Forem: Michael Minshew

Lessons learned while unemployed

Michael Minshew — Wed, 20 Jun 2018 19:11:06 +0000

Note: This will be a pretty long article as I've learned a lot this last year.

Tomorrow I start a new job. I've been unemployed for 9 months and its been an amazing journey from the end of my last job to today.

I wanted to spend a little time here and write some things I have learned over this 9 months and share it with you all in a hope to encourage, maybe motivate and help others in my place keep hope. Keep fighting.

Note: I'm putting non work finding related lessons as these lessons feel more meaningful right now and there's a billion great articles about finding a job out there.

Lesson 1:
Have a big picture plan of what to do with your free time.
My plan was to switch careers into programming and learning web development. That was a huge motivator in keeping busy. Since my wife was working I committed to spend at least 6 hours a day learning to do SOMETHING programming related. Not only did it keep me busy and focused on something but it also helped me keep depression at bay knowing that even though I wasn't working I was doing something productive.

Lesson 2:
Keep mapping out your time, even if you don't stick with it.

This sounds silly when your unemployed and have no schedule but I found that having a semi specific schedule at minimum helped keep me on track with my programming and also helped me find other uses for my time such as cleaning or connecting with family.

Lesson 3:
Try to do something really out of the ordinary that you've always wanted to do but never had the time for.

For me this meant learning how to play the harmonica. I've always wanted to play an instrument that was portable and with my newly tightened budget the harmonica was ideal. I jumped into learning music theory and everything I could about harmonica and it was such a great stress relief. When I was frustrated I could just stop a minute and jam. Plus it was a different type of creativity so I felt that even though I was technically goofing off I was developing a skill I wanted to develop anyways so win/win.

Lesson 4:
Actively be aware of and combat depression.

If your prone to depression or not its really easy to slip into a feeling of being useless, worthless, unwanted and less a person than others when you spend more than a month or so looking for work. Its really important to take control of your self talk and set the right narrative.

For me I've learned that boredom either leads to me getting into trouble or getting depressed. So I had to make an extra point of keeping busy. Doing something worthwhile and productive for me as a person and for my spouse.

I have dealt with depression and suicidal thoughts in the past and was aware of what depression starts to look like for me and feels(or really lack of feels) like. The moment I started feeling down, I made a point to change my mental narrative and then go do something. I went hiking, I did some coding, I called my family and chatted. I simply made a point to not let that cloud get me and it worked. It wasn't easy and for a few months it was literally a daily chore, especially when I was rejected for amazing roles after multiple interviews or simply ghosted.

In spite of how I felt I kept getting up and fighting those triggers every single day. I was open about how I felt with my wife and people I trusted and was able to find support and encouragement and that made a world of difference. Don't let depression sneak in if at all possible because its a lot harder to fight being depressed while depressed.

Lesson 5:
Spend some time learning about yourself.

Some times we get so busy with work we stop listening to our own thoughts. I spent a lot of time contemplating where I was in life (In a productive way, don't let your internal narrative get discouraged, life is made up of thousands of little choices and rarely does a big moment define you. Don't get caught up in the I'm a failure narrative. You are not your unemployment. )

As a result I learned some really eye opening things about myself. One of the bigger learns was that I was really struggling with anxiety. I have ADHD and have handled that my entire life so working through the opportunities that ADHD brings has been normal. I however always denied that I had the anxiety that often comes with ADHD. All the signs where there, but my machismo (Self pride or arrogance that I'm strong and tough) prevented me from even looking at the possibility of having really bad anxiety.

I always thought I had this extreme drive for perfection and as a result was simply not supposed to be happy with achievements or moments in my life. Somewhere along this 9 month journey though something clicked. I realized that this drive and pressure in my core and mind wasn't ambition but heavy anxiety. This was really hard for me to admit as I had literally denied that I could even have anxiety my entire laugh.

I'm learning to separate my work ethic and standards from my anxiety and understand that the crushing anxiety is not what drives me but its whats preventing me from enjoying and finding peace in my everyday life and the achievements I work so hard for. I was unable to be content or happy with ANYTHING because of the anxiety and now I'm realizing that I can be happy and find joy in things and that I don't have to feel this tremendous drive to always do something every waking moment of my life.

