First pitstop of #100DaysOfCode Challenge
My experience of 30/100 days of 100DaysofCode Challenge
Hello Everyone,
I'm writing this post to share my journey of the #100DaysOfCode challenge. I came across these kinds of #100DaysOfX challenges during December 2021. That's when I decided to start with #100DaysOfWriting to keep up my habit of writing. Thereafter, I extended it to other areas of challenges like #100DaysOfReading ,#100DaysOfMeditation. These are the habits that I always wanted to develop without feeling pressurized.
Introduction
24.02.2022 marked as the 30th day of the #100DaysOfCode Challenge. I started this journey on Jan 21, 2022. You can see that I've not been regular in this journey and missed some days in between. After researching about #100DaysOfX and getting acquainted with the rules of this challenge, I wanted to give it a try. The best part of these challenges is to declare it publicly on social media like Twitter. Somewhere, I read that when we declare our goals in public, it becomes a little easier to accomplish.
Why not select that path which helps you to achieve your goals? After all, being a part of such challenges is a win-win situation. Even if you don't accomplish it, you're not losing anything. At least, you'll realize that it is not so tough in reality!
Motivation
In Nelson Mandela's words,
It always seems impossible until it's done!
From my previous experiences, I fully agree with the above quote and I have won over this thought of impossibility many times before.
My motivation to start #100DaysOfCode stemmed from my interest in designing beautiful UI/UX in the platform of CodePen as I was fascinated by the creative designs by the fellow programmers there but I didn't start with learning HTML, CSS which I was initially interested in. I started this challenge with Learn SQL A to Z track by LearnSQL.com which I won as a scholarship from the team of LearnSQL.com. I was among 50 candidates to be receiving this scholarship.
Strategy
I always loved to play with databases, especially SQL. I have had tried free courses in the platform of LearnSQL.com. I liked the design of these interactive courses with some challenging questions. Hints and answers have also been provided if someone feels stuck at any point.
The reason I chose to start with SQL as I am already acquainted with it and it will boost my confidence in a long-term challenge like this. If I had tried any tough concepts at first, it would have demotivated me or I might have lost my interest to continue it.
I tried to cover one chapter from the Learn SQL A-Z track every day. Along with it ,I also solved 5 questions from LintCode [Level : Naive/Easy/Medium - SQL and Python3] and daily challenge question [Level:Easy- SQL and Python3] from LeetCode.
After I finish this track, I am planning to start the web development course by The Odin Project [which I've left in the midway]
Sharing/Tracking Progress
I created a Twitter profile- SwatiSarangi10 to share my journey of #100DaysOfX as well as to get motivated by others who were taking up this challenge. This helped me to get connected with a lot of like-minded people and learn a lot of new stuff.
This is how Day-1 looked for me
I also created an Excel sheet to keep a track of my progress as well as to remind me of the courses that I need to take up during this challenge.
My Progress
This is how Day-30 looks like
I am happy with the progress. I have been devoting just 1 hour every day to this challenge.
LearnSQL.com: Learn SQL A-Z track, I have completed 3 courses out of 7 so far and have started with the 4th one.
LintCode: I've covered all SQL questions of Naive, Easy, and Medium Level. For Python, I've covered all questions from level Naive and Easy.
LeetCode: I've covered all questions of easy-level SQL and Python.
These days I am not being able to solve questions from lintcode or leetcode as the level of questions in LearnSQL.com consumes up the time slot of 1 hour.
My Take-Aways from these challenges
It's not difficult to commit to this challenge with a full-time job.
It has reduced my habit of scrolling aimlessly on social media during my free time.
It gave me a direction to learn something new. It definitely improved my coding skills.
It's always difficult in the beginning but once you're determined, it just becomes another habit of yours just like brushing your teeth every morning when you get up.
It helped me to accomplish my goal in a systematic manner and reflect on the progress.
I am sure that by the time I approach its end, I will definitely be tempted to extend it to more days. Except for this challenge, I could never have gathered the courage to complete the courses that I have completed so far with a full-time job of 44 hours/ week. So, it has definitely been very rewarding to me in every way.