Hitting My Stride, Routines, and Applying Again

This is just some thoughts on life and tech and how having a routine helps stave off burnout.

I have a 17 Day Streak on freeCodeCamp which is mind-boggling to me. My longest streak was 4 and I am really proud of how I’ve stuck with it; I don’t always put in more than one challenge or algorithm, but I sit ass in chair and code.

Almost done with the JavaScript Algorithms and Data Structures Certificate

This has a lot to do with having a routine:

• I get up around 9 or 10am, shower, and listen to podcasts (even in the shower. Yes, I am one of those people with a shower speaker)
• I’ll eat something and watch something random on YouTube from around 11-11:30am
• When my back is better, I’ll start lifting weights again from 12-1245pm but for now, I’ll do some admin tasks and and run through issues and trending repos on Devhub and issues on Octobox which is a really great GitHub issues tracker
• Then I sit down and code for an hour or two from 1-3pm
• Since it is really nice right now, I’ll head outside and sit and read or listen to more podcasts. I’m lucky in that my apartment building has a bench outside and some interesting scenery. I’ll do this from 3-4 or sometimes 6-8pm
• I’ll come in and code again from about 4-6
• Dinner from 6-7
• Code some more or write from 7-10pm
• Everything code stops and I read and listen to podcasts
• Around 12 or 1am I go to sleep
• Weekends are for hobbies, no programming except one freeCodeCamp challenge to keep my streak.

This has steadied me quite a bit as far as burnout. It is hard; I really want to code on weekends. I have projects I am working on and a really stubborn problem on my coup de gras. But I just don’t code. That’s it. I’m hoping I can keep it up.

I am building my robot car and having fun doing it. So far, while I still have moments of sadness and anxiety because searching for a job is hard, I have settled in, and this has been a lifelong struggle and I am really proud of myself.

Applying to more jobs

I have been applying to more jobs as of late. We’ll see how it goes. I am struggling to do it; things with tech hiring are broken and it’s tiring. Staying positive is a must.

Things not to miss

Some links for the week:

• The State of React - Jared Palmer (@Jaredpalmer) at @ReactEurope 2019 on YouTube
• The Economics of Open Source by C J Silverio | JSConf EU 2019

…and an interesting tweet from Ben Lesh:

…that’s all.

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👋🏾 Hi. I’m Tiffany White. I am a front-end engineer and egghead.io instructor who is working on getting that mythical full-stack title. I sometimes contribute to open source, and blog about web development at Tiffany R. White Blog. I love JavaScript, React ⚛️, and herding cats 🐾 🐈