Reflect on your habits from last module. What behaviors and activities were helpful for you? What activities and behaviors could be more effective for you? What processes would you like to try differently this module to become more effective at your work and as a software developer? I was in good shape last inning as I was eating well, rowing every day, and getting great sleep all until the winter break where I let go of some of those good habits. I would like to become more consistent with my cold showers, meal prep, calendar setting/time organization, and taking frequent breaks while working. Setting intentions for this module: who do I want to be this module? What specific habits would help me get there? How are those habits tied to the identity of a software developer? I want to be in good shape, healthy eating habits wise, active in that I am breaking a sweat at least once a day, making food for meal prep on sundays to prepare for the week, rowing every morning right when I get out of bed, taking a 5 minute break at least every hour, and also on sunday running through my week to pre teach as well as organize my time.
Incorporate temptation bundling to create a new habit by using this template:
After [brushing my teeth], I will [row for at least 25 minutes]. After [], I will [HABIT I WANT TO DO]. How to enjoy “hard” habits: Reframe your habits to consider their benefits rather than their drawbacks; name 3 habits that you have to do and explain the benefits of them. How do they further your goals longterm? How will they add to your processes as a successful developer? At the end of the day, how do they add to your life?
Environment design (optional 5-min. additional reading: Motivation is Overvalued. Environment Often Matters More): how does your environment set-up currently help you with your habits? How could it be improved to make it easier for you to follow through on your habits?
“When you start a new habit, it should take less than two minutes to do.” Read this 4-min article on how to stop procrastinating. Apply the 2-minute rule to reframe 2-3 of your habits by scaling them down into the 2-minute version. How does this reframing help you think about shaping your new identity as a software developer?
Mod 2 Week 2: Professional Storytelling & Branding Answer the below questions in a separate gist and link them into your career journal using this template:
Assess your habits from week 1: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen?
Write a draft of your professional story here as 1-2 paragraphs. Focus on answering the questions who are you, why are you here, and what's next? Consider how to talk about your motives and values, the turning points that led to your career change, and what you envision for yourself going forward.
Update your LinkedIn profile with the following: updated photo/headshot, headline, summary statement using your story, and Turing added to your experience and education sections. Include a link to your profile here in the journal. Remember the guidelines and tips from the lesson here.
What other steps will you take this week to update your branding or practice your story?
Mod 2 Week 3: Job Search Strategies Answer the below questions in a separate gist and link them into your career journal using this template:
Assess your habits from week 2: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? I spent my time pretty much solely working on the project that was due this week, I worked out every weekday and am planning on starting meal prepping again today. I would have liked to better split up my time between project work/ homework/ classwork/ and personal time.
Reflect on how you’ve spent your time so far at Turing to gauge your engagement and energy:
When have you been excited, focused, and enjoyed your work? When have you felt bored, restless, or unhappy? When do you feel energized in your work? When is your energy drained? I have been excited, focused and happy to work for hours on end when I am dealing with new material of new challenges, I get restless sometimes when I feel my days are getting repetitive.
Setting up habits and routines to make time for the job search this module: Block out time on your calendar this week to work on your job search. When will you make this happen? How will you hold yourself accountable to this? What activities will you focus on during this time this week? What outcomes do you hope to reach by the end of this week because of these activities? I will work on my job search on friday morning before class, I hope to have a mostly complete career journal up to this point as well as some progress on my linked in and other job search profiles. I need to set aside a solid chunk of time every week to work on linked in/career journal/ forming my interests for the upcoming search.
Applying wayfinding to using job search resources Go through the resources listed here and explore 2-3 tools. List what you looked at here: Apply wayfinding: of what you looked at, what did you discover that aligns with your vision? If it didn't align with your vision, what will you try next? Decide what tools to bookmark to explore later.
In week 4, you’ll have a job experience activity with employers. The next two prompts are designed to help you both prepare and reflect on that experience:
Prepare for Job Experience: AEIOU Activities: what questions do you have about the activities that a software developer does on a daily basis? Environment: what questions do you have about the overall environment and culture of this workplace? Interactions: what questions do you have about the team at this company? What do you hope to learn during this experience? Objects: what questions do you have about the code or the product? Users: what questions do you have about how the company interacts with their users? After the Job Experience, reflect on the same questions; what are your takeaways from the activity? Activities: what was engaging to the person/people you met with? Environment: what did you notice about how they talked about the culture and environment of this company? Interactions: what did you notice about your interactions with this person/people? Objects: what did you learn about their approach to code and/or product development? Users: what did you learn about their approach to their users? What are your main takeaways from the shadow? How will you use this information to help you with your job search strategy? Ideas below are adapted from Atomic Habits by James Clear
Assess your habits from week 3: how did you spend your time this past week? What was effective in your habits? What could be more effective? What steps will you take to make that happen? I was not effective in my habits this past week, I need to get better at organizing my time / more specifically blocking out chunks of time for things to get done, otherwise they wont get done, in addition to that I need to stay consistent with my workouts in the morning and getting to bed 25 -30 minutes earlier.
Implement a reiforcement strategy: to make one of your habits more satisfying, what is a reward you can give yourself immediately after completing the habit? How will this reward encourage you to continue completing that habit? After completing a given time blocked activity I will take a 10 minute break and eat a treat or go for a walk, and then return to the next block. I hope to get to a point where I am setting my day for 30 minutes each morning.
“Don’t Break the Chain”: Use a habit tracker
What is a habit that you want to make sure to do every day? How could you visually cue yourself to complete it (i.e., moving a paper clip)? How can you visually track it each time you’ve completed it? Could you automate the tracking? How will you do that?
Need help? Check out one of these habit tracking apps
How to get back on track when missing a habit: if you miss a day or two of completing your habit, how will you get yourself going again?
Pick an accountability partner (your cohort accountabilibuddy, your mentor, a close friend, etc.) and create a habit contract with them. How often will you check in with each other? How will they hold you accountable?
Review your habit tracker: how did you monitor your habit(s)? What does this tell you about your overall progress becoming the person you want to be? In general, how satisfied are you with how you spent your time this module? What could be improved next module?
Mind Maps:
i. Engagement. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you’re engaged in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most (e.g., “Talking through a problem with a partner,” “The moment when I solve a problem that I previously didn’t know how to do,” “Setting up a successful project management process for my team”) and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
ii. Energy. What did you reflect on last week in regards to when you feel most energized in your work at Turing? Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
iii. Flow. When have you had an experience recently in which you were in a state of flow? You can also think about this as “joy” or “play.” Pull out an idea that resonates with you most and break that idea down into parts and make a list (what are all the steps that go into that moment? When do you get to use your strengths? What is fun about this?).
Prototype your mind maps: what do these mind maps tell you about what’s important to you as a software developer? What questions do they bring up about what you still want to learn about this career?
Prototype your outreach: (Be prepared to share this in your small group discussion)
Who comes to mind as a person you can reach out to? Why that person? What questions would you ask them? Come up with 2-3 people here to serve as prototypes How would this outreach help you further your job search strategy? Outreach & Networking Plan: Based on your reflections above, create a concrete plan for your outreach:
Who is the right person for you to reach out to? How will you find them? How do you know they’re the right person? How will you reach out? What questions do you need to ask them? How will you use this information to further your solution? How will you follow up? Execute your plan:
Reach out to your contact THIS WEEK. If possible, reach out to more than one person OR find a meetup to attend also. What happened? What other next steps should you take? If this is a person connected to a company you’re interested in, be sure to add it to your Huntr card.