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Home » The Self-Improver » Project Tech Update #1
The Self-Improver

Project Tech Update #1

Jason August 25, 2012 learning, Project Tech 2 Comments

It’s been six weeks since I introduced Project Tech, and it’s time for an update! I had three goals last time:

  1. Complete the HTML, CSS, and JS lessons on Code Academy
  2. Complete Zed Shaw’s “Learn Python the Hard Way” Course
  3. Get started on building something

Here’s how I stacked up:

  1. Complete! I finished all the HTML, CSS, and JS lessons on Code Academy, two weeks before my self-imposed goal deadline by the end of July.
  2. Incomplete. LPTHW is a self-paced course comprised of 52-lessons. I’ve completed 18/52.
  3. Incomplete. I’ve considered some ideas, but ideas are meaningless until they’ve been executed on.

Remarks:

  • The more specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and timely (SMART) your goals are, the more likely they’ll be completed. Completing CA was certainly doable within the time allotted, but not for LPTHW. It’s far easier to slack off if the goals are less specific.
  • It’s better to try than to not try at all. I began this summer cultivating a habit of waking up an hour earlier than usual to work on Project Tech. After about six weeks, my habits lapsed. An additional hour of sleep won the battle. Rather than giving up though, I’ve continued plugging away whenever I can – usually on the weekends.
  • It’s easier to publicize ambitions than on what was actually accomplished. I’ve never really liked publicizing my endeavors, mostly because I disliked the pressure that comes from public accountability. Succeeding publicly is great, but failing publicly isn’t. However, through StartingBloc, I’m slowly warming up to the power of public accountability.

Goals for Next Month:

  • Finish up LPTHW by 9/30.
  • Submit an entry on Kaggle by 9/15.
  • Create a one-page brief of my idea by 8/31.
  • Complete each Machine Learning course assignment before the weekly Monday deadline.

Closing Thoughts:

The problem with having so many interests is that, at least for me, it’s difficult to prioritize. I recently signed up for Stanford’s 10-week Machine Learning course, and am trying to get started on submitting an entry for some competitions on Kaggle. Both of these activities are related to my interests in technology, but they’re taking away time from completing my Project Tech goals. I’ve always believed it’s a bad idea to bite off more than you can chew, but isn’t this how we learn what our limits are? I’d like to get your thoughts. How do you prioritize what you do, when there are so many interesting things to work on?

Previous Article Lessons from StartingBloc
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About Author

Jason

I’m Jason Bilog, a twenty-something young professional that has lived in the DC area since 2010. Follow me along as I share my travel stories, tips on how to travel more while spending less, all while keeping your full-time job.

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2 Comments

  1. Akhila Reply
    August 26, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    This is awesome – I love your drive to accomplish goals and I need to learn from you! I’m really bad at goal setting because I set all these HUGE, practically unattainable goals over a long period of time and it’s hard for me to actually achieve those because they’re so huge. Breaking goals into smaller pieces seems a lot more useful 🙂 Great job on your achievements. And publicly admitting your progress and problems is great! That’s another area i need to improve at, for sure 🙂

    • Jason Reply
      August 26, 2012 at 10:19 pm

      Aww, thanks Akhila! I try, but I’m not progressing as fast as I’d like. Patience, indeed, really is a virtue.

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