Reflections

Retrospectives, when done well, can have a great impact on team environments and allow for various adjustments. These checkins become pivoting and adapting catalysts. Recently, I have been doing some self exploration leading to the desire for more focused learning. In talking with other developers and taking inspiration from Jason Lengstorf, I have decided to take on quarterly personal retrospectives. What are my goals for the remainder of 2019? An underlying theme I have noticed over the past month is the desire to be more intentional. This theme is also reflected in the three goals I have set for the next 5 months. I have settled in to the career transition and life has been finding its new equilibrium. I’m still discovering what I want it to look like. The following goals reflect areas that I want to be more intentional with my time and exploration therein. ...

“And though each habit means relatively little on its own, over time, the meals we order, what we say to our kids each night, whether we save or spend, how often we exercise, and the way we organize our thoughts and work routines have enormous impacts on our health, productivity, financial security, and happiness.” ~Charles Duhigg I have long had a fascination with learning new things. However, it is generally unstructured and follows whatever the interest of the moment is. I have been and continue to be a proponent of motivation based learning, believing that we learn best when there is an internal vested interest. At least for me, one downside of this approach is a propensity for cursory knowledge on many topics without revisiting them in more depth. This large surface area of topics has resulted in consistently saying, “One day I will get back to exploring topic X in depth”. Anecdotal experience has indicates lower follow through. ...

When we embrace the concept of skillset diversity amongst disciplines, it provides opportunity for people to share knowledge and teach others irrespective of years of experience. The democratization of learning in software development continues to be one of my favorite things. Coupled with meetups and communities which allow for people to learn from others results in a great learning environment. There were several people who strongly invested in me as I was first learning to code; they answered what I felt were silly questions, reviewed my code, and encouraged me to continue pushing forward. This aspect of the community was essential to my learning experience and becoming the developer that I am today. ...

Goal setting is best approached by breaking larger goals into smaller approachable ones. Setting micro goals that align with the end goal allows for consistent checkins and celebrating when you achieve them. Spring 2017: I was beyond displeased with my current work situation. I loathed going into work everyday and being a punching bag for what wasn’t going right in the organization. My closest coworkers were amazing and our relationship was part caring about each other and part informal group therapy. They are all that kept me somewhat stable. But this isn’t about that place, and details aren’t important or beneficial. My work environment was beyond toxic, and I needed an exit strategy. ...

You don’t need to be an expert to teach others, even teaching people who have more overall experience than you do. The matter that someone has a wider breath of experience overall does not equate to knowing a particular system in depth. Fear of speaking and feelings of an inadequate technical knowledge base can often be a paralytic combination, especially to those newer to a technical field. Imposter syndrome and feelings of inaptitude can easily become dominant, resulting in a self-fulfilling prophecy with high levels of inertia. ...