Not many notes this week. Been catching up with clients, extending some functionality, dealing with a git repo switch, and testing things before a fairly major site migration. Fairly run of the mill stuff that’s not terribly exciting to write about in itself.
The ongoing heat and the news of wildfires has reminded me how important climate-based work still is. I haven’t had a chance to put time into my previous energy-carbon data-tracking project, but really must. I should probably carve out some regular time for.this once I’m back from holiday, as part of the Year Six planning. One part of that is aiming to step down from a few roles too.
I’ve also tried to carve out a bit of time to relax as well, as the mix of multiple clients, server maintenance and security awareness has put me in a bit of an Always-On cycle. Need to watch out for burn out, especially amongst the extra warmth, and the disturbed sleep that often accompanies it.
One thing I carved some time out for was a day off, to attend the Develop conference in Brighton for the videogames industry. It’s the third year I’ve been, and it’s a semi-indulgent day in which I get to catch up with some people, play a bunch of games, and generally absorb an air of creativity, entertainment, and artistic struggle within a landscape of fear and doubt. And pick up some free tote bags.
It was a long day, being out of the house from 8am til 10pm and largely involving standing up and/or talking to people about All Kinds of Things. All the conversations were thought-provoking though, from the shift in UI models in VR, to mental health and emotion management in games.
I found myself thinking from the perspective of a senior tech and perhaps a mentor a lot of the time. But not necessarily in an experienced and knowledgeable way – rather, I was interested in the advice and challenges circulating around jobs and careers, and I realised that it was an opportunity to come out of my little freelance hole, and take a temperature check.
Not that I met many people who were particularly optimistic. There were a lot of conversations happening, business cards and Linked In profiles being swapped. But perhaps, for me, my own personal takeaway wasn’t really so.different from what I learned from hiring a team:
- Show, don’t tell. Work on things because ideas and words are cheap.
- Enthusiasm is a strength. Work on things because you want.to work on them. Demonstrate your passions.
- Respect is key. Humility and friendliness are the basis of trust, and will make you stand out from the first moment you meet someone. These are values, not skills though, they’re not easy to pick up. You have to meet a lot of people, and really want to change how you act as a result.
And if that all fails, at least there are free socks.
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