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What you are going to spend your time on between now and December 2022 is thats a long period of time that youll be spending your time on it. Do you actually enjoy it? And if your answer is no, that you dont like your job or past time, that youre focusing all your time on whatever it is, then honestly look into changing it. Hello, and welcome to the Pibytes podcast, where we talk about Python career and mindset. We're your hosts. I'm Julian Sequeira. And I am Bob Baldebos. If you're looking to improve your python, your career, and learn the mindset for success, this is the podcast for you. Let's get started. Welcome back, everybody, to the Py Bytes podcast. Happy 2022. This is Bob, and I'm here with Julian. Happy new year. Yeah, we're back very. We're so excited to be back in 2022. I'm very excited to be back. I'm kidding. Nothing. I'm tired. Homo anxiety. Finally back. Been back at pie whites after what, two and a half, two weeks off, whatever it was, I tell you, man, I got, I was getting, I was jonesing for it. I was getting the jitters. I'm like, come on, I want to get back into it. It was this, like that typically happens, right? Like, hard to let go. Completely let go. Anxiety to get back. Right, like this. Exactly. I couldn't wait for the holidays. And then by New Year's, I was like, okay, I'm kind of done Mario Kart a bit too much. Let's get back to that. Yeah, we watched an entire series. I mean, there are only six episodes per season, but it was called ghosts. It was a UK based show. So funny. But I tell you what, you know, totally indulgent, sitting there watching maybe two episodes in the evening after the kids went to bed, and I just. Part of it was like, this is criminal. I want to, but, you know, that said, so good. I had great time with the family, you know, just, it's nice guilt free spending time with the kids and, I mean, you should never feel guilty spending time with kids. It's just, you know, I could keep them up a bit later. Didn't have to. Yeah, didn't have to rush around. I was off the day job as well, so I could, you know, all day, I was just running around with the kids, playing. One of my kids, he, he got a new Nintendo game, Mario Rabbids, kingdom battles or something. And I was bored. One evening, he'd gone

