So I’m trying to turn things around. Well, maybe not turn things around as much as shifting them around a little bit. I’ve noticed that my little hobby projects of programming don’t really have the same appeal anymore, and simultaneously that my interest in Clean Coding and, quite possibly, do more lecturing and blogging about the Clean Coding topic do. So I’m kind of wondering how to get into all that.
At the bank, I’ve done two lectures on Clean Coding, both pretty well received as it seems. I’d like to expand on those, create a blog on the topic (or rather work on specialising this one), get a reader base (which I don’t currently have) and in the future perhaps create an email course on implementing clean coding (for dummies?).
I’ve been pondering that challenge for a while. At the age of 20, I just threw myself at new projects and opportunities with lots of energy and confidence, but I find that at 52, it’s not that simple.
Firstly, the money needs to get earned, and that is a full-time job at the bank. Secondly, I need to continue learning stuff about clean coding to have anything relevant to say in my blogs. Thirdly, I need to find time to work on all this. With the house renovation, the wife and the kids (well, dogs actually) time is not abundantly laying around. Nor is my energy after a full day of work.
The solution to this dilemma? Create habits. Well, maybe… I’ll give it a shot though.
I’ve read blogs about achieving one’s goals using habits. To force oneself into new habits, be it a jogging round every other day, eating healthier food, reaching out more to friends or something else entirely. They say it takes 30 days to change or create a habit. We’ll see.
In my case, the first habit I will try to change is the morning ritual. Instead of setting the clock to wake me up as late as possible and still make it work, I thought I’d get up even earlier and do my studying while my brain is most alert and while there are as few interruptions as possible.
This is day one. I’ll log that into my habit tracker app I just downloaded to keep track of my (possible, probable?) success. I’ve also read that measuring is important when it comes to achieving one’s goals. So far it’s working. I was out of bed at 5.30 am, at the books (or rather the first email of an email course on the topic of blog writing, as my first order of study business is to learn how to get a blog going and, more importantly, read) at 6, on my way to the bus at 7 and, just now, writing this blog entry on the bus, halfway to work at 7.50.
But, of course, one time doesn’t make a habit. I need to do this 29 more times, and then, magically, it will be a habit. Well, maybe…
P.S. I won’t bore you with 29 more blog posts about my habit changing enterprise, but I will probably mention it sometime in the future.
