Right off the bat, allow me to add this disclaimer: I think the 100 Days Of Code Challenge is really great.
It gets new coders to develop a daily coding habit right from the outset. And, while it may sometimes seem during those early days like little to no progress is being made, just wait until Day 30 and then look back. You may just be amazed at what you've learned in a mere month.
For inspiration, try searching #100DaysOfCode on Twitter. Here, I got you: #100DaysOfCode search
I really do not wish to prevent any others from giving this challenge a solid go and trying their utmost to complete it...
Unfortunately, as noble as the cause is, it's not necessarily a good fit for every single one of us.
I recently discovered that I'm one of them.
Before I launch into an undoubtedly fascinating diatribe on just why I called it a day on the challenge early (for the second time, I might add) allow me to answer a possible question you may have: "Who cares?"
Well, I do 😏. That's the point of a personal developer blog - it's as much for me as for my readers.
Also, I doubt anyone who does not care about my reasons is still reading this post at this point... That leaves the rest of us. Hi!
Secondly, given the very large number of coders I've seen on Twitter currently taking the challenge, it's probably reasonably safe to assume that a non-zero proportion of them don't make it all the way to the end.
Perhaps, through this possibly slightly self-indulgent blog post, I can reassure them that they're not alone in not making it all to the way to the end and that others fall off too. Hey, it happens to the best of us. And me.
But let me not embrace demotivation... Fell off? Then climb right back on again and carry on! Off you go!
Follow me for more motivational tips and tricks... 🙄
As an aside, I've never really introduced myself properly on this blog. This may at least serve as a little bit of an 'About Me'.
Anyway, enough with the long-winded introduction. Allow me to elaborate:
Despite my best intentions and how much I enjoy nothing more than figuring out how to achieve a task in code, I simply cannot code every single day, seven days a week. Why?
- I have a family, including children.
- They, in turn, have what can only be described as half of a small zoo 🙄, requiring a fair bit of feeding, watering and cleaning.
- I have a rather busy full-time job.
- I'm in my final year of a correspondence honours degree.
- I volunteer for a rather busy non-profit in wildlife conservation.
- I write, and not just on this blog either.
- I run. Not as much as I should, but I try.
Rule number one of the challenge, according to the official website, is:
Code minimum an hour every day for the next 100 days.
I want to code every single day. And, I usually do. Missing a day of coding is really quite rare for me, despite all my other commitments.
I want nothing more than to feel like a JavaScript wizard. When people comment that Vue is better than React (or vice versa, before I start a war...), I look forward to at least having an opinion on the topic. I want to know what Docker is. When someone mentions Kubernetes, I want to stop thinking "aren't those pelvic floor exercises?".
I just Googled the correct spelling of Kubernetes to write that. See? I still have a way to go.
I just have to accept that it may take me slighter longer than most with more time on their hands.
I'm okay with that. I have no problem with taking the scenic route to achieve something. That's why I started, and completed, my undergraduate degree in my thirties. That's why I'm currently completing an honours degree in my forties.
Later than most, but better late than never, right?
I may be rushing this post, but that's because I need to take my daughter to her ballet lesson soon. Then, it's off to walk the dogs. This evening I need to continue writing my thesis.
I'll probably find time to squeeze in a few JavaScript object coding sessions at some point. But, here's the clincher: I cannot guarantee it.
That right there is the issue. I'm no Jax Teller from Sons of Anarchy (and if my wife could stop nodding SO hard in agreement with that statement, I'd appreciate it). I believe in rules, within reason.
One of the main rules of 100 Days Of Code is to code every single day for one hundred days. Occasional missed days are tolerated, but not encouraged.
Well, I have the opportunity to go visit my friend's farm in the Northern Cape for four days soon. I have NO intention of missing that! It's all rolling low hills, wide open grasslands, that sort of thing. Picture-postcard kind of scenery. Sorry JavaScript: much as I love you, a cold beer around a roaring fire in the scenic grassland biome beats the pants off you.
That being said, that would be yet another four missed days of the challenge. To add to the missed day this past weekend. And the missed three days of the Easter long weekend.
I started this attempt on 18 March. Today is 22 April. That's ...counts on fingers... 36 days. So far I've posted up to and including Day 28 of 100. And a couple of those posts were tenuous at best with regards to what I achieved that day.
Not ideal, at least as far as the rules of the challenge go. Granted, it's not terrible either, but I know what's coming for my calendar in the next two months at work... Plus, did I mention the farm? I'm really looking forward to going to the farm.
Meh. So be it.
Besides, do you know what we call people who code most days, but not all?
Coders.
Regular old 'coders'.
Or 'developers', if you prefer.
I'm more than happy to just be called either one of those.
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