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Reflections from 52 weeks, 52 projects

Reflections from 52 weeks, 52 projects

My new years resolution was to do one project a week for the entire year. This is a presentation on how it's been going, and what I've learned thus far.

Jefferson Lam

May 11, 2015
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  1. What do I want to do in 2015? I want

    to continue to hone my skills in development. I’m gonna make it a New Years Resolution to develop a small project every week, and post it online every week, Saturday at or before noon. It can be big, or small. It needs to be something meaningful that challenges me and shows my skills.
  2. started dating someone • work • sleep • friends •

    driving and being stuck in traffic
  3. Not having time is no longer an excuse. You have

    to make time, and you have to make sacrifices. Lesson Learned #1
  4. It’s hard to build something out of nothing. Build your

    projects around content. Lesson Learned #2
  5. Q Why am I doing this Project 52? A To

    become a better developer. To give myself opportunities to code.
  6. It’s OK to discard old goals if they are no

    longer helpful. Constantly re-assess your goals and move them as needed. Lesson Learned #3
  7. Big projects are daunting. It’s easier to get things done

    if you keep your scope small. Lesson Learned #4
  8. Develop a specific toolkit, and focus on mastering those skills.

    You won’t learn anything if you try to learn everything. Lesson Learned #5
  9. I was trying hard to create cool stuff. But as

    I read more, the quality of my work naturally improved.
  10. Learning by doing is great, but don’t forget to take

    in new information. Read, and get other people’s feedback. This will help you stay up-to-date. Lesson Learned #6
  11. You can only create what you know. Your work is

    a direct reflection of your knowledge. Lesson Learned #7
  12. “Nothing of me is original. I am the combined effort

    of everybody I’ve ever known.” - Chuck Palahniuk, Invisible Monsters
  13. My Github activity blew up. Repos ~2 ➞ 18 Streak

    ~2 ➞ 15 Contributions 0 ➞ 436 Pull Requests 0 ➞ 2
  14. I’ve developed more of a toolkit. - Gulp - Sass

    - Linters - Normalizer - Reset - Pesticide - Sublime Settings - Codepen
  15. My New Favorite Resources: • Github (other people’s repos) •

    Codepen • Twitter • Panda • Medium • A List Apart • HackReactor YouTube Channel • The FED interview question list • http://h5bp.github.io/Front-end-Developer-Interview-Questions/
  16. - Read more - Teach more - Start blogging -

    Pair program more - CodePen everything - Ask for feedback more - Answer all the FED interview questions Looking forward, I am going to…
  17. But the fact that I’ve taken any steps forward means

    I’ve made progress, and that is a success in and of itself.
  18. It’s not easy to become an expert. The important thing

    is to keep pushing forward, intelligently. Keep coding.