Unlocking Your Superpower: The Power of Discipline in Software Engineering

Conrad Lotz

It is very hard to focus in the present day. Everyone and every other thing tries to compete for our constant attention. Think about your mobile phone. The notifications are convenient, yet endless if you allow it. How many apps do you have on your phone?

My mobile is a big distraction but also very productive for work and admin. But I cannot blame the mobile, nor can I because I allow it to be.

I grew up in a town where we had good weather, mountains, and loads of open space and sports fields. I was outside for most of my day. This was perfect for my ADHD. I had loads of energy, and that is why it was hard for me to focus on reading, etc. Television is also perfect for ADHD. I did not read a lot, to my disappointment now that I’m older. I got good at sports but not at academics.

Besides being hyperactive, I lacked discipline. If it was because of my hyper energy or if I was not taught properly how to calm my mind and focus on my reading, I cannot say. Definitely no one’s fault. I was good at sports, and my parents supported it and gave me every opportunity to get at what I was naturally inclined to.

It took me a long time to become disciplined. It has changed everything! It started only 2 years ago. I’m turning 43.

THE D-WORD

Discipline in its purest form is very hard to achieve. Doing the same thing consistently over a long period is hard to do, especially if there are no clear path or even reward for those actions. We are all human, and I’m sure you are well aware of what you’re not doing consistently enough.

One could argue that I was disciplined in practicing and playing sports. And I was, but for the most part, there was always some reward built into it. We played matches, and winning was the reward. You improve your game and get to play on more advanced teams. You hit the ball better, you kick the ball further. There is consistent feedback built into the process. It is easy to misjudge this as discipline, where there are brain chemicals from feedback and activation of the reward system built-in.

Let’s take this a step further. At work, we have built-in motivations. You and I have a boss who has requirements and demands. You have colleagues and team members who are dependent on you, and most importantly, you receive a salary at the end of two weeks or the month. Most of us are team players and want to keep do our duties and not disappoint our colleagues, and we want to make sure we receive our money because we have bills to pay and stuff to buy or save for.

The motivation and rewards are built-in again. Though there are discipline involved it is not pure.

LET’S TEST YOUR DISCIPLINE

It won’t be a fair question to ask if you would have done the same at work without the money. What would be the point? For no money, I probably would have coached a sports team.

So let’s focus on the following example. You have a full-time job, and you are looking for your next career opportunity. Let’s say you have been a front-end engineer for most of your career, but you find yourself ready to tackle the back-end of software development, especially with data engineering becoming so popular due to the demand in machine learning and generative AI.

You find yourself at a job that has a legacy product, and it results in engineers being siloed, making it difficult to upskill in all disciplines and touch on all aspects of the system. Thus, your work cannot provide you with the opportunity to upskill. So now it is up to you. Assuming you have a stable job and people are generally nice, there is nothing pressing you besides your aspirations.

AT LEAST A 100 HOURS

So this becomes interesting. How would you approach this upskilling? Well, you have a computer, you have the internet, and more recently, you have ChatGPT or the impressive Claude 3. You have all the tools you need to accomplish the job.

Next is you! Yes, you are the only stumbling block in the way. I mean it respectfully but truthfully. For your next level, it is required to spend a considerable amount of time learning. That is what is required. I would say between 100-300 hours, depending on what you focus on.

Now, I’m sure you are asking why 100+ hours. A few years ago, I signed up for the distinguished CFA 1 exams, which are difficult exams financial portfolio management by design. After spending a lot of money to sign up and buy the materials, they recommend studying between 200-300 hours for this exam, 3 hours a day for six months. If you pass it, then you will have the fundamentals for the next 2 exams, but it also serves as training toward this role. I had to do it and they were spot on. It it about immersing yourself and spending the time. Learning this subject requires focus and discipline. Afterwards, I decide that a 100 hours for something is a good amount to get good at it.

Writing code takes a couple of hours a day. It takes about 20 minutes to get into the zone, as we would say, and then once you are immersed, the next 2-3 hours is where the learning happens. Imagine you had 2-3 hours on top of your day job, as well as the energy, then over the course of 100 days, you would definitely move toward becoming a data engineer. You won’t write or produce the best code, pipelines, or systems initially, but over time, you will improve. You have to spend more to gain more.

In an upcoming post, I will discuss where to find time. For the moment, we assume you have enough. Would you be able to spend 100 hours working on data engineering?

