7 Things NOT to do at Makers
Insights on common blockers devs face on the course (and advice on overcoming them) based on my experiences as Chief Joy Officer at Makers
Makers is a once-in-a-lifetime and transformative experience. I know this because I witness it every day from the developers in our amazing community.
Every month we welcome a new cohort into the 12 week course. While the course is wonderfully positive and life-changing, it’s also very intense.
Expectations need to be managed in order to help students thrive on the course.
If you’ve just joined the course (or are thinking of joining), I wanted to share some things not to do at Makers so that you can have the best experience possible.
I wanted to normalise some of the typical emotional reactions to the course and share some tips on empowering yourself.
1. Adopt an inflexible mindset
At Makers, we constantly reinforce the importance of having a growth mindset whether it’s about code, personal development or learning to work in software teams.
If you’re used to the traditional education system of ‘teacher-directed learning’, then the first week or so on the course might feel uncomfortable in this regard as Makers has a self-led approach to learning.
This means you are in the driving seat of your education on the course. Coaches will support and guide you but they don’t spoon-feed information.
The magic of our self-directed learning practices is that you’re soon able to teach yourself anything. You gain the keys and confidence to be unlimited in your career as a developer as you can now learn anything!
2. Cling onto rigid expectations
Often, I’m approached by students who need help to ‘unstuck’ themselves from a long list of “shoulds” eg:
“I should be learning this faster”
“I should be the best in my cohort”
“I should be job-ready by week 8”
When they can’t meet their expectations, they feel disappointed, insecure and distracted from learning as they scramble for certainty.
Having high standards is great but the Makers journey is largely unpredictable so it will serve you to relax your expectations and focus on doing your best in the present moment.
Everyone progresses at their own rate. By making consistent use of the coaches and other resources — everyone gets to where they need to be.
3. Isolate yourself
When it comes to your learning your cohort, the coaches and the Makers community are your greatest assets.
Learning new things is challenging, not just to our minds but our egos as well. We gain self-esteem from the things we’re competent at and feeling incompetent with a constant stream of new things to learn can leave us feeling vulnerable, stressed or overwhelmed.
A knee-jerk reaction to these feelings might be to recoil, go into one’s self and keep up the impression that “you’re fine”. Coaches and peers lose visibility of you and each day can leave you further behind
If going inward when stressed is your tendency, practice embracing vulnerability and communicate. Ask for help. You’ll be rewarded for your courage as you protect your learning, you’ll also find how many others feel/have felt the same way which leads to a more supportive, connective experience that sees you through.
4. Forget your wellbeing
With a growth-mindset, consistent practice and correct application and support, anyone can learn a new skill. It’s surprised many a dev to realise that Makers is a lot more than learning to code.
Success at Makers is to a large degree managing your psychology through cultivating emotional intelligence (EQ) skills and taking great care of yourself. This is why we train EQ alongside the coding curriculum and have wellbeing practices like yoga and meditation built into the weekly schedule.
While time is of the essence in our boot camp and learning as much as you can is the goal, going full steam ahead without taking time to balance your mind and body can impede your learning.
Taking regular breaks and making use of the holistic support serves to optimise you for learning, making you more clear-minded, more focused and efficient, therefore giving you more time.
5. Prioritise achievement over learning
Every week, devs are given a series of coding challenges to work through in pairs. Part of adapting to the course is making your goal in the challenges to learn over completion of each task.
Similarly, when it comes to working in teams, the goal is learning and learning to work in a team above having a polished project at the end.
What’s the use of having something completed, all neatly wrapped up with a bow when you’re not entirely sure how you got there?
Prioritising learning over achievement can go against our need to feel closure and a sense of competence. Remind yourself that there are no trophies been given to those who complete everything.
In fact, the ultimate win is that you and your pair/team have a thorough grasp of the material. It’s okay not to finish everything. Besides, at Makers, there will always be more to do :)
6. Worry about the future
Nervous about the weekend challenges? Wondering who will be in your team? Not sure about what your new job will be like?
These are some common concerns devs face while on the course. While valid, they can activate a fearful state of mind.
Catch your thoughts if they’re not serving you. Move from toxic thinking to proactive action. Worrying gives us a false sense of control like we’re doing something about our problem but it just stays in our head cycling round and draining us.
At Makers, part of the Emotional Intelligence curriculum is training mindfulness. Being in the present moment — that’s where your power lies.
Look for what is in your control right now, then get up and act. Even if it’s the smallest action, you take your power back by not trying to control the uncontrollable.
Asking for help and using your resources will help you reach your goal step by step. You’ve already made the leap to be on the course, the work now is to stay present, proactive, trust yourself and the process. The path lights up as you step.
You’re getting everything you want, only it’s not going to come in the way you think it’s going to come. It comes through what you’re going through right now.
7. Be hard on yourself
Looking at the previous points, they could all be sub-categories of this one crucial point.
12 weeks to change your career is a big investment, stakes are usually high so it’s understandable that devs will push themselves — and they should. What becomes counter-productive is when their self-talk is negative and a pattern of self-doubt sinks in.
I believe that the way we experience anything in our lives is about our relationship with ourselves. I always encourage our devs to use the course as a way to enhance their relationship with themselves.
When they pay attention to making that relationship a joyful, encouraging and supportive one, growth in all areas accelerate and success ensues.
It may sound like just a nice idea to practice being kinder to yourself but in truth, it’s much more than that. It’s the key to better learning on the course and ultimately a better life beyond.
