Hey,
How was your week? I had a less than ideal week at work. A piece of work I thought would take me just a few hours ended up consuming more than 3 days. I tried a number of things, used different data structures but was not able to get the desired result.
This made me wonder if there’s something like the writer’s block for coders. A Coder’s Block if you will. And this is what I found out…
One Thing I Learned
In this article, Neal Khosla, founder of Curai and a Stanford CS grad talks about coder’s block - programmer’s equivalent of writer’s block and how it is a real challenge. For people who are just getting into programming, a coder’s block may discourage them from taking on coding assignments, and in the worst case, they may start questioning their ability altogether. Being able to code comfortably and effectively requires mastery of both the language/syntax and algorithmic thinking. Both syntactical understanding and algorithmic thinking skills take time and practice. Naturally, some people are better equipped to develop one of them faster than the other. This lag often causes frustration and regardless of what is lacking, can often cause people to claim that they, “don’t have what it takes to code.”
While it’s easy to see how new programmers may experience coder’s block, it’s not like seasoned coders don’t have this issue. Like Neal says,
Coding ability is not predetermined and the challenge of having to solve new problems that you don’t understand at first doesn’t go away with programming experience.
From my own experience of coding for nearly a decade, I can firmly say that learning to code is an extremely rewarding process but one that requires persistence and commitment. Every new problem comes with its own set of constraints and challenges. And like most things in life you have to trust the process.
One Plugin I Recommend
How many times have you thoughtlessly spent hours on YouTube or Twitter or Netflix when you are supposed to be working. The human mind is easily distracted. In fact in the book “The Distracted Mind: Ancient Brains in a High-Tech World”, authors Adam Gazzaley and Larry D. Rosen explain that our brains are limited in their ability to pay attention. We don't really multitask but rather switch rapidly between tasks. Moreover, they add that distractions and interruptions, often technology-related—referred to as “interference”—collide with our goal-setting abilities. Hence, we must look out for strategies and tools to fight distraction.
Here is one such tool. BlockSite is a browser plugin (Chrome and Firefox) that can be used to block certain websites so that you can stay away from all distractions on the web and be more productive.
From a product standpoint, I really like the following
Focus Mode: It gives you the ability to define “focus time” to focus on a task. The user can set work time and break intervals.
Blocking Schedule: There are two alternatives to blocking sites. You can block some sites permanently or block them according to a schedule. For eg. between 10:00 AM - 03:00 PM on all weekdays.
One Question from the Readers
What are the dos and don'ts for college graduates entering the corporate life?
Entering the corporate life after university may look like a daunting journey ahead. After all, it is the first step towards being an adult. You go from being a dependent student to an independent citizen of the country. And couldn’t hurt to take a few dos and don’ts into consideration.
While I know I am still pretty young and have a lot of things to learn, I would like to share lessons from my personal experience. I have made my share of mistakes and learnt from them and it would be my utmost pleasure if it can be helpful for other university students.
Some Dos
Be curious - Unlike college, there’s no set curriculum or predefined subjects that you need to learn. So, you have to take initiative to learn new technologies, strategies, techniques on your own. Try to be curious in your work and find different ways to solve a problem because while school is over, learning shouldn’t stop.
Reach out to people - As a natural continuation to the previous point, it’s important that you reach out to people. In my experience, people around us are generally helpful, corporate and otherwise. So, if you are interested and make an attempt, you can learn a great deal from people around you.
Take up challenging assignments - As a fresher in the corporate world, there is a lot you can learn. So, don’t restrict yourself to your comfort zone. Take up challenging assignments that will enhance your skill set.
Maintain a healthy work-life balance - Often ignored, but very important. As a fresher it is possible to lose sight of the big picture. Your work is a part of your life but there are other things outside of work as well. You don’t want to burnout in your initial years so that you start hating your job. Try to give proper importance to your life outside of work as well.
Some Don’ts
Comapre your journey with someone else’s - This is such a common mistake made by fresh university graduates. One that I am guilty of. It’s very natural to pit yourself against your classmates from university and see who landed a better job. But this competition is so pointless. It maybe hard to make sense of this right now, but everyone has their own journey. Your first job does not determine your entire career or life. So, get over this competition and enjoy your journey.
Compromise with your personal development - “Your 20s are the prime years for your personal developement.” - every person ever
Prioritize your personal development over everything else. Keep in my mind that your job should facilitate your development - both professionally and personally. So, don’t just settle for a job because of the brand value or pay, also think about how it will help your growth.
This issue’s Bonus Section - First Images from Mars Mission 2020
The Perseverance (nice name!) rover sent back it’s first images from Mars after it landed safely on Feb 18.
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See you soon. Cheers!