I'm not there yet, I imagine that 30 years of overwhelming anxiety won't go away overnight but now when I'm in the middle of a panic attack or unable to breathe from anxiety I know that that isn't me, anxiety is just something I'm working through like an injured limb. Its frustrating and overwhelming but it can heal and in the meantime I have tools and help and other ways to solve problems. I can separate the anxiety from me and realize that even though, I feel the pressure, its just not me.

Lesson 6:
Take this time to grow a little as a person. Be honest with yourself

Read some books on some areas in your life your weak in, pick something important and focus on changing that one thing. I chose to work on my helping and supporting my wife. Between my childhood and my ADHD my housecleaning skills and such were pretty weak. This had caused some stress between my wife and I for years and I wanted to grow. I set schedules for myself and found ways to better remind myself or motivate myself to do things.

One of the huge advantages of being unemployed is that I can try crazy things every day. Sleep schedule changes, different reminders, new routines anything to better understand what helps me focus and remember to do things. Use your time to find out the best way you work and then find out how to harness that in a more traditional way for when you start working again.

I learned that caffeine and the right repetitive mix of music really helps me get chores and unpleasantries done. I can recreate a bit of that focus and feeling now when I'm coding or just need to pay attention to things. Big lesson for me personally, happier wife and a useful skill when I start a new job and have to grind through some of that unpleasantness I used to ignore or forget outright.

Lesson 7:

Relax, Enjoy this time.

I worked really, really hard at my last job, lots of hours, studying in my free time for projects. I never really stopped and enjoyed things (another lesson learned, work for something worth working for, companies go bankrupt sometimes ;) ).

I started getting up and drinking coffee on my porch for sunrise, going on walks and just sitting and watching a brook for an hour or so. Things that I rarely found the time to do before. I was able to spend a lot of unplanned time with family and wake up without an alarm for the first time in my life. Make sure to stop and smell the roses. Even if money is a stressor while job hunting you still are forced to have downtown. Use it well.

Hopefully this was able to encourage or challenge someone who reads this. If you take anything away it would be to actively fight depression, its so easy to get sucked into that trap and getting out is so hard. Get help, confide in friends, learn the harmonica and remember that YOU ARE NOT YOUR UNEMPLOYMENT

My 3 biggest learns with CSS

Michael Minshew — Mon, 09 Apr 2018 16:53:24 +0000

I first started learning CSS because a lot of my clients really wanting websites redesigned versus the regular SEO and eCommerce consulting we usually offered in my small business. Neither my partner nor myself liked seeing money sitting on the table so we decided to see if we could pick it up. Several websites later and a lot of hard work I've picked up a few helpful tips.

When I first started I crash coursed/remembered HTML from high school and then jumped into CSS and started working. It was such an unpleasant experience that I wanted to share a few quick thoughts that if I had known ahead of time would have saved me a ton of pain and misery.

Take the time to really understand what modern HTML can do:
I foolishly decided to skip anything more than an HTML brush up and jumped right into CSS. In doing so I totally missed out on all of the great new tools and features that HTML now offers. I spent hours trying to jerry-rig things together without realizing that it was my foundation of HTML that was messed up, Not necessarily my CSS. I went back and relearned HTML (a quick study well worth the time) and it made everything so much simpler.
Make sure you understand what CSS classes and Id's are used for:
This is more embarrassing to me than almost anything I've done coding wise yet. I spent more than two months literally doing all of my coding without a single class. I couldn't figure them out to save my life and so I didn't use them at all. As a result building even a simple site was agonizing because I used a single element and then a CSS tag for every single part of each page. This process involved a lot of copy and pasting from my own code and a bunch of messy, ugly code.

I was very frustrated and started to hate all things web and at the time felt learning C language was easier. One day, I was staring at a class on stack overflow trying to figure out how to reverse it and use the code without the class when it suddenly clicked to me. I'm still not quite sure what connected the dots but suddenly classes and Id's made sense and it felt like my whole world had changed.

