Initial Commit

My first post… People should blog more. So much content these days is stuck in closed gardens of meta and other social media sites. Well here is my contribution…

Goals, goals, goals. I am a goal-oriented person. It all started in my 20s; at the beginning of every year, I’ve always had a high-level idea of what I wanted to improve in. For the last few years, it has been software development. While my title at work is Director of Software Engineering, I find myself as far removed from coding as one can get. I suspect this is the case for many folks in management positions at Fortune 500 companies. I’ve joked with my wife that my daily work involves moving chess pieces around, and those chess pieces are people. We set goals, define OKRs, and I ensure we have the resources to achieve those results. So, how does this relate to personal goals?

I’m not the type of person to shy away from technology. I’ve always wanted to refine my coding skills. To be clear, I can write software now, but crafting a compiler or completing all the Advent of Code challenges is beyond my current abilities. My goal is to improve each day. So, let’s dive into those goals:

• Build, Build, Build: Complete a project a month. This year, I aim to finish at least 12 projects (ideally more). You learn more from building than from anything else.

• Don’t Rely on AI Too Much: While AI can be incredibly useful, I want to limit its use to tasks I already understand (like generating boilerplate code). If I let a robot do everything, I won’t make progress. I’ve found more success using AI to pose questions rather than to auto-generate code completions.

• Get Better at CSS: I am terrible at CSS and design in general. Seriously bad. I would love to improve my design skills.

• Understand Things Deeply: While I have a decent grasp on JavaScript and TypeScript, I couldn’t explain the intricacies of more advanced concepts like the event loop or design patterns in detail.

• Complete ALL of Advent of Code: This year, I’m determined to finish every challenge.

Outside of development, I aim to improve my DIY skills around the house. We have several woodworking projects I’d like to tackle.

It’s March, and we have many months ahead of us! I’m looking forward to reflecting on what I’ve accomplished.