Flexibility

As I continue this journey I am reminded many times over that flexibility is necessary when aiming to achieve any goal. What I mean by that? It is important not to become discouraged if one process is not getting you closer to your goal. In fact, that is bound to happen. What is important is the awareness that a process is not working and then the flexibility to modify it so that it gets you back on track. I have written in a previous blog post that I have a hard time of staying on track with one thing and thus not accomplishing anything.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.” -Tony Robbins

In order to simplify my study strategies I am classifying my day into three parts: rise, learn, and plan. The rise part I have down, it consists of waking up, deep breathing, meditating, running 2 miles, and eating breakfast. This typically takes place between 6 and 7:30 a.m.

The learning part of my day is where I typically go astray. Should I code on 

codecademy? Free Code Camp? Read a book on JavaScript? Watch youtube videos on how to code? Or search for a new resource that I have not even discovered yet??? To help with this I am breaking this part of my day (which is anywhere from 8- 12 hours) into two parts:

-Morning: I will read theory or a book on coding but ONLY ONE BOOK AT A TIME! The goal is to finish and write a blog post at the end of each week detailing what I learned from reading said book.

-Afternoon: I will actively write code. This can be anything from codeacademy, freecodecamp, codeschool, or a project that I am currently working on. However, this will be decided THE NIGHT BEFORE. Which brings me to the third part of the day.

Planning will take up the late afternoon and evening of my day. This is where I will decide what I will be working on the following day and also research any new material, ideas, job opportunities, and anything code related that interests me. This time will bleed into what I will also call “free time” which will consists of reading fiction or watching a football game in order to relax before bed.

-John

Laying the Ground Work

Background

I am a 24 year old college graduate from Jacksonville, Florida. Since I was 15 years old I have held a job. Through college at the University of North Florida I supported myself bar-tending at a wing restaurant on nights and weekends. After graduation I decided to take some time away from the rat race and moved to Jacksonville beach with two close friends. During this time I spent much of my time in the public library "finding myself" as I knew I was not satisfied with working in a restaurant for the rest of my life. I soon landed as an entry level sales position (the thought being anyone who bar-tends and works in the service industry will naturally do well in sales). Although I found myself highly capable in my new position I was also unhappy; I did not enjoy the work.

After more searching and logging more library hours I soon discovered computer programming. Two things jumped out at me right away. First, anyone can learn it no matter what your educational background is, and two, coding and literature (or reading and writing) have many similar characteristics. I started thinking that not only could I do this, but I could excel at it.

Fast forward to today and I have completed one course on codeacademy (Ruby), two courses on lynda.com, and have finished Chris Pine's book Learn to Program along with much research. I know I have a long way to go but my excitement level has only grown the more I learn--a good sign I believe.

I recently moved home with my mom and dad to Middleburg, Fl which is great because it removes me from distractions that I would be surrounded by if I lived near downtown Jacksonville or Jax Beach. I also have an open invitation to live with my older brother in Orlando, which I will certainly take advantage of for networking events like meet ups and conventions (there is zero tech presence in Middleburg, just woods).

Goals:
(clock starts 8/21/15)
· Secure a computer programming job in SIX months. Important because it will help me become financially independent and prove that I have what it takes to set a challenging goal and reach it. I will fulfill this goal by working 60 hours a week (10 hours a day) learning to code, going to networking events, and building my portfolio.

· Read a book a week. I'm a complete nerd when it comes to education; I think it's pretty neat. And I also believe that it is important to be well rounded so that I can create value in myself. I will read one book not related to coding a week. These books will be diverse in subject (philosophy, economics, self improvement, writing, etc.). I will accomplish this by reading two hours before bed each night.

· Get in great shape. This is important because the body and mind work in concert together and if one is out of tune it will influence the other. I will jog every morning starting with a mile a day and do strength exercises for 20 mins in the evening. I am keeping this very simple as I am more concerned with building a habit of exercising than following a strict regiment. I fully expect the distance and time of exercise to increase over time.

Simple Rules
(Influenced from the Stanford Entrepreneurial Podcast. There is an article here.)

· Wake up at 6 am every day

· Plan tomorrows schedule the night before

· Reach out to one new person in the tech industry daily. (twitter, email, linkedin, etc.)


Let the Games begin!

-John