I'm not sure how useful this is to others but the aha! moment for me was this. Somehow my brain connected a CSS Class to a regular programming variable. I saw that a class was designed to "hold" information for reuse and that by logical use of classes, for example for my site wide navbar, or site wide paragraph styling, I could save myself tons and tons of code and time. I stood up from my chair and laughed about 5 minutes from embarrassment and shock once this really simple concept clicked in my head. As a result I went from loathing all things website related to suddenly enjoying web development and even CSS in the span of a moment.

If you're not familiar with these classes and id's yet I would really encourage you to take a moment and learn them well. They are cornerstones in web development and are just amazing. I'm not sure if the variable connection that worked for me would work for everyone but I would be loathe in recommending anyone do any serious web coding work without classes now. (For all the pro's out there, don't judge me too harshly, I bet you've forgotten more dumb mistakes than all of my knowledge put together at this point in my career.)
Step away from coding a bit if you get stuck:
I think this is generally a good rule for computer work but I found that it especially made working with CSS more enjoyable. I love solving problems and in learning other languages I don't typically get very frustrated when things don't work. CSS on the other hand sometimes feels like some evil Esoteric language instead of an extremely useful design tool. I've gotten more value out of getting up and doing a few burpees or a few dishes or something similar more with CSS than almost anything else. It greatly mitigate the stress and frustration and often helps me solve the problem more quickly than just struggling through.

The TL'DR version is really simple, make sure you really know your foundations and take a breather when you get frustrated.

Hope this helps someone who's learning CSS and please learn how to use a class. I can't imagine how embarrassing the lack of class understanding would have been if I ever work in a typical company or with a pro developer :) .

When getting a first-time job as a new dev, is temp contract work ideal or is it better to hold out for a true full-time job?

Michael Minshew — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 16:55:55 +0000

Why I switched to Linux and what I'm using Today

Michael Minshew — Mon, 12 Mar 2018 12:51:22 +0000

A few months ago I made the hard switch over to running Linux on my work laptop and haven't looked back even once.

I've been a windows user since 3.1 and never jumped onto the Apple craze, I like Apple's products and use my wife's Macbook on occasion but mostly stayed with windows as I'm a gamer (not trying to start an os war). I liked Windows, was familiar with it and didn't really have a desire to change. I messed around with Linux on occasion growing up running it parallel to windows but as I wasn't really into programming and was always into gaming (Shame on me for wasting my youth on King's quest and Total annihilation) as a result I never really made the plunge.

Last year I got into programming with the idea of switching careers from Ecommerce data analytics and project management into development and started teaching myself to code on windows 10. I love windows 10 and use it as my non work OS but I kept bumping into hiccups when I wanted to install or run things. C was a beast to get installed on Windows and it always felt like there was always an added layer of stuff between me and coding no matter what code I worked on. Coding is hard enough as it is and I was getting frustrated.

Early last year I was working through Zed Shaw's "Learn Python the Hard Way". He recommended that I learn the command line and had a quick tutorial to get into it. I fell in love and immediately switched over as much as I could to using the command line and manually configured my Powershell to run my stuff. Nostalgia from DOS notwithstanding it was just fun using the command line to navigate and easier than I had always assumed it would be. (I'll note that configuring powershell is not fun)

Last year something remarkable happened. Microsoft actually allowed BASH (born again shell a popular shell and command language) and a linux instance to be run on Win10 and I started messing around with it. I was sold, I could run nearly all my languages from the same shell with almost no effort. I could install python in a few keystrokes, run a c program and then setup a python program with almost no effort at all.

The only problem was that I was doing all my work on a Linux environment inside of windows and it was annoying to get my code into more normal work flows in windows and onto Github desktop which I started using around that time. So after a bunch of procrastinating I finally grabbed all my code off my windows 10 work laptop and installed Ubuntu Linux. Overnight my work flow improved drastically and now I almost prefer using my work laptop for personal everyday use. I would heartily recommend that anyone who does any coding switch to Linux, the ease of use, simplicity of installing and working with tools is incredible. Once again I love windows 10 but Linux is slowly stealing my heart.

