100DaysOfCode

Today, 30 May 2018, I finished #100DaysOfCode. I started it as a New Year’s Resolution. The basic idea is that I’m supposed to set aside an hour every day to write some code, aside from that which I would write for my job. I started on January 1, and today is the 150th day of the year, so it’s pretty clear I didn’t quite follow it exactly.

In fact, I made a few adjustments to the general rules. I’m not, generally, able to find a full hour free to code every day, but I do have my lunch break. So, I’ve been taking about half an hour out of my lunch breaks each weekday to work on my own coding projects. And since it was only during my lunch breaks, I rarely did it on the weekends.

It was a great experience for me. One thing I’ve been frustrated with lately is my lack of time to work on my own projects. But, once I figured out a way to specifically set aside some time, I found that I really could get a decent amount done in those half hour blocks.

I got a good amount done on several projects that I’d started, but hadn’t made any progress on, including migrating this blog to a static site and getting it working again. It’s been a while since this site has been up and running, and I’m really glad it finally is. It’s nice to have a place to share my thoughts again.

As it happens, I’m right in the middle of a new project that’s part coding and part something else. So, I’ll still be doing these half hour coding blocks for a little while longer, although I won’t be keeping track of it like I was.

I’ll probably do this again, though, and next time I’ll be following the program more closely, including daily updates on Twitter.

I’d encourage anyone who has something they want to do to try something like this. You want to write? Spare 30 minutes of your day to write. You want to learn calligraphy? Practice it a little bit every day. You want to be a better singer? Take some time every time to sing a bit. Even if it’s never more than half an hour a day, if you’re doing something you enjoy, you’ll find yourself more fulfilled.