Monday 6 June 2016

PRO TIP #1 - Don't Stop...

Some of these blog posts will just be pro tips based on my own life experiences and this is the first one. It is simple - Don't Stop!

When you take up a hobby, make a change in lifestyle, start delving into a new tech stack or language, or basically anything that takes time and effort, don't stop. Even when you reach a significant milestone or you think you've done enough to meet some external goal, continue while both the learning or practice is still fresh and the desire to do so is there.

Last year I trained for a marathon and as a result got into running frequently, losing a bunch of weight in the process. Marathon went about as well as expected, yet I needed time to recover after due to carrying an injury into the event. However I failed to get back into running after the injury had healed, time passed, weight accumulated and when I tried to run again it was terrible. In time I'll get back to where I was and beyond, but the lesson learned is not to stop when the momentum is there, or if you NEED to stop, get back into it as soon as possible.

I feel this can be applied equally to most other activities, especially when it comes to learning and mastering new tools or technologies. All to often I will dip into something, will learn just enough to get by, and if I need to come back to it in the future will undoubtedly have to relearn a bunch of stuff to get back up to speed. It is only when I really take the time and effort to go that extra step and learn more than the basics that it really sticks. I found that with both WiX and PowerShell - both of which for a while I just got by with as I needed to, then kept having to remind myself of some of the basics from time to time.

The moral of the story - Don't Stop!



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