Coding Bootcamps: Tips for Staying Mentally Healthy
Learning how to code demands a high level of abstract thinking, which can be mentally burdensome. After all, this makes sense; humans evolved so rapidly that we did not have much time to acclimate to a modern world permeated by abstract thought, let alone technology. It is no wonder that long periods of laborious, mental work can lead to feelings of anxiety, depression and isolation, to name a few. If at some point during your bootcamp you start to feel like you would rather be picking berries and living in the mountains than completing twenty plus labs a day, there is nothing wrong with you. That is okay. You are a human being, not an automaton. (Elon Musk, if you’re reading, please ignore this). It is not sane nor healthy to spend most of your day writing code without setting boundaries for yourself. You are developing a new framework for thinking; give yourself the space to grow and challenge your mind in a healthy way. Here are some mini-epiphanies I have had during my coding bootcamp experience that I think can improve your quality of being during yours.
1. Don’t fight the magic.
You are going to be told numerous times, probably in an exuberant fashion, that the new tool/framework/language you will be learning is “utter magic”. For many of you, you will soon realize that if this was Hogwarts, you would drop out because you can’t handle the magic. If you are the kind of person who would stay up at night tormenting yourself with questions like, “But why is my broomstick flying?”, “What neurological processes are occurring that allow me to speak to snakes?”, “What exactly is this matter shooting out of my wand composed of?”, I am here to tell you that it will do more harm than good to your learning process — specifically within the context of a coding bootcamp.
Want to read this story later? Save it in Journal.
It is impossible to dig deep and understand all of the magic happening under the hood every time you learn something new in the short span of sixteen weeks. The turn over of material is too high to become held back by very nuanced questions. I understand that having gaps in knowledge can make one feel insecure in their knowledge and bring about anxiety — I am this way, too. If dissecting and understanding all the moving parts is fundamental to your learning process, that is valid. However, in a rigorous, fast paced course, a strategic workaround to this problem is necessary to avoid inciting imposter syndrome and feeling frustrated. These bootcamps were not designed to create coding geniuses and you will not become one at the end of it.
Accept that you won’t know the why’s and how’s for everything you learn. Keep a list of topics that you want to delve into when the bootcamp is over. If you find yourself digging too much, stop and add that topic to your list. Understand at a high level what is happening with the reassurance that there will be time to be an archaeologist when this is over. This is a sink or swim situation; stay afloat, stay swimming, and don’t drown yourself in endless questions if they are not pertinent to the goal at hand. If you are confused about the scope of knowledge you should have at any given point in your bootcamp, reach out to an instructor and have a discussion with them about it. They likely know better than you how to get by successfully in this course.
2. Accept incompletion.
The green check mark after completing a lab gives us little spikes of dopamine. It keep us pushing towards completion. This scenario is analogous to lab rats receiving a treat every time they push the lever — so they push the lever continuously. On the other hand, if we don’t complete a lab, we might suddenly feel like we are behind and in danger of failure and incompetence. We try to alleviate those negative feelings by spending every waking hour of our day coding to catch up on labs. Do not do this. This behavior is harmful to your mental health and not efficient for learning. Instead, complete the labs that are prioritized. If you gained an understanding of the material during lecture or group programming, or in other words, outside the labs, it is more efficient to move on than to go back to finishing labs “just in case you missed something”. That is anxious behavior. Learn how to “do the thing”, accept the unknown for the time being, and move on. If you have some time during normal working hours to catch up, save finishing those labs for then. There are too many labs deployed on a daily basis to be able to both finish them and preserve your sanity. Not finishing that one cash register lab is not going to harm your chances of becoming a great developer or nailing a job interview in the future.
3. Pay attention to how you learn.
Don’t try to to be a circle if you are a square. If you are someone that learns visually, there is an excess of videos and demonstrations available for free on YouTube. If you prioritize learning the concepts over practicing, you might want to prioritize the lab walkthroughs and reading labs over the practice labs. If you are someone who learns hands on and through errors, you might want to prioritize coding labs. Pay attention to how you learn and what works best for you. Communicate that to your instructors and coaches.
4. Take care of your mental health even if it costs you time.
Yes, taking care of your self eats up time that you could spend coding, but the consequences of burnout are too detrimental not to. From the psychosocial perspective, the following three dimensions of burnout have been described: a) emotional exhaustion, characterized by emotional depletion and loss of energy; b) depersonalization or cynicism, also described as dehumanization, detachment from work and clients and emotional hardening; and c) reduced personal accomplishment or inefficacy, that is, a feeling of personal or professional inadequacy as well as reduced productivity and coping skills (Salvagioni, 2017).
You are not an effective programmer if you are mentally unwell. You are more error prone, volatile, and distorted in your perception of progress and accomplishment. You are not learning and digesting information as effectively if you are pushing your mental and emotional limit. You are increasing your suffering and the suffering of those around you when you neglect to take care of yourself.
Come up with a list of activities that recharge you and promote gratitude and self-awareness. Spend at the very least, an hour to two a day engaging in those activities. For example, my list includes: meditation, therapy, feeding the birds, watching anime, painting, going out for dinner with my partner, catching up with a close friend.
If you are structured, define a healthy routine for yourself. Pay attention to the times of day where you have energy/productivity spikes and plan around that. If you are someone who is bogged down by monotony and routine, allow space during the day for a spontaneous mini-adventure or activity.
The goal is to be mindful. What steps are you taking to put yourself in a growth mindset? What recharges you? What drains you? What boundaries do you need to set for yourself in order to makes space for your mental health? How are you taking accountability for your sanity?
5. Change your perspective.
Instead of becoming an echo chamber for your own negative self talk and thoughts about how frustrating and difficult this program is, shift your perspective to one that is more mindful and self-aware. Replace “I am so tired, this bootcamp is so frustrating and impossible” with “I accept that this bootcamp is challenging and I may not understand things immediately. My eyes and mind feel tired, maybe I should take a step back and find a healthy way to recharge. Maybe I need to revisit my plan for success and redefine what it is I want to accomplish and how to improve my chances. I will do what I can by determining what is realistically feasible for me.”
Good luck on your journey. Pay attention to yourself, respect your process and take care of your mental health.
References:
Article Source: Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies
Salvagioni DAJ, Melanda FN, Mesas AE, González AD, Gabani FL, et al. (2017) Physical, psychological and occupational consequences of job burnout: A systematic review of prospective studies. PLOS ONE 12(10): e0185781. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185781
📝 Save this story in Journal.
👩💻 Wake up every Sunday morning to the week’s most noteworthy stories in Tech waiting in your inbox. Read the Noteworthy in Tech newsletter.
