Bootcamp challenges and how I have adapted in the last few weeks
Andela Cycle 40 Bootcamp has been a thrilling and challenging journey so far. The Bootcamp commenced on the 7th of January, and we are currently in the second week.
I was excited when I got the mail that includes an attachment to the project that we will be working on, throughout the Bootcamp period.
Throughout the Bootcamp, we have had different sessions.
These sessions have been thrilling and educating too.
Areas I have adapted
Night Sleep
I usually commute by bus to the venue, which is about several miles from where I live, and it takes me on average 1hr 30 mins to get to Andela campus.
I know I have to be at the venue by 8:30 in the morning at most.
As someone who has been so used to being a night owl for a long time, always staying awake to write and read code, I decided to make adequate plans so I can get up early, freshen up and look fresh and well-rested before heading to the Bootcamp venue.
I made plans from Friday, before Monday (when the actual Bootcamp will start), to start getting sleep during the day, thereby resetting my sleep cycle, and letting my brain know that “night is night and day is day”.
It wasn’t easy doing this as my body had already adapted to the “night owl” state.
I had little success sleeping on Friday night.
On Saturday morning, I was extremely sleepy, I was groggy all through the morning, I made up my mind not to sleep during the day to enable me to sleep at night.
Coffee came to the rescue as always and I was able to resist the “demon of daytime sleep” on that day.
With some struggle, I was able to sleep by 12 am on Saturday night and up till now, my sleep cycle is at “reset mode” completely.
I was able to adapt to the time I have to come here and feel fresh and alert during the Bootcamp each day.
Stress
Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one — Hans Selye
Stress is a part of life, It’s that thing that comes before growth or development.
There’s a saying that “Pressure makes diamonds”.
Commuting to Andela campus using the local (danfo) buses, is stressful. Every Lagosian can testify to the fact that Lagos traffic can be hectic most times.
It takes me about 1hr 30 mins on average to get to Andela campus, but while going back, at the minimum, commuting back home takes me about 2hrs+.
“Someone can see a wife, pay for her bride price and marry her in Lagos traffic”; “Lagos traffic na die”😂.
To beat this challenge, or mitigate the effect the stress might have on me, I leave the campus most days around 5:30 pm to be able to beat the traffic and get home, code for 2 hours or so and take a break and then wake up early the next morning.
Electric Power
The importance of a 24/7 Electric energy supply cannot be overemphasized. It’s not ideal to stop to the flow of ideas and you having a need to put these ideas together all because of power problems.
Power issues seem to be a prevalent problem in Nigeria, and while few weeks, I thought the electricity supply in my area has improved, I was so far from thinking right.
We have a project that we are working that is due on the 18th of January 2019, I knew that if I stayed at home all through the 2nd day of the 1st week of the Bootcamp to the 4th day, I might not be able to keep up with the project.
Due to this, I decided to come to the campus every day and work and collaborate with my peers.
Doing this really helped to mitigate the power challenge.
The project
The project is very interesting, it’s about building both the frontend and the backend of an application that can help meetup organizers prioritize questions asked in a meetup, based on criteria like the number of votes to questions. It’s termed “Questioner”.
I knew I needed to give my ultimate best to this project because my work defines me and my attitude has always been to gain mastery of my craft.
As I work every day on the project, the scope of the project begins to open up more, I start seeing more edge cases that need to be taken care of.
To meet up with the new challenges from this project, I’d read up docs, materials or watch videos, and then where I need a better understanding, I sought opinion and feedback from my peers or my LFA.
Every feedback I received from my LFA or peers has made the journey easier, more focused and better — “Do not underestimate the power of feedback”.
