Top 5 Things that are Important to Me as a Programmer

November 9, 2009 in Personal

No matter what your field of work, we all have areas where we want to succeed.

I’ve tried to identify the top 5 things that are important to me in life. These are areas of my life where I want to be successful.

5. Professional Development (Non-Technical)

As a programmer, not everything is technical all the time. We will have to give presentations, have meetings or communicate with end-users. For these reasons, I try to focus attention on improving my soft skills as well.

Toastmasters

To improve my speaking and leadership skills, I’ve joined a local Toastmasters group. Toastmasters has helped me immensely by offering opportunities to speak, lead meetings and network – skills which are rarely taught in academia or in the workplace. See Enhance Your Skills By Belonging to Professional Organizations for more information about what takes place during a Toastmasters meeting.

Reading books

Reading technical books all the time gets boring. I will try to mix in a non-technical book into my reading schedule every so often such as biographical or interview books to understand about how other people think and do things (e.g. The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs: How to Be Insanely Great in Front of Any Audience) or fiction (e.g. The Lost Symbol).

4. Professional Development (Technical)

Since technology changes so frequently, I placed my technical development on a higher level than social skills. Most of you reading this blog might categorize this similarly.

New Languages and Technology

Keeping up with the latest and greatest technologies can be a difficult task for most programmers. Not only does it take time to learn a particular technology, but you really don’t start to appreciate its usefulness until you start using it in a project.

My primary resource for acquiring knowledge on technology is my subscription to the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM). One of the many subscription benefits is being able to access Safari Books and Books 24×7 – this allows me to read and reference over 1,000 books online.

Sharing of Knowledge

I believe that the sharing of knowledge is just as important as the acquisition of knowledge. This blog’s purpose is just that – to share my insight and know-how with you. If you don’t have a blog or the time to keep up with one, there are plenty of websites that you can visit where you can answer questions asked by your peers or read about the latest advancements in technology see 17 Websites for Sharing Programming Knowledge.

3. Health

One of the topics that seems to never go away and revived each year with New Year’s resolutions is health. I know many people take their health for granted (I’m guilty of it too). One of the first and easier steps that you can take to living a healthier lifestyle is to become aware of what you eat and review your exercise habits.

Exercise

I typically don’t like to exercise, especially when I don’t see instant results. However, when I do, I usually feel less tired and more motivated to do other things. Many people will make excuses saying that “I don’t have the time”. You need to make it a habit – make it a part of your daily routine, just like showering and brushing your teeth.

Eat Healthy

When people think of eating healthy, they probably think of eating salads and vegetables all the time – this is not the case.

“The virtue of justice consists in moderation, as regulated by wisdom.” – Aristotle

Just like this quote by Aristotle, you can eat healthier without giving up the foods that you love – just have them in moderation. I’m not an expert on nutrition, but I always make sure to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. By becoming aware of how many calories that you consume daily, you can start to make your own choices about what you should and shouldn’t eat.

2. Career

Work is important, after-all if you don’t count time spent sleeping, you probably spend more time at work than at home. We were all hired for what we are able to contribute to the company, but what can your company contribute to you?

Staying Challenged

Is your assigned work keeping you challenged? This has been a red-flag for me in the past when I considered finding a new job. If your day-to-day tasks aren’t challenging, is there something else you can do in your spare time to keep you challenged? Try ask your manager if there is a project that you can work on that uses a different technology or if you can work to improve any existing processes.

Training

I would recommend taking advantage of any type of training (both internal and external) that your employer offers. Most employers will continue you pay you your hourly wage while you are attending training, as long it benefits the company. If you want to advance your career with an advanced degree, look into a tuition reimbursement program if your employer offers it.

1. Family and Friends

I’ve saved the best for #1. Whether you are single, married, have children, etc. we all need someone in our lives that reminds us that there are other things that important in life.

Support

Who do you rely on when you have personal problems? Similarly to what I was mentioning earlier about sharing technical knowledge, the same is true for personal knowledge – try help out emotionally if your friends and family need advice or someone to talk to.

In the future, hopefully your friends and family would return the favor to you, if you needed their assistance.

Appreciate Your Time

There is a time to be serious and a time for just letting go and having fun. Have fun spending time with your family, since it is one of those things that can be hard to come by. Everything else I’ve mentioned: professional development, health, and career are controlled entirely by you and your goals.

I would like to hear about your top 5 important things in your life. Please share in the comments below.