Another challenge in the learning journey...

                            

calm down lemur


Focus this week:

This week took a different turn to what I expected and forced me to change up my learning plan. 

For those who self study we are taught to be disciplined with our time, plan out our weeks and days to ensure maximum efficiency but what if that plan unexpectedly changes? Do we accept we may not achieve what we have mapped out for the week and feel a sense of failure; or do we see the change as a chance to achieve even more.

That being said, on Monday afternoon I received my first technical test...due the next day.  Now I hadn't spoken to the company so thought it would be worth having a quick chat with them first to find out more about the role.  I didn't feel the role was the right fit for me because it required a more experienced developer. However, this also represented an opportunity to get some practice at following a brief and committing to a deadline, and the developer on the phone agreed.

So, there I was with a brief and it was using a framework I knew nothing about to redesign a page on the company website. After scanning the documentation, watching a tutorial video, I got started. This didn't go particularly well. I looked at the task as a whole and quickly became overwhelmed with the deadline and where to begin.

I felt I had spent months learning technologies, following codealongs and creating projects but had not factored in how I would respond when actually given a real life problem to solve.

I did, after stepping away from my computer, calming down and coming back to it, manage to complete the task and get it in before the deadline. I did this by following what I usually do. I broke down the task into smaller problems and worked on them one at a time. This had not been obvious to me due to the pressure of having a brief and a deadline, something I feel a lot of people can relate to.

We often obsess on what's not in our control rather than what is. There's a reason I had spent all this time learning, managing by time and planning my work and this was just another part of the process.  

So if anything, try to stay flexible in your plan, stay confident in your ability and welcome another challenge in your learning journey.  


Things to check out:


Stay motivated:

“One of the best lessons you can learn in life is how to remain calm.” 

– Catherine Pulsifer

 

 

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