Focus on the process not the outcome.This past year I thought I could have achieved so much more. As the plan was to focus on side projects and certifications, however it just resulted in me not enjoying myself and in an extended hiatus in all things coding. With this post I want to discuss what went wrong and how I plan on changing my approach in the future.
This all began at the start of the year when I thought I would complete the AWS Solutions Architect Professional certification. I already have the Associate and it is expiring next year, so I thought why not just go for the Professional. Like any good student I started studying for it and from the get go it felt like a slog, then it came to the point to start the practice exams I was just over it.
The main issue is that it doesn’t align with what I enjoy doing, as the certification is mainly a memorisation exercise. While I prefer more practical projects or learning new skills, probably why I enjoyed the RHCSA so much more. The rest of this post is going to explore how to identify when something your working on is not aligning with your interests and how to pivot to something that does.
First of all, I feel it is important to identify when you start to lose interest in something. I thought when I was forcing myself to study for the certification I would just get through how I felt and start enjoying it. But unfortunately that never happened, and I just kept pushing myself to study for it.
Not surprisingly this resulted in me just abandoning the certification and not wanting to do anything related coding or IT. Which in hindsight was probably best thing for me, as I was able to reevaluate what I want to do with my spare time. For example I continued with my running and started to get into bouldering, something I would have never done if I was still forcing myself to study.
I could have avoided this by knowing when I started to study for the certification it wasn’t something I enjoyed and just stopped. At that point I could have moved on to something new, like a side project or another certification that I would have enjoyed more. The first take away is to move on early if you aren’t enjoying it, as no one is forcing you to do it.
Now that I have decided to no longer pursue any AWS certifications, I can focus on what I enjoy doing. After work if you want to try and improve at coding or any other skill, you should enjoy the process rather than the outcome. This will be more sustainable approach to learning and help to keep you consistent, remember consistency is key.
For example when it comes to bouldering I take it session by session, I’m beginning to see my grades improve but I’m not focusing on that I’m just enjoying the process. If I were to just focus on climbing the hardest grades I would have given up a long time ago. Same goes with certifications if you aren’t enjoying the process then you may as well move on to the next thing.
What is next for me? I have decided to focus on a new side project, will I ever finish it? Who knows. In terms of certifications I’ve decided to no longer pursue any AWS certifications as they don’t align with what I enjoy doing. As I’m not into the whole memorisation exercise, I may explore Red Hat’s Certified Engineer course. But that is for another time, for now I’m just going to enjoy the process.
Thanks, Nathan.
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