to bed. It was about 10: 2:39

00 p.m.. And I thought, ah, you know, let me try it out. It's like this little tactical shoot, a strategy game. Like, forget that. It's Mario and stuff. So much fun. I've been sitting there playing it. It's great. So, yeah, there you go. Wouldn't have found it without the break. Cool, cool. All right, back to business. What do we have today? So, funnily enough, we talked about all of the fun we just had. So this year for us, the 2022 is going to be the year of boundaries. Drumroll. The year of boundaries. The year of boundaries. Yeah. So set your boundaries. And that's the episode. Why is that so? All right. We sent an email at the end of 2021 asking everyone to reflect. Just take some time alone. Reflect. Now we're hypocrites because we didn't take the time alone. We took the time together to sit on a call and reflect on the year. So we apologize. We lied to you all. But with this reflection, we realized there are certain things that we could be doing better. There are certain things we enjoyed. There are certain rabbit holes we went down ourselves and just both professionally and personally. So this podcast episode, we're going to talk about this whole year of the boundaries for us and what it means to us, why we're going into it. And. Yeah. Bob, do you want to kick it off with one of our examples? Yeah. So even back to Gary Keller is the one thing book we usually read around this time of the year. Annually. Yeah, annually, yeah. Same as essentialism, but, yeah. So we're doing a lot of things, and it's easy to get overwhelmed because we wear different hats. We do the operations, the coding, the coaching, the marketing. It's just endless thought. Like, what is the one thing, you know, the one thing, again, that really has the biggest impact for people? And that gives us most joy. And that's the coaching. Right. And that's what we're definitely going to focus on. I mean, don't get us wrong, right? We are going to do all the other things, the podcast, the YouTube, the Twitter, Python content, maybe more than ever. Right. We're super excited. But the biggest impact is working one on one with people and battle the tutorial paralysis. So having people build projects and guide them along the way, it's the most effective way to become a software developer. So that's what we need to keep doing. Yeah. And this is why we encourage everyone to do the same. Because even though we didn't fail per se at anything throughout the year, it's just when we think about the year that was and then the year that's coming, you don't want to spend your year doing stuff that you don't enjoy. So one of the questions we ask each other is, well, what did we have the most fun doing? What did we really enjoy? Because if we're going to be doing this full time, if we're going to be spending all of our, you know, all these random hours in the evening, sometimes super early in the morning, it has to be something that we're going to enjoy. And realistically, when we looked through everything we did, the one thing we kept coming back to was PDM coaching people. And obviously we need to get some sort of satisfaction out of that. It's not like enough to just say we're helping people, it's enough. We have to be able to say we truly enjoy doing it. And above all, it was PDM. And so when we see people reaching their goals, landing new jobs, pushing fully functional applications out into the web for anyone to use, selling their stuff, all because they've done the hard yards coming through PDM, that's the greatest feeling. It really is. And so we want more of that. That's why we kept coming back to that and to share the things that we talked about. We did lots of little things that came out, whether they were little online courses, whether they were a couple of videos courses, there was the flashcards we launched. These were all wonderful things that have helped people and have been beneficial, right. But they still didn't come close to the satisfaction of running PDM and helping people and connecting with people again. That's something we've said before, that people in PDM become like our family. So yeah, we want more of that. And that's why we want to set boundaries. So it's funny when you think boundaries, you think draw the line in the sand for your time. But this is also going to be a boundary of what we focus on. So we don't want the distraction of, say, normally you'd say, I don't want to be distracted by tv or my phone or notifications. For us, it's we don't want to be distracted by the shiny object that might be something cool to make for people. We don't want to be distracted by another product or item or course that we've had on the board for a while. We want to focus on PDM and just helping people. And the other reason we shared here on the podcast is that, yeah, maybe you can think about your day to day, your job, how you spend your time, your goals and ask yourself, what's the one thing as, to quote Gary Keller, what's the one thing that will make the rest easier? And as we just said, like, what's that one thing that can be meaningful and give you benefits or ROI, but also gives you satisfaction? It's something you really enjoy. Yeah. And I know it's, it's going to sound a bit funny, like a bit kind of obvious, but do you actually enjoy what you do every day? You're kind of coming into 2022, we're now, you know, a few days in. What you are going to spend your time on between now and December 2022 is that's a long period of time that you'll be spending your time on it. Do you actually enjoy it? And if your answer is no, that you don't like your job or past time, that you're focusing all your time on whatever it is, then honestly look into changing it. That's one of my challenges to everyone, is that it doesn't have to be that hard. In fact, it's always a lot of what we tell ourselves that makes us feel like we can't change jobs, that we're locked into it, that we've been here for 20 years, so it's never going to happen. I just started here six months ago, so I shouldn't leave. But that's not the case. You're free to do whatever you want. So, you know, obviously there are nuances in there and COVID's difficult and, you know, all that stuff, but navigate it, it just makes it a little bit more challenging. Doesn't mean you can't do it. And it might mean setting some boundaries, you know, and becoming uncomfortable. Yeah, becoming uncomfortable. Right. And that might look different in it might be different for you. So what uncomfortable looks like, but still give it a go, give it a good thought. Because for us, that led us to this whole boundaries thing. So with regards to the boundaries, Bob, what else did we discover when we chatted about setting some boundaries? Yeah, boundaries, for example, for me, is exercise. I spoke about that a lot, actually. But that horse. But, yeah, no, I did fall off of the routine in December, and now I made the gym and the health thing more deliberate, more intentional. Right. So, yeah, I really schedule out my workouts, try to progress, heavy workout, lift more weight, tune in the diet, the sleep, non negotiable. You go to that gym, spend that extra 15 minutes to really get the most out of it, eat the proper foods. And, I mean, I was already doing that. Right. But now it's, like, super dialed in. And that's what I call boundaries. Like, you're not going to compromise that. That's, like, you know that if you do that thing very well, the rest will just flow naturally because you're more energized, you're more confident, you're more. And, of course, you have that health benefit, so. Yeah, that's one example. I really had to tighten up and where boundaries were awesome. What about you? Well, just quickly, before I jump on mine with that, I already saw you setting these boundaries this year because we've been meeting a few days now since we got back to work, and, you know, you were pretty strict on. Okay, let's keep it succinct. Right. And let's drop at the hour so that you can go to the gym, whereas I know before we took the break in December, you'd be like, oh, that's cool. I'll go to the gym in the afternoon. And then you get to the afternoon, I get a message from you going, I didn't go to the gym. Wait till. Wait till we code another iron scribe. Then it gets challenging, another web tool. But, yeah, it's. It's important. And once you. You know, the habit, building all of that stuff, but setting those boundaries, I think with the gym, I can already see the change and hear it, and it's. It's a good. It's a good boundary to set for you. I know. So what about you? With. With me? All right, so mine is more. More family based now. My. My routine is about to change because we're moving houses in about a week, and it's going to change everything for me. You know, I'm going to have much more free time instead of, you know, when the kids go back to school. Instead of a, what, 30, maybe one and a half hour round trip to take them to school, pick them up, or drop them off and come back. It's going to be a 15 minutes round trip, so I'm going to claw back lots of time. Lots and lots of time, which is going to be super valuable, but I need to make sure I use it. And one of my favorite things is to, you know, limit the amount of time that I have productivity wise. Um, that's Parkinson's law, right? Yep. Yeah. Yeah. So, Parkinson's law is using that to say, hey, you got to squeeze your work in by. In this half hour block. Um, you'll get it done. Right? So. But now that I have all the extra time, there's a very good chance I can fall into some bad habits of going, oh wow, you know, I don't have to leave to pick up the kids till

just before 03: 13:03

00 so I might slack off or watch a show or whatever. And so my boundaries need to be set. I need to have them concrete. I'm going to be in a new environment, new house, new suburb, new everything. And it can really slip if I'm not careful. So that's why I'm preempting that and saying, can I have boundaries in place? That's going to be very important. And just on the tail end of that, my pie bites time in the evenings that I spend on it, it goes off until late night. Sometimes we forget and I'm on until midnight and we're both like, oh crap, it's almost twelve. You know, you better go to bed. And then I have to be up here. It's still daylight, so I don't realize. Exactly. So you don't realize either.

