How retreating helps to make you a better software engineer - a better person generally.
Table of contents
"It is also a victory to know when to retreat"
- Erno Paasilinna
INTRODUCTION
It's funny how stubborn we can all be, by foolishly continuing to face difficult challenges in life, when all we truly need to get past those storms is just a simple moment of retreating to rest, re-strategise, and refuel before staging a comeback.
A very practical demonstration of this in relation to software engineering is how we foolishly continue struggling with bugs in our codes for long periods - only to return after a brief moment of rest and discover how much of nothing we've spent so much time(maybe even hours) battling with.
A DESIRE FOR GROWTH AND BALANCE.
In most recent times in my life and career, I've been very intentional about finding a balance and hitting high points of maximal efficiency in everything I do.
I have never been so keen on finding my balance and that state of "rest" that I crave to get.
While we keep pursuing our dreams and striving to reach those "dream" high points in our lives, we just cannot afford to leave out hard work.
Hardwork is constant, - the need for hardwork cannot be overemphasized.
But while we keep working hard, there's the tendency to overwork ourselves to the point where we miss BEING EFFICIENT and hence fail to render the required output - the output we might still be misguided into believing that we're still getting
WHEN RETREATING FEELS STUPID.
I guess I won't be wrong to admit that I have come to accept the place of RETREATING more than ever before in my life - thanks to some very recent events.
But yet;
It can feel so hard and foolish to stage a retreat when hope keeps beaming that you'll soon get over that bug even though you've been trying to fix it for the past two hours - 🤣🤣🤣. Software developers can relate perfectly.
It can feel so hard to take a day off when you've got so many bills staring right into your face.
It can feel so much like a waste of time to take two hours off to plan and strategize for your day before starting out.
You can go on and on listing such instances. We all experience it.
THE PLACE OF RETREATING.
Retreating is very important. It's just so necessary. We cannot overemphasize this truth.
As I mentioned earlier, I have come to accept how necessary periodic moments of retreats are.
Moments of retreats are moments when we TAKE TIME OFF, and clear our heads if possible, to "whiteboard"/plan and strategize on the next step(s) to take.
While retreating can seem so foolish or unnecessary sometimes, to really be an efficient person, you just need to incorporate periodic retreats into your routines.
One of the biggest takeaways from this article should be this statement below.
No matter how much you're achieving currently, you'll surely be achieving more with balance, fulfilment, and happiness when you practice retreats.
Retreats reveal maturity and mastery. It's a trait of great achievers.
HOW TO RETREAT.
A. Retreats should be periodic and compulsory. They should be well incorporated into our routines.
There are no fast rules as to how often you should stage retreats.
We might even have to do it multiple times daily.
But I believe retreats should at least be on a daily basis(early in the mornings, or late at the end of the day. Then at every other milestone moment of our lives as well - weekly, monthly….
Is it not obvious that nature was wired to help us take retreats easily?
Consider the nights, the weekends, the month ends, and finally, the end of every year.
These all have endings to help compel us into taking necessary breaks called "retreats".
In general, retreats can be as often as possible. There simply are no fast rules.
Retreats should come:
as often as every moment after you've achieved a milestone.
at every of those moments when things seem not to be working out after some reasonable attempts.
Just quit struggling with the problem because that's a perfect time to retreat.
Always do well to remember that:
"It is also a victory to know when to retreat"
- Erno Paasilinna
- We must take note however, that moments of rest or breaks are not necessarily retreats.
You can end your day at work, without reflecting on the day and making plans for what to do next. Such is just a break and cannot be counted as a retreat, and hence such might not produce the renewing and refiring results that proceed from successful moments of retreats.
Retreats are intentional moments. Moments focused on how to evolve and become better and more efficient.
Retreats are thoughtful moments of focus and meditation/pondering.
B. Practice whiteboarding.
It doesn't have to be a whiteboard, you can simply make use of a writing pad.
You should simply never stage a retreat without taking notes.
While retreating, allow your mind to reflect. Focus on the task at hand and flow with the inspirations that begin to come - then take down relevant notes/points.
While whiteboarding, do your best to be in a relaxed state and in a very quiet environment, then allow your mind to do the work(thinking).
C. Set milestones during each retreat.
One reason why we fail to retreat is because we fail to set milestones.
By setting milestones, we get to take breaks easily.
The thrill of continued progress can be so overwhelming to the point that taking a break feels so needless.
If there are milestones in place, it will be less of a hassle to take a break after achieving each task.
So as a rule to help you stage effective retreats, you'll need to always SET MILESTONES for the next phase of work.
However, we also need to put time into consideration while setting milestones.
Setting a simple milestone and achieving it, can tempt you into moving to the next without taking a break. While setting a herculean milestone, can cause you to shoot beyond the point of efficient delivery in your pursuit towards achieving it.
Always set milestones that are simple and fulfilling but realistic and achievable. Always strike a balance.
We stage retreats to help us optimize and plan out for a new phase. Retreats should as well end with setting new goals/milestones.
The essence of staging a retreat is to do everything possible to help you return to work with better focus and energy that will enable you to make efficient progress.
CONCLUSION
As stated earlier, retreats reveal maturity and mastery. It's a trait of great achievers.
Just do well to remember the following points which have been stressed earlier.
Retreats are necessary - they help you live an efficient life with balance, fulfilment and happiness.
Retreats will help you become way better in all you do.
No matter how much you're achieving currently, you'll surely be achieving more with balance, fulfilment, and happiness when you practice retreats.
Software engineering is a field that needs you to properly strike a balance, or else you might experience high achievements in one area of your life(e.g massive career success), while failing woefully in other aspects like caring for family and friends.
Regular retreats will help you strike a good work-life balance, and ensure that you're accomplished in every aspect of life.
Simply put, retreats will help make you a better software engineer, and best of all, a better person generally.
If you've read so far, Thanks a lot.
A huge shout out to Tiger Abrodi for inspiring me to write content like this.
There's much more to blogging than just delivering "relevant/related" contents. Blogging helps us do amazing things - one of which is writing to ourselves😊😊😊.
I hope this article inspires you to begin striving for a life of balance and efficiency through the regular practice of retreats.
I hope to keep writing more important but often looked out topics like this one.
Cheers to a fulfilled life and career ahead.
See you in the next article.