idea what’s going on… same

Next issue, we’re diving deep into the dev brain again.

Hope you’re ready.

Simen (building, buffering, and debugging this community one issue at a time)

Zap (wants to launch a merch store immediately)

Echo (made tea and is waiting patiently)

Ping (wrote this whole essay as comments in a .json file)

Buffr (currently stuck halfway through updating the footer)