And I'm just in the zone. I don't notice. And then I'm up at 506: 13:45

00 with the baby. So, you know, I need to set better boundaries with that. And towards december I started doing that and I noticed a significant difference in my own, your mental health and happiness when

I was able to switch off at say 930, 10: 14:02

00 p.m. Some nights and like, oh well, I got time to go and hang out with my wife and do this. I don't have to wait till the weekend. So those are the two major boundaries I'm putting in place. I'm going to limit, make sure pie bites doesn't shoot off to insane hours of the evening. But that also means the pressure's on me to make sure I really focus this work down, which means you and I can't talk as much. I'm sorry,

I get up at 06: 14:33

00 a.m. If it's necessary. But yeah, it comes back to being intentional Parkinson's law that, you know, if you have extra time then make sure you have goals, right? That you can fill in that time and be very intentional as we send in the email. Yeah, so that's it. That's it. That's all I want to share. That's what we're doing this year. Going to set some boundaries for ourselves to be more productive and be more present with our families and our own health and fitness and everything. And yeah, it's just going to be a much better year, I think as a result, not that we were burned out, but definitely reflection over the holidays, it's. It's. Yeah. Something you need to prevent, because burnout can sneak in and then it's too late. Right. Yeah. And, uh, just. Just for full disclosure, over the holidays, we didn't meet to talk business. We did meet once, but we were talking about other stuff, so. We didn't play that chess game, though. No. But I did just buy super Mario. Sorry. Harry Potter chess lego. So we can do a video call, and you can tell me which piece to move. Okay. And I can cheat that way. Yeah. Hey, maybe instead of what we're reading, shall we just share our favorite productivity books? It's kind of a good time of the year. Okay, you go first. Yeah. So just what comes to my mind. And we will link maybe some more in the show notes. So, Gary Keller, the one thing. Greg McNa. Not sure how you pronounce it. McKeown. McKeown. I think essentialism. Essentialism, yes. Effortless as well. Now, his second book, Carl Nieuport. Deep work. Deep work. Yeah. And I think you're going to say seven habits, right? That's a bit. The seven habits. I don't know if that's a productivity book. Yeah. Versus just a good mindset. What do you think? Yeah, it's. It's more like self help. Um, Peter Drucker. Yeah. Let me look it up on your shelf. The shelf of wisdom. So behind Bob right now is this giant bookshelf of, I don't know, a thousand books. Feels like just for decoration. Uh, the effective manager. Effective manager. The. The other one I do want to mention is the one that Marty showed us on the note taking. What was the name of it? Yeah, the Zancastle stuff. Yeah. How to take effective notes. Sorry. Yeah, but that was a good book. I enjoyed that. Have you finished it? I did. I did finish it. Did you change your approach? Are you. Are you implementing? No, no, I haven't implemented yet. We're moving houses now. No, not a chance. I got enough change happening right now. That's the other thing, right? Do you need to buy a cardboard, like. Like, a box for post its and stuff? Right. I honestly, I'm still early in the book, so I'm not sure. My house is filled with cardboard boxes, so if I need one, I'll take it from there. But you have to go physical, right? Yeah, yeah. There. There is a physical aspect to it, and, you know, I'm willing to give it a try. Willing to try anything, but I'm not changing. It's got to be the right time for change and for me. That's going to be once we move house. Not happening now, so good luck with that. Next week we have a very exciting episode, exciting guests, so very, very good friend of ours joining us on the podcast, and we're super excited to have him here and share his wisdom. Tech stack. There's a lot of good stuff coming, so stay tuned. Stay tuned. And then after that, we have a couple more exciting guests who lined up. Yeah, they're all lined up. Yeah. So you're not going to hear just, you're not going to hear just Bob and I for a couple of weeks. So we'll miss you. Well, we always be there. We'll be there. All right, everyone, thank you so much. Oh, yeah, join the slack. There you go. And you can hit us up directly if you do want to chat with us. But thank you also so much for listening, as always. We're coming into another year. We are so excited to be making this podcast for you all. So please hit us up if you want us to talk about anything in particular, discuss it, share any stories. We'd love to hear from you. Otherwise, we'll just keep picking what we want to talk about and you just have to listen to it. That's a good point. Always share suggestions. We love to hear your dears and focus our content on that. And other than that, think about your boundaries and a very healthy and successful 2022. Yeah, happy New Year. Enjoy the year, good luck, and if we can support you through your python journey this year, just let us know. Other than that, we'll chat with you next week. We hope you enjoyed this episode. To hear more from us, go to Pibyte Friends, that is Pibit es friends and receive a free gift just for being a friend of the show. And to join our thriving slack community of Python programmers, go to Pibytes community. That's Pibit es forward slash community. We hope to see you there and catch you in the next episode.