Allow me to make the argument that the number of hours you put in as a developer matters.

Let's be realistic, someone who does 6 hours of focused work stands a better chance of achieving their goals faster than someone who has 2 hours of focused work (emphasis on focused work).

Could I make a request? Please read to the end before you come for me 🙈.

All fingers are not equal, I'm aware of that. The way we look at life is based on how we are conditioned. Where we stand depends on where we sit.

"Where we stand depends on where we sit."

Not everyone has equal resources and opportunities to succeed as fast as others in any field, and I acknowledge this.

Hence we are going to check off some criteria before we progress 🚧.To qualify to read this article :

• You don't have a lot of time on your hands. For example, I'm a medical student. This means I have to attend 6-8 hours of lectures with no breaks and get 4-6 hours of study, a few hours of sleep, assignments, dissections, practicals, and extracurricular activities, and I skipped coding, silly me.

• You are starting with the end in mind. You know what you want from tech:

  jobs, building a company, getting a skill, making a hobby, etc.

• You want to succeed, you have ideas, and you know what you can bring to the table.

• You are dead lazy to work at times, and you know this affects your consistency and drive. ( Yup! you also lack motivation sometimes).

I ticked all the boxes. But if you belong to one criterion, then you can go on. If not, still go on 🐱.

In my opinion, succeeding as a developer comes down to having one or both, a strong work ethic and imagination( and knowing how to learn). Guess what? A strong work ethic is non-negotiable.

"Succeeding as a developer comes down to having one or both, a strong work ethic and imagination"

When I mean a strong work ethic, I don't mean the number of hours you work(that's your kink), but how much effective and consistent work you can churn out.

I'm not a kid or an adult(guess my age and win a prize) so I'm not going to lie that I can just sit and let my natural curiosity guide me, I have responsibilities so I have to systematically engage my curiosity. I'm guessing you also have responsibilities.

Work ethic is hella important because of course you get to be disciplined, and hard-working, achieve your results, and maybe become Elon Musk 😎. That's why everyone talks about it, "Go hard or go home".

I see a lot of influencers talk without being emphatic when it comes to grit. They are right because hard work is necessary, but they are off the mark if you ask me. Why? Because they forget we are groomed differently, and work ethic doesn't come easily. IT IS A HABIT!

If you weren't a child who grew up with a lot of discipline, do not beat yourself up, you can not be a disciplined individual. I don't even have a strong work ethic (impostor alert 🚨 ).

However, I believe anything can be learned through practice. So I am designing a practice for myself when it comes to working. My goal is to build a habit of creating 6-8 hours of focused, effective, fulfilling, challenging, and zen-like work at the end of this year.

Let's get down to business and break this tradition in steps.

Step 1

Decide what your great work is, it could be your job, degree, business, you name it. In my case, it's going to be shipping apps and writing.

Step 2

Decide what amount of work is comfy for you at this point. For me, it's two hours of focused work every day. Let's assume you pick an hour.

Step 3

Use the Pomodoro technique to break up an hour into two sessions of 30 minutes. So you just have to work for two sessions of 30 minutes at least.

Step 4

Assuming your optimal target is 4 hours of work a day. All you have to do is practice doing 1 hour of work a day for 1 month. The next month, you can increase it by 30 minutes or by another hour.

So in January, you do 1 hour of work every day, in February you should be moving up to 2 hours of work, in March, 3 hours of work. This translates from 2 pomodoros to 4 to 6.

Please note: The amount of work and duration for improvement of hours is up to you.

Conclusion:

Just sit and imagine how your career would be transformed if you can work for 5 hours every day for the next five years doing what you love.

Stop it !! Stop imagining and get to work. My advice, start with 30 minutes today, then maybe 1 hour tomorrow for the next 30 days.

Please share this article, because I know you found it insightful, and tell me what you think 🤔.

I could even become your accountability partner 🙃.

Tchuss 😉.