After you've completed the pre-mission reading, comment below with your reflections on past coding sessions and future coding plans/goals. Feel free to introduce yourself and follow other participants you see below! Encourage one another and provide help where you think it's necessary.
Congrats on challenging yourself to Code More! If you have any questions about the challenge overall, head to the Code More Help Thread. For any technical questions throughout the challenge (or in general) write a #help post and share with the community!
Top comments (65)
Hey everyone! I'm super excited to join the challenge.
Consistency is such a great short-term goal when it comes to the larger objective of coding more! Great answer
I too know the struggle of taking long breaks from a project! It can be quite disheartening.
Hello everyone!
I am excited and nervous about joining this challenge.
Hello everybody!
It's been awesome reading about all of your experiences, a lot of them hit really close to home.
Very excited to be getting started with #CNC2021! Here are my pre-mission reflections:
What's working, and why?
1. Planning: whether it's breaking down steps to solve a problem or using Figma to create a mockup, planning always makes the building experience more enjoyable and less intimidating
2. Stepping Away: after learning about the diffuse mode I've learned to step away from a problem if I'm getting nowhere, rather than bash my head against it repeatedly. It's incredible how many problems I solve doing the dishes, or going for a walk
3. Breakthroughs: contrary to stepping away, there's a wonderful reward in facing a tough challenge and solving the problem attached. Whenever I feel stuck and demotivated I like to think about how I've chipped away at projects in the past and come out on top
What isn't working, and why?
1. Perfectionism: the reason this was such a problem for me was because I adopted an all-or-nothing mentality and would frequently opt for the latter. It's also ridiculous to expect myself to be writing perfect code as a beginner!
2. Lack of Clarity: the direct pain point that comes from not planning. Telling myself to, "build X" hardly ever works out, I need to clearly see all X's bits and pieces to make sense of where I'm headed
3. Delaying Feedback: this one leans a bit on the perfectionism issue. Since finding a mentor, and going through code I'm busy writing with them, I've realized that I wanted to keep it all to myself until it was 'perfect'. It's far better to be sharing throughout the building process and getting the feedback when it matters
Long-term goal:
The next 6-12 months are all about getting my first gig as a developer. Whether that's full-time, interning, or building websites for whoever needs one. Right now I split my time between working and learning; the thought of being paid to code/learn is a dream!
Short-term goal:
Over the course of this CN challege I aim to have my personal portfolio built, in React, and hosted to share with potential employers/clients.
Thanks for reading! I look forward to everyone's next update.
I resonate with your point 1 for what isn't working. I too am a perfectionist and tend to just give up on a project/coding session when things aren't going the way I want them to. I definitely want to have more self-compassion this go around.
I often use the mantra, "If you win you win, but if you lose you learn." Honestly now days I don't want my project to go smooth; if I can get from start to finish where everything goes perfectly then I haven't learned anything.
It's an empowering perspective.
Hi!
Determine what has worked.
Think about the times you've been happy with what you've coded — jot down three things that went well.
Next, jot down three reasons why that was a happy coding session.
Determine what has NOT worked.
Write down three things that you were unhappy about.
Next, write down three reasons why those unhappy things happened.
What are your long-term goals?
What are your short-term goals?
hello all. hope everyone is well today. I am Joe. I have been attempting to learn to code for about two years now seriously. Off and on for a few years before that.
so, what has worked? This is a tough question since I feel like nothing really has worked and that's why I am here. However in an extremely vague sense simply coding every day, be it 30 minutes or 4 hours just making myself do it consistently has helped.
What hasn't worked? my attempt to understand what I am trying to build. I often find myself getting lost researching how to make something happen or function properly. Before I know it I'm so frustrated I want to walk away.
My long-term goal is to eventually work at either NASA or Space X and contribute to the preservation of our species through software.
My short term goal is to
gain som useful experience so I ca land a job at all.
Hi Joe! I feel the same way. I have a CS degree and yet I feel that I haven't been able to successfully code on my own outside of school projects and my software engineering job. I really hope this challenge can help us get through our obstacles.
Hey Joe. I share many of the same feelings that you expressed. I've been learning to code off and on for many years and I too am hoping that this challenge gets me into a more consistent practice. Good luck to us both. 🤞🏾
Heya people!
I am quite excited to join this challenge, hope things work out +
What has worked:
I enjoyed it of course. I may have spent a lot of time in it. I learned a lot, not only about code about how to think.
why:
I had a really good source (cs50). I was using things that was know to me and was in my brain and I was able to see it through. I kinda knew the path.
What has NOT worked:
I have tried 100daysofcode, it didn't turned out well. I couldn't give it time daily, there are reason of personal and social types. I tried hackathons, in my first one, I was
a part of pretty beginner group, they turned out to be much beginner than me. Other times I couldn't participate with much enthusiasm due to the time difference. I have a lot of reasons and excuses but I wish to get above them all and get into a habit of coding daily.
Long-term goal:
To be a good Android App developer, enough good to be able to turn my ideas into apps. Get better at Java. And we'll see what the future holds.
Short-term goal:
Currently to focus on Android Studio. To be able to devote time to it and always come back. I also wish to find good tech-mates to learn together:)
Hello everyone, super excited to join this challenge.
I'm cautiously optimistic about joining. I'm hoping that community support helps move me toward my goal.
What has helped me code more: Nothing much, frankly. I coded daily until I was about halfway through bootcamp. Then, I became exhausted and overwhelmed. I dragged my way to completion, but never felt reinvigorated. Coding daily for long periods of time has been impossible since then.
I've tried lots (partnering, taking courses, following tutorials, taking a coding break for a few weeks etc.,) but eventually I feel overwhelmed by the concepts and upset by my lack of perceived progress.
Long term goal: Find a job
Short term goal: Feel less overwhelmed when coding. Finish some JavaScript coursework, apply for 10 jobs even though I don't feel ready.
Hi Everyone!
I am using FreeCodeCamp and The Odin Project (highly recommend) as my curriculum for learning full stack JavaScript web development. I too am struggling to stay motivated. Below are my own reflections, but I see similarities in many of the other responses.
My two main successes have been making a conscious effort to make coding part of my daily/weekly routine and keeping things simple.
I get stuck and lose motivation when I go beyond the scope of the project I am asked to do. My current project is for a To Do List that is supposed to cover some basic OOP concepts such as classes, factory functions, and SOLID programming. I turned it into learning how to build an MVC program with events. It's so complicated and so much self-learning that I get overwhelmed and the successes I was having get undermined.
My goals are to get into a regular routine of programming again and focus on breaking the project into the smallest necessary problems. Then I can get small wins, stay motivated, and get to a functional app with less stalling.
In the long term I want to round out my coding fundamentals, become fluent in some frameworks, and build a capstone project that others can use and I will be proud to share. I think this will give me the motivation to start seeking a web development career (preferably one where I can work from home at least part time).
Good luck everyone and hope to continue reading your posts!
I have had a very similar experience with increasing the scope of my projects/tutorial exercises. Thanks for sharing.
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