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Notice: this is not yet another New Year’s Resolution post. I want to help you make more permanent changes by applying some of the lessons I picked up from Atomic Habits + our Pybites experience so far.
Still here? Grab a coffee and let’s get started.
How many calories do you need to cut to lose a kg of body weight?
Last time I checked it was a 7K kcal deficit or so.
Wow that’s a lot of ice cream and burgers to miss out on 😵
Another question: how much effort does it take to really master Python programming?
Of course, this depends on your current skill level and ability to pick up technical skills, etc. but let’s stick with Malcolm Gladwell’s 10K hour rule (although it also matters how you invest that time, tutorial paralysis is merely a waste of time)
Regardless, 10k hours… that means missing out on a lot of Netflix and hobbies 😥
Or not…
As I write this, I have two important quotes from James Clear’s Atomic Habits front and center:
“You do not rise to the level of your goals. You fall to the level of your systems.”
And:
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become. No single instance will transform your beliefs, but as the votes build up, so does the evidence of your new identity.”
Let’s talk about them in this email and see how you can apply them to reach excellence as a developer and in your life.
My routine this morning:
- I woke up early.
- I did a solid half hour of walking listening to an audiobook (another staple for this activity == podcasts! Maybe you want to subscribe to ours as well.)
- I did another half hour of technical reading, today it was a book about Python design patterns on my Kindle.
This aligns with my goal of shedding some body weight (it’s hard not to fall into the calorie surplus trap of the xmas / holiday break lol) + my goal of staying sharp as a business owner that is also a software dev + coach.
But more importantly I enjoy the process.
Seriously, doing more steps + studying can be boring over time, but combining those with other useful activities helps, and even makes it a routine I look forward to (hence happily adapting my evening routine so I can have more of it!)
This aligns with the preceding quote of “falling to your level of systems”.
You can create audacious goals (and you should), but without a solid system to back them up, it’s not likely you will accomplish them 💡
Staying on the weight loss goal, another “system” I put in place is using the MyFitnessPal mobile app to track my calories. I already went over slightly yesterday and that’s a win (huh?) – yes, without the tracking I would probably have been worse lol.
Tracking food, when my fitness coach suggested it years ago, I had this, “I don’t wanna move outside of my comfort zone”, moment, but the awkwardness goes away quickly once you see what a power tool this actually is 💪
Translating this into Python + developer related goals, what SYSTEMS have you put or are you putting in place this year to set yourself up for success?
A couple of ideas for developers:
1. Code for 1-2 hours a day. No tutorials, no, work on a project that you will deliberately put on your GitHub.
Chris, one of our PDM clients just did this, working consistently on a cool idea, building it out into a robust API + building a front-end for it. No tutorials, working towards a goal in small, consistent increments. I could not be happier when he shared the result today, a perfect example of the power of habit + the compound effect.
2. Read a software book for 20 minutes a day.
Don’t do more because it can be boring. But here I want to highlight the compound effect again: do this consistently 7 days a week and you’ll be reading a solid 140 min a week, say you consume 2 pages every 10 minutes (staying conservative), that’s a solid 28 pages a week.
In a year you’ll have plowed through 1496 pages of quality content, given the average book has 250 pages, that is 5.8 SW books consumed (even at an average of 400 pages a book, which might be more accurate, it results in 3.6 technical books consumed, not too shabby right? And this is from ONLY reading 20 minutes a day but doing it consistently (and deliberately).
As a sidenote, here’s where a 7k kcal deficit all of a sudden might not be that problematic.
Assuming you keep your caloric intake in check (tip: eat a lot of unprocessed, green foods, which is much better for your health as well!), just by walking an hour a day (which my health app rates at a 300 kcal burn, your mileage might vary) you can burn 2,100 kcal which amounts to that 7k in a little over 3 weeks!
That’s the power of small wins every day. And this really excites me about the process or the systems part of habits + goals.
But it can also be the reason why people fail. They don’t see results after a week and say, “this does not work”. Of course not! You’re still seeding the habit. Progress comes, but it takes time and patience, it has the nasty habit of showing up late 😉 – but it will show up!
I digress. We have not spoken about the second quote yet.
Equally important as the systems you put in place is how you identify yourself.
“Every action you take is a vote for the type of person you wish to become” – so every time I go to the gym, jump on my stationary bike, or do my walks I identify with being the type of person that wants to be fit and healthy. I cannot not do it.
Similarly in the context of being a developer (btw if you don’t call yourself a developer yet in spite of writing code, maybe it’s time to come talk with us, because you totally should call yourself a developer!)
You code because you cannot do otherwise. It’s part of your identity to use your coding skills to solve any problem you see, be it for yourself, your friends, colleagues or the wider community. It’s who you are.
You code because you love it, because you believe your code can make an impact on the world.
You’re the type of person that they can call to get a problem fixed.
You’re the type of person that passionately shares their knowledge.
You’re the type of person that drinks from the firehose learning new technologies and skills.
You’re the type of person that is passionate about quality code.
You’re the type of person that mentors junior developers.
Because it’s your identity.
You simply cannot do it any other way.
Now reading that, I hope you fall in love (again) with the process and make it part of who you are.
How hard will it be then to hit your goals in 2023?
– Bob
As much as you want to change and leverage Python in your career, walking the path alone can be hard and lonely. The PDM program and its growing community provides an excellent starting point to radically change your career. Check it out here.