Bootcamps are tough. There’s no way around it. You’ve signed up for an intense program that moves at a seemingly breakneck speed to cram a massive amount of knowledge into your noodle. But you don’t have to get overwhelmed. I’ve outlined five of my favorite pieces of advice for surviving one of the most learning-intensive ordeals of your adult life.
You Can Do Anything, But Not Everything
When you enter into a full-time commitment in a high-stress environment, you’re going to have to let some things go by the wayside. In a 24 hour day you‘ll be at school for nine hours and commuting for two, on average. Hopefully you’re also sleeping at least seven hours, which leaves just six hours remaining in your day to make and eat food, do laundry, clean your apartment, catch up on shows, hit the gym, play some videogames, catch up with friends, learn a second language, work on side projects, and whatever other things you’ve decided you’re going to do while immersed in a coding camp. Oh, and homework.
That’s a lot of stuff.
If your list is anything like that, there’s a zero percent chance that you’re going to be able to get through it all. That means it’s time to prioritize. Yup, that’s right, put in your grown-up pants and tell yourself “hey self, you’re not allowed to try and do everything because if you do you’re gonna burn yourself out like some kinda jerk!”
There are countless methods for prioritizing and organizing your daily and weekly tasks. I personally use a Panda Planner for days that I have completely free, and a wall-hanging paper calendar. Whether you prefer paper or digital, the most important things it that you actually get all your tasks for the day written down somewhere so that you can see them all. Once they’re all down in a list, it’s a lot easier to figure out what needs to be done in what order.
If writing everything out in a list sounds like too much, even declaring a singular goal for the day can make a big difference in how you see the work you have in front of you. There’s a Chrome extension called Momentum that asks you to do just that.
Be Greedy — Take Care of Yourself
Your sister needs help moving, and that karaoke place just isn’t as fun without you there every Thursday night. And hell, your friends just plain miss you and want you to go away for the weekend. And of course, Tuesday is nickle shots night at Tipsy McStagger’s. Go for it! After all, you’ve earned it!
But no, it’s time to really do that whole adulting thing and take actual care of yourself. That means doing a whole lot of things you might not be used to doing on the regular. For starters, getting real sleep.
A lack of sleep can have deleterious effects on the body. A lack of sleep can impair muscle growth, raise blood pressure, screw around with your appetite, harm your immune system and even mess with your breathing. And if all that isn’t enough, Dr. Merrill Mitler, neuroscientist at the NIH, says that not sleeping well “ impairs your higher levels of reasoning, problem-solving and attention to detail”.
Need help getting to sleep at night? There are some basic things that you can do, but one of the best tips is to just stop looking at screens for a while. Seriously. Put your phone down, dim the lights, maybe read a book. Oh, and install Flux on any computer you use at night. You’re welcome.
Sleep isn’t the only way you’ll need to be greedy with your time of course. You need to make time to get all that stuff on your priorities list done. That might mean you spend an entire Saturday doing laundry and pre-making meals for the rest of the week. It’s worth it to make your weekdays that much easier to deal with. Say no to the hangouts and requests for your time, or invite your friends to help make a few dozen breakfast burritos.
Don’t Play the Comparison Game
No matter how good you are, you will never be the best at everything. Ever. Prince had Michael Jackson to contend with, Nightmare on Elm Street had Friday the 13th and Bill Paxton had Bill Pullman. Does that make any of those things suck? Okay, the Nightmare series is basically garbage after the first one, but the other stuff is still cool!
The point is, comparing yourself to other people is as pointless as it is harmful. Pick the best coder in your cohort and there’s probably a 12 year old somewhere that can run circles around them. Don’t get all smug, mind you — that 12 year old could kick your ass, too.
Juliana Breines Ph.D, says that downward comparisons (comparing yourself to someone you think you’re better than) tend to crop up when we feel threatened. She said that they can be dangerous, because they’re based entirely around someone else’s misfortune. “ When we focus too narrowly on others’ negative attributes,” she says, “we may miss the complete picture of their strengths and successes, which limits our ability to empathize and support them in good times and bad.”
Upward comparison (comparing to someone you think is better than you) on the other hand, can fuel envy, lead to idolization, and generate unrealistic standards. It’s not a sustainable source of motivation, and may turn into the opposite.
The only one you should be comparing yourself to is yourself. But that’s a comparison you really should be doing. Keep track, whether in a journal or blog, of how you’re feeling day to day, and what lead to that feeling. Keep track of what you’ve learned too. It pays off.
def self.happiness
if self.knowledge_yesterday < self.knowledge_today
puts “I learned things and that’s awesome and I’m happy!”
else
puts “Guess I’ve got more to learn!”
END
ENDCelebrate Your Accomplishments
Things that I’m assuming about you if you’re reading this.
1. You are either working towards or are currently in a coding bootcamp.
2. You’re dedicated enough to look for ways to succeed.
3. You just read, or skimmed, 1,000 words.
So check that out. You’ve got a ton to celebrate already. You’re a dedicated individual, you’re brave enough to take a leap into a whole new career and if you read one more article this length today, you’ll have read more than the average American. You’re kicking all the ass!
It’s so easy to focus on the things you need to do or want to do , and forget to think about all the things you’ve already done. But you’ve done a ton. You’ve worked hard, and your brain is now filled with all sorts of knowledge that you didn’t have a week ago, or even a day ago.
Remember when I said you should keep a journal? This is why. If you go back a week, or a month, or a year, and take a look at yourself then, you’ll be able to reflect on everything you’ve done since. If you’re in a camp right now, look back at the lessons you were struggling with in the pre-work. They’re baby stuff. But it’s not because they were easy in the first place. It’s because you learned. Lots.
Know When to Stop Coding
I’ve talked to a lot of people about success in boot camps, and the advice they could give me. Seriously, a lot of people. One of the most commonly echoed pieces of advice I’ve heard is “know when to stop coding.”
Steven Balasta, recent Flatiron grad puts it this way. “You’re going to get burned out if you keep at the same problem too long, but if you walk away for a while and give yourself some space, it’ll come to you.”
This advice applies to more than just walking away, or stopping for the night though. This also means that you need to know when you’re up against a wall and it’s time to ask for some help before you dig yourself a hole that’s too hard to get out of. If you keep approaching a problem in the same way and you can’t think of any other solutions, it’s time to Google, walk away, or ask for help.
If you’re hitting a wall, it’s time to change your path.
