You're nearing the end of your bootcamp program. You're starting to slow down, you're feeling pretty apathetic about your code and your projects. How do you keep going when you're feeling burned out?
Remind yourself of where you started.
Chances are, you’ve vastly improved your coding skills during your time at a bootcamp. Take some time to remember where you started and compare that to your coding abilities today. Pretty rad, right? Give yourself a pat on the back, you’ve come far.
Think of how much further you’d like to go.
It’s easy to look at all your progress and have a ‘good enough’ feeling and just coast for the next few weeks of your program. You're thinking: it’s been difficult, I'm tired, I’ve worked my tail off getting to where I am, I need a break. There’s nothing wrong with taking things a little easier if that’s what you need to stay sane, just don’t let yourself label things done prematurely. Every week at your bootcamp counts. As accomplished as you feel now with all that you've managed to learn, imagine: you’re not done learning.
Look at all the baby animals.
Things are getting harder to manage, you’re feeling the strain, you’re stressed. Do whatever you need to keep yourself emotionally and mentally strong and positive. Sometimes you need something to remind you of the world outside of coding, deadlines and tests. To remind you that things are gonna be ok. And a great way to do that is to look at cute things that make you squeal in joy and lift your spirits. Also, the Wholesome Memes on Reddit and Tumblr are pretty great.
Take care of your body.
For all that’s good and holy, I beg of you: get out of your chair and step outside. Go for a walk, interact with people and talk about something that’s not about what you’re working on. Eat food with colors. Stretch. Don’t forget to take care of yourself just because you can see the end on the horizon. That last stretch is long enough, so don't forget about yourself and your health, else you’ll cross the finish line by face-planting through the tape. If you’re struggling with the basics, here’s a how-to to get you started.
Keep in mind that the end of your bootcamp is the beginning of something else. And on that note...Plan out the day after your bootcamp.
You don’t actually need to know exactly what you’re going to do the day after your last day of bootcamp. But it’s a good idea to have a concrete plan for the days after. Even if those plans involve sitting on your couch in your underwear vegging out on Oreos and Netflix. But if those are your plans, make sure you give yourself a time frame. When will your veg-out be complete? Whether it’ll be a day or a week, plan it out now. You went to a bootcamp for a reason. What were those reasons and what do you still need to do to fully realize those reasons? Knowing this and planning accordingly will help you keep up your momentum.
You've still got some work ahead of you, but at the end of the day, you'll have done something really amazing and difficult. You're almost there so keep it up and, as always, Happy Coding!
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