Coding procrastination keeps me back and my plan to handle the future

It’s been two months since my last bootcamp. Let the coding procastination begin! Sadly, I am no closer to the goal I set forth to complete by August 1st, 2019. From this previous post, I made my intention clear that I would do everything it took to finally land a coveted tech job. Yet now I find myself in a government funded skilled trades program. While I’m grateful for the opportunity and tactile experiences, I feel my bias against this employ remain still. The program and text books are free so it’s something different, but I don’t see any longer term career out of this. For now, I’ll stick it out and continue to work on ways to get back into the software development habit.

But to make that habit successful, I need to understand how I get distracted from coding when life opportunities occur.

I’m afraid of success

Sitting down, and really reflecting why I haven’t taken any significant action for the last few years is quite simply, fear. With schooling and jobs, there is a certainty that the training will lead somewhere. The same can be said for self-learning coding. The difference, however, is that there are competencties that a learner is supposed to meet from training. I know that I’m capable if I try, but I guess years of schooling and a combination of low pay/skilled work drained me from seeing the end. School and education were safe and an excuse not to worry about the future. I know that the jobs I was training for didn’t interest me, but I stayed due to social stigma. Capability doesn’t translate into happiness. I’ve seen and experienced this first hand in the military, nursing placements and kitchens. These places were filled with people who execlled in their jobs.

But many seemed to be running on autopilot because the jobs had become routine.Adding to the routine were the increased demands placed on them by factors outside their control. I don’t want to end up in the routine. I would ask myself “will coding would become routine as well?”. Would I be bitter or angry at the ways things were changing? That thought is what lead me to sabotage my attempts. I wouldn’t be dissappointed if I was successful. Yet, my own life is lacking because I won’t commit to being better. Commitment is scary, it means acknowledging that something in my life was missing.

Shifting My Mindset

In acknowledging the fear of success, I’ve decided to write out the benefits of successfully landing a job as a software developer. First, I would be earning income toward my financial independece. Second, I would actually be involved in employment that focuses on my values. Third and finally, I would be able to intertwine my other interest together.Now that I’ve identified I want these things in my life I have to address what triggers my procrastination. I’ve acknowledged that I fear the routine that could develop. This comes from a fear of being complacent and never growing as a person. I need to change for the better and I’m the only one who can do that.

 

A framework to follow and how it relates to me

In the article, “6 steps to avoid developer procrastination and set yourself up to succeed”, the writer points lists out a framework that helped him develop his coding habits. The list is as follows:

1)Plan your tasks

2) Remove distractions

3) Don’t be available

4) Work Smarter

5)Don’t be an ass

6) Stick with it

The list is pretty straightforward and gave me a baseline to address my shortcomings. Here’s the refelction for each of these steps:

1)I don’t adequately plan my tasks.

2) I am constantly distracted

3) I make myself available instead of dedicating to study

4) I have access to a software mentorship group but I don’t ask for help

5) My past experiences with work and school have made me distrustful

6) I get distracted by shiny things….ergh….hobbies

 

With that in mind have, I ask my self, “Have I applied this framework to other areas in my life?”

 

I’ve done this with near daily sketches to Instagram ,Japanese lessons and  with the Javascript Data structure/ algorithms course. There was more incentive for personal growth and mental stability. I think why I have trouble maintaining the same enthusiasm for the coding interview questions is because I try to do it alone.

I’ve joined a coding mentorship group but I’m not as active as I’d like to be. This comes back down to distraction.  This distraction is related to my myers-brigg type, I’m an INTP. As such, something else will get my attention and abandon the last task that I worked on.

The drawing and languages are easy and fun because it has loose structure and rules to follow. It’s easier for me to get into the flow of these two because I’ve practiced these skills more.

 

How can I relate this to my mental state?

The need to shift to a growth mind set instead of a fixed one.

I need to acknowledge that I keep running away from achieving because it means I become a version of myself that I’ve never been before. I keep these thoughts in my head to a point where it boils over and I have a break down. Usually binge drinking. I don’t like this feeling but I’ve deliberately been trying to do this alone because even behind a screen I feel awkward. I need to acknowledge that if I’m ever going to get into the tech field, I need to reach out and network to people

Steps I’ve taken so far?

I think it’s been helpful that I’m in a pre-apprenticeship program at my local community college. My bias against learning a trade is still present, but I reframed my thinking (growth mindset). Instead of seeing this as, training-of-last resort, I now try to see it as “applied engineering”. That shift in mindset makes me see opportunities related to my other interest ( ie blueprint schematics class aligns with my art interest on Instagram or robotics/artificial intelligence/nanotechnology are all in the realm of my trade).

Avoiding alcohol as much as possible, granted it’s only been a week, but I’m more aware of my own triggers now( time, isolation and boredom). That’s plenty of time to recall computer science concepts or research how to make speed paint videos for YouTube or learn about investing in the stock market while broke( I’ve already started doing these things). I’ve also started carrying around my productivity notebook to track how I’m doing.

 

What can I improve upon?

Reach out to the online communities I’m already a part of, ie jumpcut, udemy, blacks in technology, stack overflow. Knowing that I’m not alone learning is something I need to remind myself of when I procrastinate.

Planning my most important task of the week. Right now it’s crafting this blog, learning Japanese, javascript algorithms, reading about stocks and investing, posting to Instagram and 30 days of code. That’s still quite a lot and I will have to narrow it down even further. With that in mind, I have less than two months to reach my goal. The next series of blogs will reflect Computer Science Concepts related to javascript. Thanks for reading and I hope you keep growing.

 

Article Links

6 steps to avoid developer procrastination and set yourself up to succeed

A Developer’s Guide for Hacking Procrastination to Achieve Success