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Surviving Your First Week: 3 Tips

Charles Njoroge
Sep 5, 2018 · 3 min read

Starting a new job will always be challenging. Last week I started as an Associate Software Engineer and here are my three core tips on how I made it through.

1. Establish A Routine

“Depending on what they are, our habits will either make us or break us. We become what we repeatedly do.” ―Sean Covey

The most important thing is to establish a routine, both inside and outside of work. Now, this doesn’t mean becoming entrenched in one that hinders you from growing and stifles your creativity. What I’m talking about is establishing a method for managing your time. It all starts with when you wake up and what you do first thing in the morning. My first task of choice is to make my bed in-order to get a nice dopamine kick in the morning (I sprinkle these throughout my day to keep myself going. They can be small or big actions). I usually split my day up into early morning, late morning, early afternoon, late afternoon, and night. Each time of day is blocked off for certain tasks. This allows me to split up my work into manageable pieces. It also allows me the opportunity to sprinkle reading times in between. How do you split up your day?

2. Pick Something You Want To Learn Each Day Then It.

My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive; and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style. -Maya Angelou

Learning is attractive and a life long investment. When you learn something new it changes you for the better in ways you won’t understand until you put it to use. One of the best ways to learn something new is to pick a book and give yourself reading goals. These can be big or small, however, the trick is sticking to the plan and executing. People learn best when they practice. Even though we all learn differently, from tactile learners to auditory, experience is the best teacher. It pays to first discover how you learn and then take advantage of that. Once you’ve figured out how you learn, choose topics you’re interested in and accomplish small tasks that allow you to practice.

3. Set Goals For Yourself

When it is obvious that the goals cannot be reached, don’t adjust the goals, adjust the action steps. — Confucius

Setting goals for yourself is rather difficult but in the long run it well help you better direct your life in the direction that you desire. Goals are your way of creating the blueprint of your life; either you write it or it will be written for you. In life you can define yourself or you can let life decide and you will never appreciate what it chooses. With goals you are able to sit down and look at your past and decide the next best thing for you to achieve in order to get to where you want to be. No great person ever became their best selves by letting life take the reigns. The best way to set goals and stick to them is to write them down and then have another person keep you accountable. Writing them down allows you to develop concrete steps to move forward in your journey and eventually reach your desired destination. Finding someone allows you to better fight your desire to give up. This is not to say that life doesn’t have its up and downs but goals are the stars and your life the ship. They will guide you.

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