Having worked in web development for 19 years has its advantages, but there are plenty of disadvantages too. Gray hairs and wrinkles are a topic for another post. I’m talking about all that useless knowledge (table layout, anyone?) you still carry around and how you can get stuck in your ways. Of course, by “you” I mean me.
The last few years I’ve gotten a little lazy. With lots going on in my personal life, I've relied on the tools I already had to get me through projects at work. Besides, at 55 years old, who wants to always be studying up on the latest cool new fad in web development?
Turns out, I do.
It’s shocking just how quickly I got behind. Within a year or two, young developers on my team are doing things and using tools I’m too nervous to try. It makes me feel a little dated and old, and that is one thing I will not put up with.
I may be old, yes, but I still adore building web sites and have no intention of retiring to a rocking chair. It’s time, I realize, for a plan. So I came up with one, and I’m sharing it with you in case you find it useful or can add some good ideas.
Eat your fruits and veggies. Seriously, now is the time to take care of yourself. You need the energy to keep up with the youngsters. A little exercise probably wouldn’t hurt, either [insert groan].
Don’t rest on laurels. It sounds harsh, but no one cares (too much) what you built back in the day. All the world cares about is what you are building now and what you’re going to create tomorrow.
Change your habits. It’s so easy to do things the same old way. It's quick, it's painless, and it's familiar enough you could do it in your sleep. But maybe that's the problem. If you're sleepwalking through your work, maybe it's time to incorporate some new technologies that could inspire and reinvigorate you. Shake things up by trying something new--change your development workflow, experiment with a new platform, or play around with a new language.
Listen to and learn from the kids. Yeah, they don’t have the range or depth of our knowledge. But they do know what’s trendy, cool and cutting edge. You may be (almost) old enough to be their grandparent, but you can still learn from them. Ask a kid you admire to teach you something. Anything.
Do something that scares you. If design terrifies you, join lynda.com and challenge yourself to create a set of graphically rich mockups. If command line gives you dry mouth, find a tutorial and open up Terminal. If you’re nervous about Sass, start using it. Today.
Crack those books...and the online tutorials, courses, blogs, articles, feeds and newsletters. Anywhere the latest techniques and tools are explained, be there. Every single day.
Rethink your niche. Step back and take a high-level view of the industry. It's changed a lot since you started playing in this game (maybe as a jack-of-all-trades webmaster?). The explosion of new platforms and technologies means exciting new areas of specialization have opened up. Find the two or three that interest you most, and focus your time and energy on those.
Recommit to your career. Just because we’re older doesn’t mean we can’t code anymore or that we’re only fit for management. Unless we’ve stopped trying. Have you stopped trying?
Don’t. Ever. Stop. Trying. Because age is fricking irrelevant.
Comments
black internet <a href="https://versus-darknet-drugstore.com/ ">dark websites </a>
canada discount drug [url=https://pinshape.com/users/2461310-canadian-pharmacies-shipping-to-usa#]... pharmacy cialis 20mg [/url]
pharmacy intern <a href="https://bursuppsligme.bandcamp.com/releases#">pharmacy </a>
prescription drugs from canada https://slides.com/canadianpharmaceuticalsonline
tor markets <a href="https://asapmarketplacee.com/ ">deep web links </a>
tor market links <a href="https://versus-onion-market.com/ ">deep web drug markets </a>
dark market <a href="https://asap-darknet.com/ ">deep web links </a>
dark market link <a href="https://asap-darkweb-drugstore.com/ ">dark web drug marketplace </a>
