Jeffrey Kunkel talks about “Oh my GAD (General Anxiety Disorder)” in this episode of ColdFusion Alive podcast with host Michaela Light.
By our nature web developers are prone to anxiety. Web development takes a monumental dedication to continuing education, networking, and being an expert source for many of your coworkers. Learning to manage stress early can be one of the most indispensable skills for a long healthy career in web development. Be it FOMO, Impostor Syndrome, Analysis Paralysis, or just generally feeling overwhelmed, developers of all levels can benefit from learning to take a step back and allow themselves to relax and be productive.
I will focus on my perspective of being a web developer with anxiety in today's web development world. I'll talk about using "Fake it 'till you make it" philosophy to help combat the anxiety of keeping up with the ever evolving web. I also plan to delve into "Impostor Syndrome," and more specifically how to foster self confidence in your ability without cultivating an ego. By the end of my talk I'd like people to leave with the stress management skills and frame of mind to increase their productivity and overall job satisfaction.
This talk is ideal for developers feeling the weight of career and having stress and anxiety productivity issues.QB
Show notes
Why this matters to all CF Developers
20% of general population
60% of CFers sometimes have Anxiety Disorder
Introverts
Stressful profession
Anxiety
Stress → bad for health and happiness
Can follow you home
Can lead to suicide
Bad for productivity
FOMO
Impostor Syndrome
Late to Git
Fear of being accused of being a fake, not knowing the topic
Just start learning it
Ok to admit you don’t know something and learn it
Stackoverflow
CF slack channel
Google
Ask
Impossible to know everything about everything in full stack development
Self confidence in your ability without cultivating an ego
Remember what it was like to be new to this
Analysis Paralysis
Overwhelm
Too many tasks to do
Lack of priorities
Planning up front save time in the end
Lots of tabs → more anxiety and distractions
Turn of speakers - so chat notification don’t interrupt my train of thought
Perfectionism
Adding bells and whistles to code
Ok to come back to less important issues later (add to todo list)
Limited perfection to top priority issue
Is anxiety all bad
Advantage of double checking
OCD = Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Interruptions → anxiety spikes
Save where you where
Todoist note
Git Stash
Self medication
Alcohol
Food
Caffeine
Can be bad for your health
Negative feedback loop
Conferences
Alcohol
Stress management skills
Take a break
Wrist tracker reminder
Deep, slow breathing
Yoga
Reach out to developer friends and CF Community
Getting Things Done method
Music while I work
Turn off sound notifications on computer and phone
Mindsets
"Fake it 'till you make it" philosophy
You never learn if you panic before you start
CF Community
Standing desk
Exercise
Sleep
Naps
Earlier to bed vs later getting up
Less Caffeine
Family time
Female CFers more anxiety
Talk about your anxiety
Why are you proud to use CF?
WWIT for you to make CF more alive this year?
What are you looking forward to at Into The Box?
Mentioned in this episode
CF Suicide episode
Into The Box Conference
Todoist
Getting Things Done book by Dave Allen
Introverts guide to conferences article
Getting Real with Women in Tech with April Graves
Brain.fm
Melatonin
Railo
Lucee
Node.js
JSconf
CFObjective
Tech Has an Anxiety Problem. This CEO Is Working to Combat It
STRESS & ANXIETY IN THE TECH INDUSTRY
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