DO OR GO WATCH TV

What makes it difficult is that there is no pressure besides the goal you have set. You spend your time in the evening after a long day’s work. You have to work on problems or build systems that you won’t get compensated for or that do not meet any deadline. This system won’t serve anyone besides you! When it gets difficult, the brain can easily persuade you to go watch Netflix or play a game, which requires less cognitive power, more dopamine than what you have to spend to create neuroplasticity, in other words, to learn.

Learning is hard, and it requires discipline when doing it alone. No one can motivate you. It requires your own willpower and believe that when you have gone through this, you will reach your goal. Sometimes there is also delay in the reward. But I promise it eventually turn up and blows you away!

I STRUGGLE WITH DISCIPLINE AND HOW TO SOLVE IT

You are not alone. Many do, and that is probably why not all of us are wealthy or financially independent or maybe just happy and doing what we love. If you want this, then there are ways you can achieve this and grow the discipline.

It is easy to have a good idea. These are plentiful, and I’m sure like me, you have a list somewhere on your PC with all the ideas. Then sometimes, we go as far as thinking about the success and if you achieve it, how life may change and all the nice stuff that comes with it. Now that we have thought about it, our brain got that hit of dopamine, but almost imagining the success before the hard work. At that point, the motivation diminishes, and often the fantasy becomes the false reality.

By this time, you see the gap, right? Between the start and achieving your goal, there lies a large gap! That gap is the process, the plan. More importantly, it is the focus points to prevent you from celebrating too fast and keep you focused on the current step in the present and not look too far into the future and get demotivated.

IT’S NOT A PLAN, IT IS A PROCESS

What is your strategy for achieving your goals? Specifically, how do you plan to progress daily? Focus on the variables within your grasp: the learning, the design, and the construction. The future is beyond your control, but your daily efforts are not. Undoubtedly, dedication increases the likelihood of opportunities arising, a fact substantiated by numerous real-world examples.

A process cements discipline. If you do something small daily towards your goal over a long period of time, it removes the thought process.

You cannot predict what will happen, but your actions shift the earth into action.

Marie Curie’s disciplined approach to her scientific research was characterized by an unwavering dedication, meticulous methodology, and the relentless pursuit of knowledge, even in the face of numerous obstacles. She received 2 Nobel Prizes for physics and chemistry. I doubt the Nobel Prize was her focus, but rather to help humanity. The Nobel Prize was the by-product.

THE PROCESS TO IMPROVE DISCIPLINE

I used to be someone who did not like routine. Now I depend on it. With that came discipline. It goes hand in hand. It becomes a process, and that process executed consistently will eventually bring you success.

Here are some guidelines on how to improve your discipline:

  • Set your goal(s). Be very specific. Don’t be realistic. Goals are dreams. It is the unknown.
  • Break it down into smaller steps. This is where you want to create daily tasks to make the process more manageable.
  • Create a routine. Now that you have established the tasks, you have to achieve those tasks daily. This is where you need to determine how much work you need to put in. You have some decisions to make. This is where it gets interesting. You can work after dinner in the evening, after you blow off some steam after a long day of work, or you can wake up early in the morning when it is quiet, and you have been rested. It is often better, and you feel like you have accomplished something first thing in the morning, and it also sets up your working day for success.
  • Set up your environment. Make sure your home space is comfortable and quiet. Invest in some good headsets. Learn how to listen to frequency music. Tons of these videos are available on YouTube. It is sounds without words and on a frequency that is conducive to learning and focus. Alternatively, you may like not to be at home and sit at a coffee shop or quiet space away from home. It also depends on the time of day. I particularly enjoy sitting at a particular Starbucks sipping coffee with my headset on. It is an extremely productive time for me. It is now up to you on how long you can sustain this. You will get challenged where the brain convinces you to do the easy thing like watching Netflix or endlessly scrolling on your phone. 21 days changes a habit, and 63 days create a new habit and routine. After 63 days, you would also have surpassed 100 hours. Learning and upskilling will become easier then.

CONCLUSION

Discipline is one word that holds so much power but is very elusive to us. Consistent execution over a long period of time – discipline will eventually move you towards your goal. The challenge is always getting to that point. It is so much easier said than done. You have to break old habits for new ones and operate with hope and goals with no motivation other than what you tell yourself.

It’s hard, but once you reach that goal, you will never look back, and your confidence in the world and especially yourself will astronomically be enhanced.

Try it, I dare you!

Unlocking Your Superpower: The Power of Discipline in Software Engineering

151 thoughts on “Unlocking Your Superpower: The Power of Discipline in Software Engineering”

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