tor market links <a href="https://versus-onion-market.com/ ">deep web drug markets </a>
mega onion shop <a href="https://hydramarket-online.link/ ">магазин мега </a>
dark market link <a href="https://asap-darkweb-drugstore.com/ ">dark web drug marketplace </a>
dark web market <a href="https://asaponiondarkmarket.com/ ">bitcoin dark web </a>
deep web links <a href="https://asaponiondarkmarket.com/ ">darkweb marketplace </a>
darknet drugs <a href="https://versus-onion-darkweb.com/ ">how to access dark web </a>
darkmarket <a href="https://versus-onion-market.com/ ">darknet sites </a>
сайты даркнет ссылки <a href="https://hydramarket-online.link/ ">mega onion оффициальный сайт </a>
darknet сайт <a href="https://hydramarket-online.link/ ">mega onion ссылка </a>
dark market url <a href="https://acannahome-market.com/ ">bitcoin dark web </a>
сайты даркнет <a href="https://hydramarket-online.link/ ">мега onion зеркала </a>
how to access dark web <a href="https://dark-market-versus.com/ ">darkmarket list </a>
dark internet <a href="https://asapurl.com/ ">tor markets links </a>
даркнет магазин <a href="https://hydramarketdarknet.link/ ">новое зеркало мега </a>
dark internet <a href="https://asapurl.com/ ">tor markets links </a>
Actos <a href="https://fopharmix.com/ ">cialis professional</a> quality prescription drugs canada
online pharmacies canada [url=https://supplier.ihrsa.org/profile/421717/0#]buy viagra pharmacy 100mg [/url]
cialis pharmacy online <a href="https://pinshape.com/users/2461310-canadian-pharmacies-shipping-to-usa#"... medicine order discount </a>
online pharmacies https://canadajobscenter.com/author/ereswasint/
canadian pharmacy testosterone <a href="https://getpharmsu.com/ ">canada pharmacy viagra</a> canadian government approved pharmacies
darknet market list <a href="https://aasap-market.com/ ">dark web markets </a>
darknet drug store <a href="https://aasap-market.com/ ">deep web drug links </a>
мега onion <a href="https://hydramarketdarknet.link/ ">как зайти на мегу </a>
мега сайт <a href="https://hydramarketdarknet.link/ ">мега мефедрон </a>
darknet links <a href="https://asap-darknet.com/ ">darknet search engine </a>
the dark internet <a href="https://asapdarkmarketplace.com/ ">dark web sites </a>
the dark internet <a href="https://asapdarkmarketplace.com/ ">dark web sites </a>
dark markets <a href="https://asap-darkwebmarket.com/ ">tor markets </a>
dark markets 2022 <a href="https://asapdarkmarketplace.com/ ">dark market </a>
darkmarkets <a href="https://asapdarkmarketplace.com/ ">deep web drug url </a>
dark web search engines <a href="https://versus-darkmarketplace.com/ ">deep web drug markets </a>
dark web drug marketplace <a href="https://versus-onion-darkweb.com/ ">darknet market links </a>
medicament stromectol [url=https://inflavnena.zombeek.cz/#]buy stromectol online [/url]
stromectol usa <a href="https://dsdgbvda.zombeek.cz/#">buy generic stromectol </a>
stromectol for crabs https://inflavnena.zombeek.cz/
dark web access <a href="https://asap-darkweb.com/ ">dark market url </a>
dark web access <a href="https://asap-darkwebmarket.com/ ">tor markets links </a>
darknet магазин зелья <a href="https://hydramarket-online.link/ ">как зайти на мегу </a>
dark web access <a href="https://asap-darkweb.com/ ">dark market url </a>
dark market 2022 <a href="https://asaponiondarkmarket.com/ ">drug markets dark web </a>
dark market 2022 <a href="https://asaponiondarkmarket.com/ ">drug markets dark web </a>
dark internet <a href="https://versus-darkmarketplace.com/ ">darknet drug market </a>
deep web drug markets <a href="https://versus-darkmarketplace.com/ ">deep web drug links </a>
dark web websites <a href="https://cannahomeoniondarkweb.com/ ">tor markets </a>
dark websites <a href="https://acannahome-market.com/ ">darknet market lists </a>
deep web search <a href="https://versusdarknet.com/ ">dark web link </a>
deep web drug markets <a href="https://versusdarkmarketplace.com/ ">darknet websites </a>
deep web drug markets <a href="https://versusdarkmarketplace.com/ ">darknet websites </a>
Pages
Add new comment