Everything Is Broken, and It's OK

It's great when things break! It doesn't feel like it when it's happening to you, but those bugs that take you days to figure out are a goldmine of unintended learning.

Does programming ever get easier? No, and that would be boring. I'm going to talk about how we are all working on the hardest problem we've ever worked on. No matter where we are in our careers it always feels like an uphill battle.

I'll talk about ways to find value in that "wasted" time, to appreciate the hard bugs and daunting challenges, whether you're brand new to programming, or have been doing it for 20 years.

Transcript

1. @johnksawers Everything Is Broken, and It’s OK Why it’s good when things break
2. @johnksawers I’m John Sawers @johnksawers http:/ /johnksawers.com http:/ /emotionalapi.com
3. @johnksawers Part 1: Everything Is Broken The Life of a Developer 3
4. @johnksawers Setbacks • The most common event triggering a “worst day” was a setback. • Significantly affect mood • Dampen motivation 4
5. @johnksawers The Daily Error 5
6. @johnksawers Errors Are Everywhere • Libraries • Frameworks • Operating Systems • Servers • 3rd Party Services • The internet itself • My code 6
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15. @johnksawers The Bug Hunt 15
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17. @johnksawers Test Environment • Add a new test environment for CI to the Rails config • It should have taken half an hour • It took 2 full days 17
18. @johnksawers The Hard Problem 18
19. @johnksawers19
20. @johnksawers Negativity Bias The Way Brains Work 20
21. “ …negative experiences tend to exert greater psychological impact on us than positive experiences of the same magnitude.[1] 21
22. @johnksawers Climbing A Pyramid 22 Photo: https:/ /thevelvetrocket.com/2010/03/11/jebel-barkal/
23. @johnksawers What You See At Every Step 23
24. @johnksawers I’m Speaking To You • This applies anywhere in your career • Setbacks are normal • It doesn’t get any easier • You don’t want it to 24
25. @johnksawers Part 2: It’s OK No, really
26. @johnksawers Change Our Thoughts The Easiest Things To Change 26
27. @johnksawers Reframing 27
28. @johnksawers Errors Are Everywhere Reframed • We don’t notice the things that work • We move immediately to the next broken thing • Try to notice when this is happening 28
29. @johnksawers Bug Hunt Reframed • Google • Stack Overflow • Gem/Library READMEs • Blogs • Library Source Code • App Modules 29
30. @johnksawers Bug Hunt Reframed Keep An Eye Out For Direct Learning 30
31. @johnksawers Bug Hunt Reframed Keep An Even Bigger Eye Out For Accidental Learning 31
32. @johnksawers Bug Hunt Reframed Constant Rate Throughout Career 32
33. @johnksawers My Bug Hunt Results 33 I Learned: • Environment name is loaded in rails_helper.rb, not rspec_helper.rb • Not a problem when they’re both ‘test’ • You can pass --env to rspec • You can set system environment variable, but that’s loaded • Lots of code will make assumptions that test env is called test
34. @johnksawers Hard Problems Reframed • Notice what’s easy • Especially if it used to be hard • Realize this means progress • It doesn’t get easier unless you pick trivial problems 34
35. @johnksawers35
36. @johnksawers Change Our Actions This is Where It Gets Good 36
37. @johnksawers Celebrate The Little Wins • Not just the big ones • They get celebrated anyway (most likely) • Too infrequent • Even progress counts as a win 37
38. @johnksawers Acknowledge It 38
39. @johnksawers Acknowledge It 39
40. @johnksawers Power Poses[3] 40
41. @johnksawers Do A Little Dance 41
42. @johnksawers Victory Song 42
43. @johnksawers43 Photo: https:/ /tyleredlinart.deviantart.com/art/comission-fur-on-fur-172151625
44. @johnksawers44
45. @johnksawers Spread The News • Tell people about your wins • Blogging • Conference Talks • Team Learning/Presentation 45
46. @johnksawers Make Space • Coffee break • Quick walk • Stretching • A Few Deep Breaths 46
47. @johnksawers Regular Reflection • What went well? • What did I complete or make progress on? • What did I achieve? • What went well? • What brought me joy, fulfillment ? • What steps did I take that got me closer to my goals? 47
48. @johnksawers Tools 48
49. @johnksawers Positivity Bias Let’s Create One 49
50. “ …people are more creative and productive when their inner work lives are positive…and have positive perceptions of their colleagues and the organization.[2] 50
51. @johnksawers Feedback Loop 51
52. @johnksawers You’re Responsible You May Not Want To Hear This 52
53. @johnksawers Pyramid 53
54. @johnksawers Stop. Turn Around. Take It In. 54
55. @johnksawers So It Really Is OK 55
56. @johnksawers It was OK all along. We just didn’t notice. 56
57. Celebrate!
58. @johnksawers58 Thanks! @johnksawers http:/ /johnksawers.com http:/ /emotionalapi.com
59. @johnksawers59 References [1] - https:/ /www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3652533/ [2] - https:/ /hbr.org/2011/05/the-power-of-small-wins & http:/ /progressprinciple.com/ [3] - https:/ /ideas.ted.com/inside-the-debate-about-power-posing-a-q-a-with-amy- cuddy/ Related Links • How It Goes: http:/ /thedoghousediaries.com/5468 • Finding Beauty in the Mundane: https:/ /www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRgiVRqPVL4 • Burnout: https:/ /www.kennethreitz.org/essays/the-reality-of-developer-burnout