How on earth can you balance it all?
Tags: beginners, codenewbie, productivity, career
Published: 2023-05-19 21:40:03

Hey there!

My name is Rachel and I am a part of the Forem/DEV/CodeNewbie team. 

I have been creating this “What I Learned This Week” segment to discuss relevant posts on [#codenewbie](https://dev.to/t/codenewbie) and/or [#beginners](https://dev.to/t/beginners) that relate to things I have been interested in this week.

Side note: if you haven't peeped the CodeNewbie tag or CodeNewbie Team Page, here are those things!

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## A Brief Introduction

This week, our theme is all things balance— whether that means finding inspiration, creating a schedule that works for you, trying new things, meeting your financial goals, or navigating mental health. I have been trying out a lot of new organizational systems, practicing healthy habits at home, and grinding away at work— and realized I may be working too hard in some avenues and not hard enough in others! It *happens*. Let’s talk through some posts that helped me and maybe they can help you too!

## So, you are struggling with follow-through

“Your projects are left unfinished not because of your technical abilities, but because you haven't learned how to plan properly.” - @jimmymcbride

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## So, you are trying out a new codebase

“Documentation is the first step to embark on a new project. On a regular project, the documentation will probably be missing, incomplete, or partly (if not entirely) misleading; at a hackathon, time may be too short to read it in detail.” - @nfrankel

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## So, you are realizing you need more financial security

“Before we dive in, you might be wondering, why bother with a side income? Well, aside from the obvious monetary benefits, side hustles also offer a chance to explore new technologies, build your portfolio, and even network with others in our field. And let's face it, we're living in an era where job security can be as volatile as JavaScript frameworks.” - @sasidhar_gadepalli 

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## So, you need more time to focus on yourself

“Imagine trying to solve a sudoku puzzle, except you aren't allowed to use a pen and everything has to be done in your head. Now try doing this for 8 hours a day and you get a good idea of how mentally taxing programming is… Therefore, keeping our minds healthy is critical for us to be effective at work.” - @alexhyettdev

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Or hey, you may be, like me, having the, “Gosh I know it all and I just don’t know how to do it”.

To that, I would say (emphatically): take a break, go outside, touch the grass, smell the flowers, look at something that is much farther away than your screen, and carry on. You can’t fix it all at once.

Happy coding y’all and have a great weekend.

## And let me know below, how do you balance it all?