Experience with 100DaysOfCode
WHAT IS 100DaysOfCode?
Well, 100DaysOfCode is where a participant codes for 100 days maintaining a streak on Twitter or on GitHub while learning something new each day. I completed this challenge yay! (11th, Sept 2020–19th Dec 2020).
MY EXPERIENCE:
One fine day I decided to take up this challenge and upskill myself. I was a bit nervous while committing to it in the beginning but my inner Mandalorian said: “This is the way”. XD
I started solving Leetcode problems initially then gradually moved to the development part. So I started doing both: Leetcode problems and MEAN stack development. I was learning while building some projects because I believe in learning while building. I solved 2–3 medium problems on Leetcode and completed small tasks while working on a project each day.
— What I learned? —
-> I solved many DS & Algo based problems on Leetcode.
-> I learned DOM, Javascript, jQuery, Node.js, Express.js, EJS, MongoDB/Mongoose, RESTful APIs, Authentication and security(Database encryption, salting and hashing, cookies & sessions, OAuth 2.0 with passport.js)
→ I built: A Blog website, Newsletter website, RESTful APIs, a simple game and a website called Secrets.
100DaysOfCode was one of the good decisions I have taken in 2020 since it helped me to stay consistent and committed like I am to my bad sleeping habits. When you wake up, you don’t think before brushing your teeth or washing your face, you just do it. Likewise, I developed this habit of coding every day without thinking about it. I just started doing it every day. One thing I would like to point out: Updating and maintaining your streak are more difficult than coding every day. NOT KIDDING.
Not only I gained knowledge but also good habits and discipline which are really important. Good habits, discipline, consistency, commitment, and good sleeping schedule will change the whole game. TRUST ME.
— My Advice —
The moment you stop comparing your journey with others and start with your older self, you are already far ahead than most of the people. If you want to see your better version then focus on this line “one step at a time”. 100DaysOfCode will definitely help you to achieve this.
Myth: Participants code for 100 days straight without burning out.
Truth: It is not humanly possible to code every day without burning out. I made some good friends along my journey. We cheered each other up so we knew what each one was going through. Someone had a family function, someone had to go out of the station, someone had exams, someone got interviews or deadlines, load shading, broken laptop, headache etc. So it is nearly impossible that some of the other unavoidable reasons might not come up within 100 days. Even you get weekends in your job. I also had some reasons which I tackled without breaking my streak. When I got frustrated or had some serious reasons, I decided to redo my old solved problems, revise DS & Algo theory and OOPs concepts which were equally important. Instead of doing 2–3 medium problems, I did 1 easy problem to clear up my mind on that particular day. Others did the same.
Suppose, you opted for this challenge and one day you got really frustrated or have some other serious reasons. You needed a KitKat break, just for that single day. You could do what I did or break the task of that single day into 5 equal parts and add up those 5 parts with 5 upcoming days. So, your work will remain constant and you won’t burn out plus you could revise your previous tasks.
The whole point of 100DaysOfCode is to LEARN and stay true to yourself. I twisted the judgement of people in my favour. How? Well, I committed to it in public so it created pressure on me. That “Log kya kahenge “ statement helped me not to give up lol XD.
CONCLUSION:
Stay true to yourself and not to others. The point of 100DaysOfCode is to help you LEARN so focus more on the learning part and less on the streak part.
Just do it * wink *.
You can check out my 100DaysOfCode challenge on Twitter
Get connected with me on LinkedIn :)
