The #100daycodeChallenge is Not For Me

Before I start, I love web development, I love learning, and I love computers. I went to school for software engineering even. But the catch is, I really did not build a portfolio in school, so when I walk into a lot of interviews. They are disappointed and dismiss me for not having a portfolio of work to showcase. Let alone abandoning my software roots for more of a web development direction.

100daysofcodechallenge comes into play

In comes the 100daysofcodechallenge while I looking for inspiration on twitter. I spent some time helping a few people answer questions and such on twitter. But I thought to myself. Maybe this would be the thing I need to do to kick start my goal. To really get off my feet, to make it into a career after 100 or 200 days or less.

The Black Sheep Cannot follow Rules

I tried to follow the rules, I tried for a few weeks to do it how it was said. I just could not keep it going. I felt it was a whirlwind disaster. I felt I was spinning my wheels. I wake up and just start working on code? Working on projects? Trying to emulate those around me with challenges built by others, and those before them. It felt like fraud, it was a mistake I made. I love the group they are soo warm and up lifting. But I cannot feel progress, by building the same thing everyone else is building and calling it my own.

My Past Life

I took an internship the previous summer, and one of the biggest things I took away from it was doing things an Agile methodology of planning. You choose how long a sprint is going to be by the work you want to accomplish and the tasks at hand. and the goal is to complete short bursts of work released usually in about 2 weeks. Sometimes you find bugs along the way, sometimes things get in the way, sometimes you gotta work faster, or think harder. But This came back to me full circle.

Circle of Productivity

I cam to the conclusion, I cannot plan a day at a time and get anywhere, I just cannot. I fall down rabbit holes things get in the way and then I get discouraged and i feel I lost. I feel that the world has beaten me for the time being. Thus I started planing half to a full week in advance. But this was sloppy, I would learn ‘this’, or work on a project and it just go haywire because this is the only thing I can think of.

Sprints and Stand Ups

So here on out I am giving up on the 100daycodechallenge, I am switching to a programming a (hybrid)) Agile style schedule. If you have not heard of that, It is one of the few styles programmers in the industry use to plan there projects. Along with Khanban, and Scrum, and a couple of others. But they are all pretty similar in ways and different in others. But they are flexible compared to other ways of working. thats a note I must say.

Kick Off

So I am kicking off my sprint tomorrow, Since mine is not for a physical product its slightly different. I am the product. So today, I am going to be busy to building story cards. What do I want to learn, what do I want, need, and should get better at. What are my goals for the future.

Sorting

Once I get a large group of cards of what I want to do, need to do, and should to reach my goals. I need to start dissecting them. Building a task list for each card, how to accomplish each one. If possible give a rough estimate of the timing I think I can put into it without neglecting life.

• write down end goals -> as descriptive as possible.
• break each card down how to reach that possible goal.
• what I know already to reach goal
• what I need to learn to succeed.
• research courses, lessons, what is needed to reach goal.
• Figure out how long to learn and to absorb knowledge.
• plan some form of project that utilizes lesson, to showcase new skill(s).
• Create user cards to work with learning and absorbing what I am taking in at the same time.
• Try to plan a sprint length that is long enough for the entire lesson and also, a project or two within.
• At the end retrospect on how lessons, learning, and project(s) went about. Also, how to improve next sprint.
• Repeat

If Interested

I am not bashing the 100CodeChallenge in any way, I think it is wonderful. A lot of people have done it and love it. I am just saying it is not for everyone, and I am one of those particular people. So I am going about it another way. If you are interested in the process I am discussing. There are many tools you use that range from simple to complicated. Paper to computer. One simplistic computer app that I recommend to start with is Trello. it is amazingly simple but can get super complicated. and it has a wonderful interface.

Please, send me a message through twitter @havocworkshop. I would be interested in getting something going with some people.

Mikeyhavoc