Weeks 8 and 9 Recap: Adjust Instead of Quitting

Greetings CodeNewbies 👋🏾

Welcome back to my #100DaysOfCode biweekly recap. Here is how things went for weeks 8 and 9.

(Note: I released a recap of Weeks 6 and 7 a few days ago, so it hasn't been long since you've last heard from me.)

What I Said I Would Do

Overall, my plan for each week has held steady since my Week 3 recap. I am primarily focused on earning two Coursera certificates:

• Python for Everybody specialization (5 courses), and
• Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate (8 courses).

This means that the only thing that really changes for me week-to-week is how much time I spend on coding challenges and going down rabbit holes on various Python quirks.

What I Actually Did

For Week 8, I spent most of my time completing course 3 of 8 of the Google Data Analytics Cert: Preparing Data for Exploration. The course paired nicely with the Using Databases with Python course, which also taught SQL. In the Data Analytics course, I got to test my new skills using Google's BigQuery and some of their public datasets. In the Python course, I used SQLite browser to create small databases from scratch. Working on the two courses simultaneously, I got to experience both sides of the spectrum: a tool made for fairly small databases (SQLite browser) vs. one made for enterprises and companies with vast amounts of data.

For Week 9, I spent a lot of time on Python coding challenges, reviewing some basic Python concepts, and reading articles on new concepts and areas of the Python language that I'm unfamiliar with (which is still a lot by the way).

What I Plan to Do Next

By my next post, I plan to:
🔳 Finish Week 4 of Using Databases with Python
🔳 Finish Week 3 of Processing Data from Dirty to Clean
🔳 Create an outline for a mini Python project that I have in mind.

Around the Web 🌏

git Practice Resolving Conflicts

One thing that I would like to get better at (in addition to all the things) is git. I find that since I use it so infrequently and for very basic things, I don't really get it. I have a high-level understanding, but I consistently run into scenarios where I'm typing commands into the CLI out of desperation instead of knowledge.

After chatting with C (@/traces42 on Twitter), he mentioned that he is starting GitHub repo for newbies and anyone else who wants to practice git workflows where they create and resolve conflicts in a group environment. It's purely for practice, so you don't have to fear ruining production. ::insert horror music 🎻::

If you're interested, the repo is called git_tinkering_gh.

Final Thoughts

Showing up here and writing these recaps has been difficult for me. I'm not fully sure why, but writing sends the perfectionist in me into overdrive, which then sends the procrastinator in me into hyperdrive. 😂 It's what led to my absence for the past 4 recaps/weeks; I just could not get the words on the virtual page.

Additionally, I underestimated the amount of effort it takes for me to produce one of these posts. In fact, I didn't really plan it into my 100DaysOfCode schedule at all. After a while, I couldn't keep up and then not keeping up started to snowball. (And voila! Four weeks of no recaps.)

I don't want writing to be the reason I get overwhelmed and stop coding, so I've decided to switch to a biweekly/fortnightly schedule. I think it's a happy medium between writing nothing and continuing to spend more time than I have on creating these posts. If coding has taught me anything, it's to remain flexible and keep iterating until you find a solution that fits.

I hope you are adjusting where necessary and moving forward on your own journey. 🦾

Until next time, code on!