Tips to help introverts and quiet ones survive software development
What's up, everybody? Welcome to another episode of the CompileSwift podcast. I'm your host, Peter Witham, and you can find this podcast at compileswhip .com. Something a little different in this episode. I'm actually gonna be sharing some content from an episode of my UI Buzz podcast where I was talking about some things to help people who may be, a little more on the introverted or quiet side, and they're struggling to get through the software development world.
Peter:So let's go ahead and let's dive straight in. In this episode, we're gonna give a little bit of advice here, take it for what it's worth and some opinions on a specific group of people. And what I'm looking at here and what I'm talking about is software developers or people who are looking to get into software development, but you're one of those more introverted kind of people. Right? You know, you like to just sort of be by yourself or do things by yourself and you're not comfortable with big groups or big teams and I got some advice that I think will help you with this.
Peter:Right? So first of all, I want you to accept and realize that there's nothing wrong with it. It's perfectly fine. There's probably a lot more people out there like that than you realize. Right?
Peter:Part of being introverted means that, you know, you kind of feel like you're you're out there and, you know, you're sort of in a minority or it's just you and that's simply not the case It actually turns out that a lot of developers I know and a lot of people in the development community are kinda like that. And I think in some ways, it helps them focus on being a good developer. Right? Because you you're sort of removing some of those external distractions by kind of being introvert on these things. So first of all, accept there's nothing wrong with it.
Peter:It may actually be your hidden superpower. Right? And then, you know, my next tip here is, you know, realize that staying within your boundaries or what you're comfortable with is perfectly fine. There's nothing wrong with that. But try to push those boundaries a little bit if you can.
Peter:Not asking for, you know, massive steps here. Just a little bit each time. Try and sort of push the edges of that envelope, and I think you'll find you'll become more comfortable with things over time and realize that they're, you know, not some huge beast of a thing waiting to get you. And before you know it, you'll realize you'll be doing things that wouldn't have seemed, you know, real scary before. Right?
Peter:So stay within your bounds, but just push it a little bit each time. Right? Maybe, you know those folks who you normally try to avoid not have conversations with just start by saying hi, right? Or something like that and then over time go to a conversation. Before you know it maybe you're doing lunch with them, a pair of programming thing, whatever it may be.
Peter:You'll find that you will become way more comfortable very quickly with it if you just push it a little bit every time. Now also realize that what other folks do and what works for them doesn't have to apply to you. Right? There are no rules here. There's only the things that make you comfortable and make you uncomfortable.
Peter:Like I said previously, you know, try and expand that edge a little bit if you can. But, hey, you know, stay within something that makes you feel comfortable and and and safe, for want of a better word, and productive, but just try to push it a little bit. Now, for example, you may not you know, the thought of going to a conference or something like that may seem really scary. And you're like, well, jeez. You know?
Peter:I know there's a lot of people. And what do I do when I'm there? And, you know, what if this happens? What if that happens? It probably won't happen.
Peter:Right? You know, that's kind of the anxiety part kicking in there. So do what makes you feel comfortable. There is no written rules that says you have to go to a conference, You have to do this. You have to take part in that.
Peter:Yes. They're good. And, ultimately, things like networking, you're probably gonna have to do some of that, and you will have to get comfortable to a certain degree with it. But don't feel like, oh, you know, I gotta dive in from day 1. No.
Peter:Again, small steps. Right? You know, maybe you start by taking part in online communities, growing it from there. Right? Next thing you know, maybe you're in discussions with some group some folks who are going to a conference or something like that, or you're, you know, saying, oh, okay.
Peter:Let's jump on a Zoom call or a FaceTime call or whatever it may be. Right? Grow it slowly. And then maybe one day you might say to yourself, you know what? I really wanna go to that conference.
Peter:And great. Give it a go. Again, even if you go to a conference or some, you know, community driven event or some, social aspect, there's nothing that says you must take part in the activities. You could just be there. Right?
Peter:Just be there by yourself. See how it goes. And when you feel comfortable, start that interaction. Again, small steps, you know, start to push that envelope. Time for a break.
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Peter:But there's no rules here that says you must you know, I'm a developer. I wanna be a developer. I must go to a conference. I must attend this. I must give a talk.