I do recommend that if you switch to linux to start with Ubuntu and try a different flavour of the OS as Ubuntu is extremely easy to work with. I did not like the setup and desktop of Base Ubuntu though so I am using plasma Kubuntu and loving it.

There are a bunch of great Linux Distros though such as CentOS or ARCH. I'm just recommending ubuntu/kubuntu as its extremely easy to get started on and its very popular and well supported if you need some help. Plus you can download it to a flash drive and demo run it from the flash drive without having to install to get a feel for the OS.

I am currently using the following setup to run most of my code and work tools.

OS:Kubuntu 16.04
Desktop Flavour:KDE Plasma Version 5.8.8 (much prettier and UX friendly vs base Ubuntu In my opinion.)

Web Browser: Chromium and Firefox
Version Control:Git with the Gitkraken desktop platform.
Shell: Konsole (Bash)
Text Editor: Primarily Atom and occasionally vim(getting the hang of it slowly) and just installed Emacs for lisp a few hours ago.
Image Editor: Gimp
IM: Slack desktop or Google Hangouts
Languages I'm working with: C, Python3, Ruby, Clisp(just installed this today)

The only thing that I do miss is the windows version of notepad++ I haven't found a Linux version that is exactly the same but thats a small price to pay for the faster time to get into my flow, faster and easier installation of software and overall better experience that Linux has brought me.

In addition I can do server work easily, completely customize every part of my desktop, easily setup keyboard shortcuts to run programs or scripts (Windows 10 can do this somewhat as well) and can install the C compiler in one short sentence(I can't emphasize enough how easy installing programs is on Linux, most programs are a single sentence typed into the console and a quick "y" press to confirm installation.)

I hope this is insightful and encourages someone else to make the jump into Linux for doing development work, I have enjoyed the OS so much that I'm actually taking courses on Linux administration and working on becoming a power user. Something I never felt inspired to do on Windows. Thanks for reading and keep on Coding.

6 Things I've learned teaching myself to code.

Michael Minshew — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 22:02:39 +0000

I'm writing this post in response to a post I read last night by Alex Smith https://dev.to/ajsmithsw/the-advantages-of-being-self-taught-2lcj. I was very encouraged and wanted to share my learning experience in hopes to pass the good feelings along. Please note I’m primarily in web development so my stack reflects that.

1. Be willing to throw away everything, the best, right solution is all that matters.

This goes with everything from code to languages to ideas. Programming changes so fast and theirs so many amazing ways to approach problems that its important to remember that the solution is the reason for programming. Its all about solving the problem and never about the journey. It’s super easy to get angry or defensive when you’ve spent 2 days coding something or building a page and someone walks by and points out a faster/better solution.

If you’re focused on the best solution it helps make throwing that code away so much easier. I recently had spent 2 days working on some flexboxes for a project and my business partner (totally non-techie) decided that not having that feature would be better for our client's vision. My instinct was to get mad and want to keep the code in anyways but a few breaths later and thinking it through and I realized my partner was right.

Plus if i'm honest, my clients could care less how many hours I worked on x cool widget or how beautiful the code of y doodad is. They just want their product the best it can be.

2. The language your learning doesn’t matter as much as everyone says it does.
I’ve never been a fanboy of a particular technology, I love windows 10 and have a separate equally loved laptop running Kubuntu. I even enjoy using my wife’s MacBook.
I approached languages the same way and am grateful I did. I decided to learn a few languages I need in my business (HTML/CSS/JS *I know html and css aren’t true programming languages.) and then I’ll pick a few I want to learn, (SQL, Python, Perl, Java) and then I added C because I wanted to fill in my lack of a compsci degree a little with a more fundamental language.

After all of the studying and reading, I’ve learned that there’s a place and value for all of them. Unless you having a pressing need to learn a single specific language than play with a few and find out what feels right. Which language flows when you use it. Then learn it no matter what popular culture says about it. If you have a passion for assembly than that passion will take you farther than a slight interest in python any day.

