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Stay Hungry · Ugly Duck
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<h1>Stay Hungry</h1>
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<p><em>Posted on <time datetime="2018-02-11T19:00:00-05:00">February 11, 2018</time></em></p>
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<p>It can feel daunting in this developer / designer landscape to keep yourself up-to-date with the latest and greatest technologies available. Which new framework should I invest the most time into? Will it even be maintained a couple years down the road? Is it just a fad?</p>
<p>What about programming languages? Should I learn as many as possible or should I become an expert in one specialized area? <em>Should designers code?<span class="sidenote-number"></span></em> The list of possible <em>new</em> things you could be learning continues to grow.
<span class="sidenote">This is sarcasm. Please don’t take this seriously…</span></p>
<h2 id="jumping-right-in">Jumping right in</h2>
<p>Want my advice? Pick something and dive head first into it. Don’t worry if it’s not the most popular programming language or if it’s a new design system that isn’t gaining much traction. Do you find it interesting? Awesome - that’s what matters most. How can you teach yourself something new when you have <em>zero</em> interest in it?</p>
<h2 id="less-talk-more-action">Less talk, more action</h2>
<p>So what am I currently doing to keep my mind fresh and thinking outside of my comfort zone?</p>
<ul>
<li>Teaching myself the R programming language</li>
<li>Deep diving into the <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">ggplot2</code> package</li>
<li>Developing my first side project website using <code class="language-plaintext highlighter-rouge">blogdown</code> and Hugo</li>
<li>Trying out Figma as my exclusive design program for the next few months</li>
</ul>
<p>Programming your brain to learn something new can be frustrating and pull you out of your comfort zone. Don’t let this become stressful - instead use it as inspiration to push yourself through the struggle.</p>
<p>There is no real reason to avoid learning something new outside your current circle of knowledge - only crappy excuses.</p>
<p>Get on it.</p>
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