Category: Uncategorized

I have to start collecting pomidoros at work. When I’m busy or when I have a lot of tasks on my hand, I don’t do it. That’s not a good way to improve. I don’t want to do that.

Improving as a developer is my #2 priority. I have to find the time to do that.

That’s more important than being knowledgeable and up to date in news. That’s much better than checking email multiple times during the day.

Not having a time to collect 1 or 2 pomidoros is a shame.

But there is no reason to be sorry. I am trying. It’s time to show some results.

The pomodoro technique is a great one. I can find the time to read for 25 minutes straight. No problem. If I don’t, then I need to find it.

It’s always a problem with me. Maybe I should also reward myself? For each pomodoro I collect, I can buy myself a drink, coffee, smoothie, a treat for $2.50. I think that might work just fine. But it has to be something that I do all the time. If I don’t do it, I should not be allowed to buy any treats.

I like this technique.

It’s something very similar to what I am trying to do at home. For 5 times I wake up at 5:30, I can reward myself with a Starbucks treat. 6, then I get 2.

Rewarding myself for the good and challenging things might actually work out very well. It’s something new that I want to try. I think it’s going to work.

But I did not earn any pomodoros today. I should know better.

I feel sad today. I am still a little bit heart broken from yesterday’s news. If NBC chooses to go with fwix, then I might even tell them that my time here is ending. There would be no Java development any more. Sad. I cannot believe how people are afraid to make a move towards more services in house. It’s really bad. It seems like they would rather go with somebody else who is less reliable. Crazy.

I don’t want to go back too much. But I think it’s time to move on. Fall season should be interesting. I hope we get some good traction.

Learning is my passion. Learning is something that really enjoy doing. But I don’t always do it right. But the nice thing about me is that I’m open for suggestions. Open for new ideas.

I found some really cool, perhaps learning-changing ideas. 3 words: read/read/write action must be performed before going to sleep. I do it, I go to sleep. I don’t, then I spend some time doing it. As simple as that. There are always things that I am learning. I am just not trying things out. I’m also not reading other code.

Pomodoro technique. I also learned this new technique. Read for 25 minutes, get a 5 minutes break. After 4 pomodoros, I get a longer break. Nice and easy. And I already found a plugin just for that. Love it. I think this itself is going to make my reading more focused. It’s only been a few days, but I already feel a difference. I think it’s one of these things that I was missing. Cool beans.

If things stay the same way, I think I am going to have to admin that I made a mistake staying here in NBC.

Why? What happened?

This place is not a good place for “developing” new apps. It’s not good for implementing solutions. This is a great place if I want to integrate with 3rd parties.

That’s not for me. I am only going to be here for a few more months. I am feeling more certain about that. And that’s why I’m preparing. I need to crank it up. Big time. Google is waiting. I wish, but at least I want to get it out of the way.

I read a really good article today. Excellent: http://programmingzen.com/2010/07/04/the-pursuit-of-excellence-in-programming/. It’s really an article I have to re read and incorporate things from it to my daily actions. One of them is to read and write some code every day. Not at work. But on my own. Another one is to read code as well. And yet another one is to read a chapter from a book every day.

Every day?

Yeah.

Not only that. I cannot go to sleep if I don’t do all 3.

I think this sounds like a plan. I really do. I think I can improve my skills a great deal by following these simple rules and goals. I have to think about this for a while and create a plan.

Another great tip from the author is to use Pomodoro technique. I already found a Chrome plugin, ChromoDoro. You basically do work for 25 minutes, rest for 5. After 4 cycles, you are allowed to take a longer break. I think this might work for me.

Journey – Don’t Stop Believin’
Berlin – Take My Breath Away
REO Speedwagon – Take It On The Run
Company B – Fascinated

http://programmingzen.com/2010/07/04/the-pursuit-of-excellence-in-programming/#comment-10571

Antonio Cangiano

Excellence is only achieved through a combination of talent and effort.

Working with books alone is not enough though. Programming requires writing and reading programs every day for years. That’s why I have a rule: I refuse to go to sleep if I haven’t read and written some code on a given day (this doesn’t include the code I write for work, of course). So far, this rule has had a positive impact on my ability to code.

I love my wife. I love my kids. I am really missing them. I am finally realizing that to love and be loved is not an automatic thing. Real work is required on both sides.

I am going to do what I can on my side. I don’t need or expect likewise from the other side. It’s easier this way.

I read an excellent book on the subject. It has helped me realize these things. I also know I have to read some more. It’s going to help me even more. But the bottom line, I have to do things for my wife, for my family daily. That’s the only way I’m going to make it better.

People don’t change. I cannot expect my wife to change. She will if she wants to. I cannot change her. I can try to help her, but only if she wants to. There is not point in wasting my time. There is no point of aggrevating her. It just does not work that way. And that’s the bottom line! Period.

So what can I do on a daily basis?

Praise her.
Talk good things about her.
Tell her that I love her.
Buy something, even small from time to time.
Appreciate the things that she’s doing for me.
Do the things she asks me.
Listen.
Say nice things to her.
Don’t argue.

The list is long. But I think what I came up with is good. I just need to do more of these things.

I have to start living my life! Every day should be unique. Every day I should just do something!

why is it so hard for me to go to sleep on time and wake up at my usual 5:30 am time? I don’t know. Not enough motivation? Not enough rewards?

It’s not that simple.

But I need to change that. I need to stay disciplined.

TV is also taking my valuable time. I get lazy and I watch for 15 minutes. Sometimes longer.

I only get around and hour and a half if I wake up at 5:30. If I do it at 6:30, then I have half an hour or so. Not enough to do any reading. Not enough to do anything, really.

This has been going on for roughly a month now. My wife left and things have turned for the worse in this matter. It should have been the other way around, right? I think so.

But no reason to look back so much. Time to stay more disciplined.

I should create some sort of a reward system. If I wake up 5 times or more next week, I should buy myself a treat. If I don’t do it 3+ times, I should refrain from buying anything. Perhaps this reward/penalty system will work? I think I have to think about it a little bit more. I think it might!

Writing in this log entry is also an on/off experience. I have some tough questions to ask myself. I have to ask myself, why am I doing this? Why? Why? Why?

Because that’s who I am. That’s who I have been. And I want to continue doing that so I can move on.

And not only that, I enjoy doing that! When I don’t do it for a few day, or even for a single day, I feel bad! I should not let that happen. I can do better. And I will! Stas, show me what you can do! Ask not what others can do for me, ask yourself what you can do for yourself! Period.

Ostatnio wpadłem na super pomysł: ja muszę nie tylko pisac po angielsku, ale też po polsku! Jak mogę to robic? Dodając jeden albo więcej wpisów do dzienniczka po polsku! Proste! Myślę że to będzie dobry balans na polski/angielski.

Tak samo będzie z nauką mojego syna. Jak będzie czytał po angielsku, to albo dodatkowo 10 minut czytania po polsku, albo jeden dzień w tygodniu po polsku.