I just pushed my little Python csv converter tool to Github, which always marks the end of a project for me. All my “development” is done using a local git repo and then, when I am finished, I upload, backup and delete the local repository.

It is nothing fancy, it is not perfect and I am sure others can do it better, and more quickly. But it is mine and I was able to do it. I was able to focus on it.

This really gives me tremendous joy, for two reasons:

First, when I became a manager at the end of 2020, I started to spend my time in a lot of meetings. Four to eight a day, almost always back-to-back. In addition to that, building and managing a team, hiring, escalation calls, getting involved in company politics, being a communicator etc. As one of the teams was an operations team, it was not uncommon for me to constantly switch between tasks – more than often it felt like turning on a dime. I feared that I had lost my ability to focus. I feared that I had lost my ability to quickly understand new technology – something that I was always known for.

Second, I was never good at writing code – quite the opposite. I was always good and architecting and operating, seeing patterns, understanding technology as a whole and “getting the big picture”. I failed at C, was mediocre with Perl and always hated “programming”. I failed so many times, that I did not dare to touch it again. I was very successful in shell scripting though, and wrote a lot of Bash scripts in my professional life. Eventually I came in contact with Python and it just “clicked”. I am even getting better in recursion and object-oriented programming – two topics I loathed during my early IT education and training.

I am very happy that I am finally able to “code”. I am far from being a developer or an expert in software development. But I coded something that works, is useful to me and somewhat follows best practices. “Coding” has lost its horror.

I guess I needed a reminder that no skill is “just magic” and no one has fully figured it out. Just decisions and “best guesses” based on experience, exposure and usage. I also needed the confirmation that the brain works a little bit like a muscle in some regard. Staying “in focus” just needs a little “training”. But the ability will come back over time.

That is a relief. And it will come in handy, as I am an “individual contributor” again since February. I started my Azure training two weeks ago with the eventual goal to become a certified Azure Solutions Architect. I am looking forward to my (virtual) in-class training starting Monday.