I woke up this morning thinking “I’ve only got three and a half working days left!”. It wasn’t a ‘countdown to the weekend’, nor was it a ‘there’s no way I’m going to get everthing done in time’. It was more of a ‘why does the week feel so short all of a sudden?!’. I’m used to having either the weeks drag out infront of me, like the endless school days before the summer holiday, or to fly by in a manic frenzy, so this morning felt like a whole new kettle of fish.

I really like having all my tasks laid out from my IPM and knowing that is what I have to complete in the week. This week I don’t feel totally overwhelmed by the amount to do, which is good, but I also know that I will have to work hard to get them done, so my thought for this morning was not blind panic over how much I have to do, but that’s not to say I think this week will be a breeze. I’m learning Java, and I am going to work hard to do these tasks not just to complete them, but to get as much out of them as I can.

So today I had one main goal: get as far as I can through Java Koans. I didn’t necessarily plan to finish them, because I wasn’t a hundred percent sure how long they would take me, but I was hoping to make a big enough dent that I was certain I could finish them tomorrow. Thankfully, I think I have done that and I feel good now knowing that I can get them done in the timeframe I set myself. The koans themselves have been a really helpful introduction to Java. I think they approach new concepts gently enough that I can investigate them piece by piece and gradually build my understanding of the syntax and the language. There have been a couple of new concepts today that I have taken my time to try and understand before moving on, and now I’m feeling more confident in tackling the next task, a Java Kata. Of course, I half hope that I’ll get everything done early so that I can move on to a new task and wow my mentors with my exceptionally fast learning skills, but I know that it’s going to take as long as it takes for me to get my head round some things, and if I rush it, then understanding could be lost in the process. All I’m going to ask of myself this week, then, is to get these tasks done to the best of my ability. If it takes me more time than I planned, then I stay later and work longer, as simple as that.

I also went for lunch with Jim, who not only gave me great advice, but also a lot of encouragement. I feel grateful to be part of such a great team, and knowing that it is such a great team really drives me not to let them down. I am eager to learn from them, of course, but I am eager to contribute too and I hope that I can find a way to do that soon.

My favourite piece of advice from today was this: “Everyone is on their own journey”. This is something that I really hope to keep in mind and I feel that I am aware of it on this blog. I asked Jim what the purpose of blogging every day was. His response was, in short, that it is good for me, but he also said that this blog is for me, and I want to use it for me. It is one of my weekly tasks to blog daily, but that does not make it a chore. This page is a place to reflect not only on the tech I’ve learnt throughout the day, but how this journey affects me. So far it’s been more personal than technical, simply because that’s where I am right now, so that’s what I’m writing about. When I learn an amazing new thing that I really want to share maybe that bias will shift, who knows…