Peter:I I must join this social event or go to that club. No. You know? You don't have to, but it it will certainly benefit you. I'm not going to say that, you know, you shouldn't.
Peter:I think there is a lot of benefits from going to these things and being part of those communities. There is no rule that says you absolutely have to do it. So just be aware of that. And then lastly, go with the flow. Right?
Peter:Which, you know, it's it's it sounds so simple, isn't it? Well, that's the answer. No. Go with the flow. Every day is gonna be different.
Peter:There are gonna be days just like everything else in life. There's those days where you're like, okay, I wanna be sociable today with with other developers or, take part in this hackathon or, you know, whatever it may be. And then there's gonna be those days where you're like, no, I don't want to do this. Okay. Realize that's fine.
Peter:That is perfectly normal and perfectly fine. It happens to me. Right? Some days, you're like, I'm gonna do this. I'm gonna do a live stream.
Peter:I'm gonna record a podcast episode. I'm gonna whatever it may be. And then the following day, I may be like sitting there thinking, nah, it's too stressful. I don't want to do this. I don't feel like doing it.
Peter:I just not in a great mood today, you know, things like that. That's fine. That's called day to day life and it's gonna affect your professional career as much as it is any other aspect of life, right? Realize it's fine. There's no hardened rule here that says once you do this thing, you must now do that every time not at all, right?
Peter:Even if you're doing something on a regular basis, like I do with podcasts and my live streams and things like that, I try to keep them on a regular schedule, but sometimes it doesn't happen. And I I just leave it at that. Like, don't let it stress me out. Right? I don't freak out thinking, you know, oh my gosh.
Peter:You know, I'm gonna lose all my followers and all and all of these folks who are subscribed to me on the podcast or, subscribers on YouTube sorry, on, you know, Twitch TV for the live streams and things like that. You know, those folks who support me and and and pay for the give me money every month. Thank you so much to all of you, by the way, and subscribe to the tiers on Twitch. Yes. They they I certainly believe and feel that they deserve, you know, what what they're expecting, but sometimes you just can't do it or sometimes you don't feel like doing it, and there's no point in giving out bad content as it were.
Peter:Right? Same as anything else. You want you wanna do your best. And if you don't feel you can do your best, even if it's just a social interaction, that's fine. Don't do it.
Peter:Right? Don't force it. If you force something, you start to get that anxiety about it. And and that's when that introverted kind of thoughts are gonna kick in and everything else. So stay comfortable.
Peter:If you don't feel like doing it on any particular day or week or whatever, don't do it. It's okay. No no one's gonna get at you for it. And if they do, well, you probably didn't wanna be around them anyway. Let's just put it like that.
Peter:So I hope these tips have been helpful. I'd love to hear your thoughts and suggestions on this. If you have any tips that you'd like to share with anybody, you know, put them in the notes. Put them in the comments or reach out to me. You can reach out to me at UI Buzz on Twitter or go to Peter Widom dot com and reach out to me there, because I I think this is an important topic.
Peter:And it's something that I've noticed has been even more so on the rise since the whole COVID situation where we all sort of retreated back into ourselves for a while. A lot of us are now having to to retreated back into ourselves for a while. A lot of us are now having to to reach out again. And some of us have got, you know, that new comfortable norm, and I wanna put this out there, try and help you all. I hope it does.
Peter:You know, if it does, you know, you know what to do. Like, subscribe. Just tell a friend. Right? Maybe you know someone who's going through this or, you know, something like that.
Peter:Share it with folks. My goal here is to help you all and, sort of also share my experiences. Alright. So there you have it folks. I hope this has been helpful for you.
Peter:If it has, let me know and, if you have any advice for us as well and you want to share anything, hey, let us know that as well. You can reach out to me at compile swift on any of the usual networks or go over to compileswift.com where there's a contact form. If you're interested, you can also follow that podcast. It's another one of mine. It's UI Buzz.
Peter:You can literally search for that in any of your podcasting apps and it'll come up. Or you can go to petterwidhamdot comforward/uibars and and that'll get you to the right place as well. With that, I will speak to you in the next episode.
