Week 4: One Month Down- Things I've Learned

on updates

Week 4 was good. Not great, but not terrible. We used rails to create apps, and learned authentication to protect our users’ info! This week was the most exhausting of all, but I’m really excited to build my own stuff.

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I’ve learned outside of coding in these past 4 weeks, below are my thoughts.

Motivation

  • Take Notes If you're at a loss for what to do next, take stock of the things you do in your day to day. For example, most of the people I follow on instagram are hand-letterers, graphic designers, people who make pretty food, and dancers. I often catch myself wishing I was more like them. These are the feelings to really note down and do something about. With the internet, there is inspiration everywhere, you just have to choose what you're going to do with it.
  • Moving On I came across this great quote that explains it all. "For what it's worth: It's never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you're proud of. And if you find that you're not, I hope you have the strength to start over. - F. Scott Fitzgerald"


Money

  • Gamify Budgeting I've always considered budgeting to be one of my most hated tasks. Every purchase causes anxiety, and seeing my monthly credit card bill always makes me feel terrible. I've FINALLY figured out a way to combat this. I set a monthly budget for myself and use a budgeting app that splits my budget over the days in the month and gives me a budget for each day. Watching the daily budget rise as I save money each day has become a game!
  • Trader Joe's This is self explanatory, but I've ditched the ole whole paycheck. I get almost everything from Trader Joe's. It helps that there's one ridiculously close to app academy.
  • Take Advantage of Free Stuff My gym has free razors and great hair shampoo and conditioner. I do not buy any of these three items anymore- not even as backup.


Health & Wellness

  • Eating I stick to a few rules to keep my eating in check. This is CRUCIAL for me because I'm at a desk ALL day, and I'm on a budget.
    1. Eating out is reserved for meeting with people or celebrating something.
    2. Don't buy anything you have to cut up (goodbye garlic and onion).
    3. Always pack lunch. Stick to simple things. I eat the following: 1 portion carb (usually pasta /mashed cauliflower), 1 portion vegetables (I usually do a handful of raw spinach), 2 hard-boiled eggs
    4. Pack a snack. My favourites are blood oranges and nuts.
    5. Start the day with lemon water, and eat breakfast.
    6. Don't eat until you're hungry enough to reach for something not tasty- aka steamed kale. Eating for anxiety or boredom is a strict no-no (that I sometimes break lulz.
  • The Gym Spending money on a gym membership seems like a frivolous expense, but it has been so important for my mental/physical well-being. I can only fit in two classes with my current schedule, but I try and fit in at least 3 more hot-tub/sauna sessions otherwise. They are a GREAT reward at the end of the day, and the drive to get to the gym before it closes makes me motivated to finish homework quickly.
  • Sleep This is a GAME CHANGER and a NO BRAINER, but somehow, sleep is always overlooked. Most of the partners that I had who were functioning slowly were sleep deprived. Getting 4-6 hours of sleep EVERY night is not a badge of honor. It means you are doing something wrong.

Thanks This weeks’ thanks is to my friend Sweta, who is doing app academy in SF. She was the one who gave me the final push to actually do this. She has also been my guiding light through all of these weeks. I couldn’t keep it together as well as I have without her.