3. Programming really is as hard as everyone says.
When I started out I truly thought that I was a super genius who could figure out everything in a few hours of study. C and CSS have humbled me. The days I’ve spent on trying to figure out even basic CSS concepts is embarrassing and I’ve hence changed my tune to “given enough time, stack overflow, documentation and forum posts from 2009 I can figure anything out.”

If you understand that programming is hard and you approach it as such I believe you have a better chance of not quitting and it's tempered how often I get frustrated. Now instead of frustration at every error or broken page, I understand its part of the process and get frustrated less. I only swear now after having been unable to find a semicolon after more than 4 hours of searching at 3 am in the morning. (this is a lie, I swear anytime I use CSS which is almost daily.)

4. Try different learning methods.
I started out with books, then online text courses and was really struggling, I tried forums but was so new that I didn’t even know how to ask questions properly. I finally grabbed some video courses and things really started clicking.

Be willing to try other mediums of learning. videos, books, Courses online, Forums and even coding games and such all are amazing tools and if you can try to learn to use as many of them as your comfortable with. If I had stuck with books only I would be so frustrated and might have quit programming outright. I had never used videos and don’t like them for most other learning but for coding, it's amazing to be able to follow along and pause right next to the instructor.

I learn best by learning concepts as a whole so I jumped into learning 7-8 languages all at once. I absolutely understand that this is generally a really bad idea but for me, it worked. I have now settled down into 5 consistent languages I'm focused on and the rest are just for dabbling in for fun. I am lightyears ahead of where I would have been learning just one language at a time. I also get bored easy so I probably would have quit learning together but being able to switch from web dev to building an SQL database to reading about pointers in C to learning Git. It was a lifesaver for me and helped me get past that initial learning hump and stick with programming.

This worked for me but it might not work for you. My point is that it's worth experimenting and trying different things no matter what others may say.

5: Try everything you can and then pick what is most comfortable for you.

I love trying new text editors, its a sickness. I can’t tell you how many different linux distros I tried before settling on my current one. Be willing to try different things and if you like it and your productive than rock it. Don’t let anyone else tell you whats the best editor or operating system or even language. Just try it out. I’ve fallen in love with things that are very counterculture in some things (I love php, I can’t help myself) but I also have followed the crowd in other things because the crowd was right. (linux for development has changed my entire workflow for the better)

Try it and if you like it keep it. Never stick with something because some random person on a forum or tech blog said that its the best thing ever.

6. Stay Humble,
This is tough but being humble and willing to listen to others and approach others with humility is priceless. I haven’t had a lot of luxury of working with other developers and most of my clients don’t know or care about code at all. I have to remember that I've just chosen to learn this skillset and that i’m not god’s gift to mankind. I learned before I got into coding what it was like working with developers or programmers who didn’t have great communication skills or who were arrogant. It was never fun and most of the time resulted in neither party being happy with the end product.

On the spin side working with a team focused, humble developer or coder is absolutely amazing and the team can do really cool things. Its super important to remember that the person who can’t figure out how to turn on their computer might be an absolute genius in another field. Keep focused on being a team player and work on building leadership and communication skills and everybody wins.

I’m new enough that a semicolon can humble me on a weekly basis, however, I already notice times when I have approached a conversation with an exasperated “why can’t you get this simple concept” attitude. It's easy to forget that the “simple concept” took days or weeks of study to understand. EGO IS THE ENEMY

>>>>> Last Thoughts<<<<<
I hope this is encouraging and useful to someone reading this. Programming is hard but it's absolutely worth it. I love how it feels to hate something for its difficulty and then later love it because you finally got it and can now do amazing things. I love how precise and yet imprecise coding can be (Floats anyone) and the joy of typing a bunch of symbols into a keyboard and hitting refresh on a webpage and seeing your creation come to life.

I don’t know of many other fields that allow for the creativity, problems solving, extreme hatred and absolute love of the same concepts and keep me up all night working on some silly personal project like programming and web development does. Thanks for reading and keep on coding!!!