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ArcaneCoder's Weekly Blog/Journal


ArcaneCoder

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Week 1

So, I decided I would stop gaming on Monday, April 5, 2021. In fact, the night before, I recall removing steam and games. I was moved by something posted in the forum about quitting and benefits. I've not played or watched a game since, and it's been roughly 1 week. 🥳

The first week, I didn't do much. I distracted myself with software tech stack questions, employment opportunities, and skipping a second week of online synchronous classes (my gawd, I'm awful), while watching Ricky & Morty, then Solar Opposite, then half of Futurama. I also roamed the forum and wrote two python scripts summing expenditure and playtime on steam, further reinforcing my resolve to not game.

I have thought about games every day. I was ambushed by ninja thoughts about games while doing or thinking of something else too. Such as suddenly thinking of Subnautica while watching the Atlanta Futurama episode, or being ambushed by Stellaris images while reading about Python frameworks. 🤔

Mostly, I'm feeling better and more optimistic at the beginning of this week than last week. I reached out to my professors to keep them in the loop, and I am attending classes again.

I also returned to the Odin project and started reading through some of the material. I got a free copy of Cracking the Coding Interview through them, and started reading it this week. I also returned to LeetCode and started working through coding problems. I am dedicating about 1/3 - 1 hour each day solving LeetCode problems and reading Cracking the Coding Interview.

I applied to two campus jobs. Waiting on responses. I also set a filtered job alert on Google Jobs and Glassdoor, so I get a daily report of new, relevant job postings to my inbox.

My short term goal ( ~ 1 years ) is to finish my CS degree. My medium term goal ( ~ 2 years ) is to land any job in the tech industry. My long term goal ( > 2 years ) is to live independently.

 

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Congrats on making it through the first week! Often times, the first week is the hardest due to the urges and thoughts you have. It sounds like things have gotten off to a good start for you, hope that continues. I hope you're able to get those campus jobs!

Wishing you luck

Jason

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Week 2

I made it another week. It's now two weeks since I last gamed. 🥳

The beginning of last week, I didn't get much done. I thought about returning to video games a lot. I didn't get much sleep, finish much work, or do much. I watched seasons 5 and 6 of Futurama. I was binge watching, so I cut my self off by temporarily misplacing my tablet on Thursday.

Later in the week, I started getting better sleep, and waking up earlier in the morning (7 - 8am). I also got more done, and read a bunch of random articles online.

As courses are online, it's easy to underestimate how much material I fell behind on. I discussed my situation with my professors as struggling with my mental health. They mostly seemed receptive to that and are providing some leeway with deadlines. I have a tonne of catching up to do, so I am back to the grind of studying.

Optimistically, when I finished this semester, I only have 11 courses and 39 credits remaining to my degree. Only 3 semesters of courses to finish my 130+ credit CS degree. It's something to work toward, so why would I want to duck up now? It's an effective incentive, and after next semester, I only have CS courses remaining! 😄

Edited by ArcaneCoder
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