5 New year Programming Challenges - Year 2017
Table Of Content
A new year is around the corner. Everyone is excited about their new year eve's plans. But, before getting ready for the party let's make a resolution for the year 2017. Let's pick up a programming challenge which will improve us as developers and engineers.
Below are some options you can choose from:
1 Big Project for the year
If you follow Mark on Facebook, you might be aware of his awesome AI project called Jarvis. It is really huge what he has accomplished in one year.
You can also choose to focus on a single thing and build something cool. Something huge.
The trick here is to come up with such an idea which drives you crazy. Something you will think about day and night. Maybe something that will help you better your life.
12M-12P
You can choose another option which I call the 12M-12P. Or 12 months - 12 projects challenge.
You simply have to build one cool thing each month. And at the end of the year, your portfolio will be the most wanted one in your field.
The best thing about this challenge is that you don't have to come up with fancy project ideas. You can select any super simple idea and build on that. The project can be as simple as creating a twitter bot, or a chrome extension, or a 2D game.
Alternate Projects and Learning
This one is my favorite. In this challenge, you spend one month to learn some technology, and in the next month you create something awesome using that technology.
I said this one is my favorite because it gives me a chance to learn something new each month and then put that knowledge to use in the next.
So, for example, you can start reading about ReactJS in January. Then implement a cool web app using it in February. Then move on to learn React Native in March and build a simple mobile app in April. So on and so forth.
12M-12B
This one is for all the bibliophiles out there. Take a new book on technologies you are passionate about or you want to learn, every month. Read it thoroughly in a month. Then brag about it in front of your friends.
365 days Coding challenge
This one is inspired by John Resig's post. You have to code EVERY SINGLE DAY.
I just confirmed- there are 365 days in 2017.
Whatever you want. However big or small it might be. Just code. The Goal is to fill up your GitHub contributions with shades of green.
That is it. Just choose your poison from the list and drink it.
To keep yourself on the track you can follow these steps. They have personally helped me a lot.
Tips:
Choose challenges that you can achieve. But at the same time it should take you out of your comfort zone. The last thing you want is to realize at the middle of the year- that you are too far behind in achieving your goal.
Implementing something that you learn is important. One, it makes sure you have learned the concept properly. And two, it excites you when you can show off something cool that you created using it. So, work on projects and build something awesome.
Follow inspiring people and form groups. This helps a lot especially during days when you feel a little low and want to give up.
Above challenges can be overwhelming for some of us. So, break it down and focus on smaller goals. If needed, reward yourself for achieving each smaller goal.
Follow these tips and I am sure you will complete the programming challenge you choose for this year.
And as far as I am concerned, my goals for the year 2017 are:
- Read 12 books. One book each month.
- Become a ninja in Angular 2.0 and Ionic 2.0 and build some cool app using it.
My plan is to update my progress on my goals on this blog. So keep checking and let's keep inspiring each other.
Summary:
Have a great year 2017. Let's take a step closer to becoming programming ninjas!
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