One piece of wisdom from my mentor I am taking to heart is to code every day.

Write Code Everyday
Write Code Everyday

As a Blogger, I know how important it is to exercise writing skills every day, including thinking like a writer. Therefore, I’m not surprised that for programming, the same ideas apply.

Where I was mistaken was that I was going into programming with much more perfectionism, meaning I thought that I couldn’t sit down and write code unless it was going to be a very important and purposeful program, one that will definitely run by the time I was done.

When I sit down to write a blog post, I don’t write perfect, ready-to-publish articles or tutorials each time. I go through draft after draft, and aside from the actual writing, there’s a lot of thinking involved. It takes a lot of time to create something from nothing, regardless of the medium.

 
Now, I’ve been sitting down to code every day, sometimes by opening up a blank file in my IDE, or sometimes by working on old code. Some projects I’ve done more than once, but I’m tackling them in a different way. Regardless of what I’m doing, this method helps me learn with a more hands-on critical thinking.

It’s also important to have fun. Make something silly, something you think is cool just because. Have fun with it. Get something to work, even if it’s simple. Feel good about yourself. Sometimes it’s important to have fun amidst the learning to help us stay motivated and prevent discouragement. And, for me, I find it so fun to see how my learning continuously improves by repeating simple projects at different times.

There you have it! Write Code Every Day

I consider this change in habit to be a massive success and hope to continue it for as long as I can. In the meantime I’ll do all that I can to recommend this tactic to others who wish to get substantial side project work done. Let me know if this technique does, or doesn’t, work for you – I’m very interested in hearing additional anecdotes!

10 Thoughts to “Write Code Every Day”

  1. ahmed

    Great write up! Very inspiring to me as someone who primarily does project management and hasn’t been hands on with development for years.

  2. Lauren

    This is a very good article. I can relate to the need and anxiety of developing good work habits. I am not sure of what your personal code writing is, but it is good to know I am not alone in the challenges and effects of bad work habits. Knowing that you have succeeded is a great incentive for believing in ones ability to develop and maintain productive habits too. Thanks for sharing your experience.

  3. Anum

    Thanks for sharing. Definitely going to try this.

  4. Khurram

    Very Inspiring

  5. Emily

    You made my day lady!! (y)

  6. Davon Dore

    You are so cool! I do not believe I have read anything like this before. So nice to discover your blog. Really.. thanks for starting this up

  7. Emma

    Hey Bushra,

    So how did you get into the habit of it? Did you just sit down and say “I’m not leaving this desk until I have some code done”?

  8. Paul

    Good!

    Always Be Coding 😉

  9. Marry

    I’m doing almost the same except by the fact that I’m not FORCING to get something done every single day.
    Almost ever, my weekends are totally designed to I have some fun and if i start to write something i bought me some prize.

    Nice post!

  10. Max

    Very inspiring Bushra. Nice points on how to keep the streak continuing

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