So a lot of times, we look at the tech industry and the advice for people looking to get in is all technical. It's always talking about learning this framework, then learning that one, then getting this certification, or following that creator. We all know the drill.
But we tend to forget the most important skill of all that you will absolutely need, and that is consistency. Because you won't be motivated every day. God knows—and you know—that it's hard to be on this journey.
And maybe people do actually speak about this, but it still doesn't quite land for me. Don't get me wrong, I am not taking the piss out of anybody's suggestions, but I just think it's coming from an angle where only naturally driven or passionate people can utilize it.
Enough rambling. Here are the three targeted mindset shifts that I think you should have that will help you succeed on this journey.
1.Consistency doesn't mean being busy
Consistency doesn't mean that you have to go and be overly productive, packing an impossible schedule that's just going to end up in burnout. Instead, it means we should focus on establishing a pattern. As long as there is a pattern, your smaller efforts compound.
I know we have better attention spans here, so let me go deeper. Say we have two guys who have downloaded Duolingo to learn German. The first guy goes in on the first day and puts in a massive 45 lessons—I am talking serious hours. But that's it. He never actually gets to practice again, and then six months or so later he watches a video, gets motivated, and does the same thing again.
Then we have the second guy who is doing his lessons for 20 minutes a day for a year or even two. Who do you think is closer to being fluent? Yeah, exactly, the second guy. So consistency doesn't necessarily mean being intense and overly productive (if that's even a thing), but rather establishing patterns.
2.Don't stop
What do we think would help the second guy get to the two-year mark? Yeah, right again: not stopping. And I won't just leave it at that—don't worry, I have some pointers.
Think about how you remember to brush your teeth. Every morning when you wake up, you do it. You have done it since you were a child. In fact, on the off day you don't do it—say you went for a sleepover and forgot your brush—you feel weird, no? Good. Now I want you to build a pattern in 90 days. I want you to study code at a particular time every day to the point where, if you miss it, it feels weird, like you committed a crime. Three months is level 1. Later, push it to six months, and don't stop.
3.Switch up your forms of content
Now, you might say that you do not have time. No problem. Maybe you have a demanding day job, a big family at home, or a newborn... whatever it is, no problem, you just need to be strategic.
If you have 15 minutes, watch a tutorial video where they are not doing heavy coding, but just explaining a concept. If you have 10 minutes, or even 5 minutes, use it. If you are on the road a lot or have a lot of chores to do around the house, plug in a tech podcast or an audiobook.
That's just three ways out of many that I used—and still use—to stay sharp in my day. Hope you found value.
And I have a video on this on my YouTube:
https://youtu.be/UUbRJFcwBqI?si=GAm9hJK4ed-Rwu70
You can check it out if you like. Peace.
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