career-journal-mod1week3.md

Habits of a Software Developer

• What do you think are the traits of a good software developer? What are they like in the workplace? What would you as a co-worker think of this person?

  • Traits: Empathetic, detailed oriented, good comunnication skills, problem-solver, focused
  • In the workplace they understand who is using their app and also understand why someone is not using their app. They know how to communicate within the team and outside the team well. They know their routine on how to problem-solve when they are hitting a roadblock.
  • As a co-worker I would think that this person is AWESOME and that I need to strive to be my own version of someone like that person.

• What are the habits that this person demonstrates to embody the identity of a software developer?

  • They already know what to do when they are at a roadblock and can act on them. The communicate with their team that a problem has arise and that they are working to get it fixed in a timely manner. They know who their user are for what they are working on and can act upon that to make it that app work even better.

• Who do you want to be as a software developer? What kind of behaviors do you already have in place to be that person? What behaviors would you need to put into place? How will you do that?

  • I want to be someone who can be a mentor to future developers. I want to be a developer who can understand my users, and build something amazing that is useful for everyone. Behaviors I have in place and pre-teaching the lesson plan before going to bed, re-teaching myself again if I have the time about a concept I did not understand. Learning why people will use certain apps over others and what makes it different.

Working on the 1st Law of Behavior Change: Make it Obvious

• Bring self-awareness to your current habits by making a Habits Scorecard. Make a list of your daily habits (examples: wake up, turn off alarm, check phone, etc.) as a way to bring awareness to what you do. Then, decide how effective that habit is for you and your goal of becoming a software developer. Put a + next to habits that are effective; put a - next to habits that are not effective; put a = next to habits that are neutral.

• Pick 1 new habit you’d like to build and create an implementation intention following this template: “I will [BEHAVIOR] at [TIME] in [LOCATION].” Then, stack the habit onto something you already do: “After [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].” (Hint: make this highly specific and immediately actionable)

  • I will go outside for a walk at 6:00PM in my neigborhood. After coding for a full day, I will take a breather and go outside for a walk.

• Design your environment for success: what changes could you make in your space to better implement your habit? How could you remove any triggers for bad habits? How will you implement these changes?

  • I need to shut down my computer and walk out of my study room and out the front door. I need to stop telling myself that if I google more I will find the answer because sometimes just taking a breather and coming back helps you to feel refresh and take a look at the problem in a different way. I will sit an alarm to go off telling me I need to stop what I am doing and go outside for some fresh air.

• Respond after a few days of this implementation: What are your results? How do you feel about this method? How will you move forward with this habit?

  • This has helping me feel less stressed and I like how it is working so far. I will keep the same strategy to keep moving forward with this new habit, although I want to build on it and slowly turn it into excercising/running.