The path of teaching yourself to code isn't for the faint of heart. It takes consistency, discipline, and the ability to recognize you're actually making progress. Tutorials are an excellent tool, but they are also a trap. If all you do are tutorials, retaining the skills you learn is going to be extremely difficult. Without applying those skills they aren't going to become ingrained, and you aren't going to see how they're used in context. You also won't make progress if you aren't being consistent. Without consistency, your skills will fade and when you start coding again you'll have to relearn things instead of advancing on to more advanced topics. In this episode, Tiger Abrodi chats about how he uses projects, habits, and self-assessment to consistently advance his skills as a programmer. HomeworkTake 20 minutes to do a little self-evaluation and assess how well your professional growth as a developer is going.Write down some specific habits that you want to develop to help you with your goalsGuest: Tiger AbrodiTwitter: @TAbrodiGitHub: @tigerabrodiWebsite: tigerabrodi.techHost: Kent C. DoddsWebsite: kentcdodds.comTwitter: @kentcdoddsGitHub: @kentcdoddsYouTube: Kent C. DoddsEpic React: epicreact.dev

It's easy to become entrenched in what you already know how to do. You might have a fun project idea that requires creating really awesome CSS animations, and it might seem out of reach if you haven't done anything like that before. But getting through that mental block is an extremely rewarding experience. You gain technical skills and improve your general problem-solving abilities. If you've ever struggled with side-projects, check out this episode where you'll learn how Jhey Tompkins never seems to run out of things to build and get his expert advice on how he problem solves. HomeworkStart keeping a list of every random idea that you have. Use the list for project [email protected] - cool animationsGuest: Jhey TompkinsTwitter: @jh3yyGitHub: @jh3yWebsite: jhey.devHost: Kent C. DoddsWebsite: kentcdodds.comTwitter: @kentcdoddsGitHub: @kentcdoddsYouTube: Kent C. DoddsEpic React: epicreact.dev

Scott Moss is a retired Navy Veteran who made the career change into software engineering after becoming a father. His journey wasn't an easy one, and as a dad, he had to learn many lessons in work-life balance. For us developers who have kids, his struggle is one that almost all of us can relate to. This industry has an extremely high ceiling, and there is a culture of grinding every day after work in order to make it big. It's easy to fall into the trap of thinking "this is what is best for my family", you have to ask yourself is it worth the sacrifice of losing that time with your kids, and are you doing it for them or are you doing it for yourself? Though it doesn't have to be all or nothing in either direction. There are strategies you can put into place that will allow you to reach your goals in both your work and family life. But it's going to require self-awareness, emotional availability, and good time management. So check out this episode If you want to hear more about Scott's story and get advice on making family life work while still succeeding in your career!HomeworkSit down and record every single minute of your day for the next week. At the end of the week review and see the time that you wasted on things that add no value to the goals.Guest: Scott MossTwitter: @scotupsGitHub: @HendrixerHost: Kent C. DoddsWebsite: kentcdodds.comTwitter: @kentcdoddsGitHub: @kentcdoddsYouTube: Kent C. DoddsEpic React: epicreact.dev

There is a diverse range of philosophies when it comes to CSS. Settling on something that fits the needs of your team and application can be a real challenge. Mark Dalgleish, the co-creator of CSS Modules, has been working on an option that might make that choice less of a challenge!Vanilla Extract is kind of like "CSS-modules in TypeScript", allowing you to write CSS in your TypeScript, with locally scoped variables, and generate static CSS files on runtime. If you're interested in getting a deeper look, as well hear more about design systems, CSS in JS, and CSS Modules, check out this episode!HomeworkFollow along with this blog post - Use CSS Variables instead of React ContextCheck out Vanilla ExtractResourcesVanilla ExtractPlayroomBraidA Unified Styling LanguageGuest: Mark DalgleishTwitter: @markdalgleishGitHub: @markdalgleishHost: Kent C. DoddsWebsite: kentcdodds.comTwitter: @kentcdoddsGitHub: @kentcdoddsYouTube: Kent C. DoddsEpic React: epicreact.dev

Whether you know it or not, we all have a "personal brand". It's the summary of the part of yourself that you present to the public. And while there are negative connotations to the term, it doesn't have to be that way. Building a personal brand for yourself is a very useful tool for cultivating a community of like-minded people. But it's not a quick process, and it's not something that you can hack if you want the real thing. In this episode, Josh Comeau chats about how he grew a community and reputation around CSS, and how the lessons he learned can apply to you.HomeworkTake an hour to draft a blog post in markdown without worrying about how you are going to build your website.ResourcesHow I am so productive001 jsAir - Learning and Developing JavaScript with Ashley G. Williams and Kyle SimpsonGuest: Josh ComeauTwitter: @JoshWComeauGitHub: @joshwcomeauWebsite: joshwcomeau.comHost: Kent C. DoddsWebsite: kentcdodds.comTwitter: @kentcdoddsGitHub: @kentcdoddsYouTube: Kent C. DoddsEpic React: epicreact.dev