In the past when learning to code i’ve been an all or nothing kind of guy where some weeks I would work solidly for 14 hours and others I would just do nothing. Weeks or even months would pass and then the dread of not doing anything would set in. It was a really ineffective and depressing way of learning. It’s not that I didn’t want to learn, I was just not seeing the results I was expecting. The problem for me was that some people made it all look so easy on the surface. Let me tell you, it’s not! Yes some people might be better than others but what they really should tell you when you first start is that you have to put the hours in, through the good and bad times. It’s been about 2 years since I’ve worked like that and I never want to go back to that routine.

Decide in your heart of hearts what really excites and challenges you, and start moving your life in that direction. Every decision you make, from what you eat to what you do with your tonight, turns you into who you are tomorrow, and the day after that. Look at who you want to be, and start sculpting yourself into that person. You may not get exactly where you thought you’d be, but you will be doing things that suit you in a profession you believe in. Don’t let life randomly kick you into the adult you don’t want to become. — Chris Hadfield

After so many stops and starts I decided to look into a new way of learning. I found that the only way that I seem to work to my full potential is by creating a reward system for myself, inspired by how most platforms now use some kind of gamification to retain users. My day generally consists of a few of these activities.

  • Running
  • GYM
  • Learning to code
  • Developing
  • Football
  • Learning Spanish
  • Gaming
  • Netflix

Yes I am one of those odd people who treats exercise as a reward. I think maybe it’s just a good release for me these days. More recently i’ve been noticing that even the “working” parts of my day are becoming more enjoyable and rewarding in their own right. Maybe it is like when you first start going to the gym or running - horrible at first but then it just becomes an enjoyable part of your daily routine. Nothing frees your mind and relaxes you more when you feel like you’ve earned it. I feel like I work and relax to my full potential now.

Another aspect of this work I like is the challenge. It’s like a never ending RPG where you feel like you are constantly upgrading yourself with new skills. With all this new knowledge my random ideas and concepts that I imagine can now start to become realistic projects that I can build myself… Well that’s my hope for the future anyways.

If you are finding it hard to motivate yourself then I implore you to watch this tedtalk it’s very funny and and excellent take on procrastination.

Current tech that aids my daily routine.