We define our work and our skills using various labels. Right now, I could say that I’m a software developer, a programmer, a product owner, a web developer, an Android developer and all those would be true. Still, those labels don’t tell you much about what I really do, or how much experience I have in each of those fields. Some people use labels that sounds way cooler such as ninja, samurai or hacker, but it doesn’t give then more skills.
Dreaming of adding an extra label to the list is an easy shortcut. I like to think that if I had all the time in the world, I would hack hardware and master all the latest buzzwords in web development, but that’s wishful thinking. I’m sure you also have a long list of things you wish you could do. Nobody can do it all: being an expert in many fields is demanding. Just maintaining your skills and keeping up to date takes work, not to mention learning new skills.
You are what you work on and keep practicing. Time is limited, so you can’t lie to yourself and pretend to be something you only do once or twice a year. Fortunately, this is great news if you want to earn a new label: you can do the work and it will come. You just need to do more of what you want to become, and less of what you don’t want to be.
It’s easier said than done, but if you’re aware of this you can use it to keep working toward what you want. You can drop being a Twitter or Instagram specialist and replace it with something more satisfying to you, like being a security specialist or an open source contributor.
This need real work and practice, and not just going through the motions. You must stretch the limits of your knowledge and try new things, not just read about it or listen to podcasts. Good practice is often frustrating and hurts a bit.
To make a skill part of your life, you don’t need to spend hours on it every week, but it needs to be a regular occurrence. Building a habit of doing a bit every day or every week is a perfect way to grow into a new skill. If you keep doing it, you’ll eventually become good.
This also means that some of your skills will decline with time as you use them less. Especially with technology, things evolve so fast that you won’t be up to date in everything that you ever did. You’re allowed to let some skills go, and it doesn’t mean that you can’t get them back as needed, since you won’t be starting from scratch. You can’t focus on everything at once, but all those previous experience will add to your overall knowledge, making you a better developer.
| Reference: | What you are is what you do from our WCG partner Cindy Potvin at the Web, Mobile and Android Programming blog. |
