Jessica Agorye's Blog

I'm sure the first thing that comes to your mind is, what is 100 days of code?

If you're starting a career in Tech or working on a project (Tech-Related) and this is the first time hearing about 100 days of code, get excited because you'll thank me later.

100 days of code was created solely to change people's lives in other to get desired results. It's all about making a commitment and sticking to it. You'll agree with me that sometimes committing is really difficult. It may be decisions as easy as doing a walking exercise for 30 minutes every day to stay healthy or reading a book.

This challenge was created by Alexander Kallaway to help people stay committed to building their skills in the Tech-Industry and to encourage people to learn new coding skills.

The two main Rules are: Code a minimum of an hour every day for the next 100 days and Tweet your progress every day using the #100DaysOfCode hashtag. Easy right?

Why should you participate :

If you're starting new into tech or working on a project, you need a level of commitment to help you become successful at what you do(as with everything in life), especially if you're the type that likes to procrastinate or put things on hold to come back to it later and eventually lose time doing so; even if you are not the procrastinating type. I personally think that this challenge pressures you in a very much needed way.

I have been a procrastinator, and still, but rarely these days *don't judge me, work in progress lol* I even started the 1,2,3,4,5 rule to help me stop procrastinating, so I understand how procrastination can make you lose important opportunities or slow down growth and the ability to reach a certain goal. When I started my journey as a web-developer, #100daysofcode has been like an alarm clock in my head. I don't necessarily have to write code for the whole day. It reminds me that I have to study or practice and update my progress before the end of the day. It keeps me grounded and has also helped me progress further than where I was when I started as regards learning new things as a developer, compared to when I was trying to learn on my own without the challenge.

What is the Benefit:

The benefit of participating is; coding will become a part of your daily routine like a habit. When you're coding daily, you'll learn faster. It will also help you build a portfolio that will show your progress “you never know who's watching”, It's also a way of networking and meeting people who want to be a part of your progress by giving you inputs/tips or cheering you on which will help boost your confidence.

For more information about #100daysofcode Visit https://www.100daysofcode.com/about/ to start your journey and to learn more about this challenge. Trust and Believe that it will be worth your time. I wish you all the best ahead.

In my very many years as a 26 years old woman, I can count how many books I have read as an adult. Growing up, it was always books books books. My dad never failed to buy us books (God rest his gentle soul). He would buy us all sorts of books from fantasy to nature, gemstones, types of birds in the world, and even various historical happenings. As a child, reading was a part of my everyday activity, but after my primary education, I read books when I would save up my lunch money to buy romance novels in secondary school. When I was in the higher institution, I didn't do much reading either. Even the romance fictions I once loved were no longer a part of my journey. I would only read school work, which indeed I wasn't reading for its pleasure but because it was a necessity.

The reason why I say reading is essential is that it exposes you to a whole lot of things. When having conversations with people, I'm able to give answers to certain questions that comes up because I read it up somewhere.

Reading is very much essential I recommend everyone to do it. It doesn't have to be all the time but once in a while, pick up a book on what concerns your life as a developer, a manager, or a teacher it can even be something random. There are so many things that you can read about that will help put your life in perspective. One book that I read and will always go back to read is The Way of The Shepherd by Dr. Kevin Leman and Bill Pentak. The book is all about managing productive people, but I think it can be applied in our daily lives as well. Another book I'm reading is related to my field in tech, The Coding Career Handbook by Shawn Swyx Wang.

I'm also taking baby steps to cultivate reading culture, and I think you should do the same too.