What Is Productivity Anxiety and How to Beat It, with Matt and Eric from Self-Taught Devs Podcast
Nov 14, 2023
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Meet Matt Ehrlich and Eric Winkelspecht, self-taught devs who discuss their coding journeys, motivation, creating structure, and overcoming guilt. They highlight the perks of coding careers and the resources they used to become successful. With backgrounds as park rangers and IT professionals, they share their transitions into the tech industry. They also talk about the importance of consistent learning, finding peer support, and starting a podcast together.
Finding intrinsic motivation and enjoyment in coding is crucial to overcoming productivity anxiety.
Self-taught learning allows for flexibility, adaptability, and personalized learning methods in the coding journey.
Deep dives
Self-Tort Dev Podcast and Successful Self-Taught Devs
Matt Ehrlich and Eric Winklesbeck from the Self-Tort Dev Podcast discuss the journey of becoming successful self-taught developers. They emphasize the importance of finding what motivates you and enjoying the process. Matt shares his transition from being a park ranger to a web developer, highlighting the unlimited growth and learning potential in the tech industry. Eric talks about his decision to switch from a well-established IT career to pursue coding. They both discuss the challenges and strategies they used to stay motivated in their coding journey, including taking breaks, maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and seeking support from the coding community. They also touch on the job search process and the importance of persistence and learning from rejections.
Benefits of Self-Taught Learning and Structuring Studies
Matt and Eric emphasize the benefits of self-taught learning in the coding journey. They discuss the importance of finding your own learning methods and focusing on projects that interest you. They also talk about the advantage of being able to adapt and learn at your own pace. They share their experiences with various online learning platforms such as Code Academy, Scrimba, and Udemy. Matt highlights the need for a self-motivated mindset and treating learning like a job. Eric encourages breaking down complex concepts into smaller, achievable goals. They both stress the significance of networking and seeking mentorship within the coding community.
Navigating the Challenges of Self-Taught Learning
Matt and Eric discuss the challenges they faced during their self-taught coding journey. They talk about imposter syndrome and the mindset shifts needed to overcome self-doubt. They emphasize the importance of self-care, taking breaks, and maintaining a healthy work-life balance. They also address the pressure of productivity anxiety and the need to find intrinsic enjoyment in coding. They share their experiences with dealing with rejection and setbacks in the job search process and offer advice on staying resilient and learning from these experiences.
Deciding Between Full-Time and Part-Time Learning
Matt and Eric share their perspectives on choosing between full-time and part-time learning. They discuss the benefits and challenges of each approach. Matt explains his decision to quit his job and learn coding full-time, citing the importance of dedicating focused time and maintaining a routine. Eric highlights the need for self-discipline and consistency regardless of the learning schedule. They advise considering personal circumstances, financial stability, and learning preferences when deciding which approach is suitable. They also stress the importance of setting achievable goals and breaking down the learning process into manageable steps.
Meet Matt Ehrlich and Eric Winkelspecht 🇬🇧! They are the hosts of the Self-Taught Devs podcast. And, you guessed it, they are self-taught devs and career changers to boot. Matt was a park ranger, and Eric worked at an IT solutions company but didn't code. Today, they are a front-end developer and a full-stack developer, respectively, who met through LinkedIn and then decided to host a podcast!
In this episode, you will learn about their coding journeys, the resources they used, and why they decided to be self-taught. They talk about motivation and keeping yourself going, how to create structure, and what to do if you feel guilty when you take a break. If you're curious about what makes a successful self-taught dev, this episode is for you!
How Matt Ehrlich took up coding after being a park ranger for years (01:09)
A coding career gives you the opportunity for unlimited growth (02:44)
The Self-Taught Devs podcast tries to fill a gap in information (03:39)
Eric just landed his first full-time software development role! (06:19)
How Eric decided to learn to code (08:06)
How does it feel to change careers after more than a decade (08:43)
Eric's learning resources (10:10)
Community break with Jan the Producer (10:58)
Why Matt took the self-taught route (13:39)
Matt's learning resources (14:54)
Quitting your job to learn to code: pros and cons (16:11)
How long did Matt take to learn to code (17:45)
Can you learn discipline, and how can you stay motivated (19:12)
What can you do if you get stuck (27:26)
Should you be taking breaks from your job search? (29:55)
Listen to this if you get discouraged after getting a rejection letter (30:54)
What is productivity anxiety (33:03)
How did Matt and Eric meet and what makes them work as podcast co-hosts (36:15)
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If you enjoyed this episode, please leave a 5-star review here and tell us who you want to see on the next podcast. You can also Tweet Alex from Scrimba at @bookercodes and tell them what lessons you learned from the episode so that he can thank you personally for tuning in 🙏 Or tell Jan he's butchered your name here.
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