It’s always bittersweet when the Cubs baseball season comes to a close. You see, I enjoy watching the team’s games, but the time spent watching the games could be spent on other things. Things like learning, reading, creating, or anything else worth doing. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of fun to watch the games when the team is winning. Fortunately/Unfortunately, the Cubs 2018 season came to an abrupt close this week following two consecutive losses at home. Both losses were close, but victory never felt possible in either of them. So, the offseason has started. It’s time to roll up my sleeves and get to work. Offseason priorities include getting on a good sleep schedule, playing more guitar, and delivering more personal projects. It’s going to be fun.

Sprint Outline

This week my attention was consumed by Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days. It’s a book that lays out how to approach a sprint effectively. The sprints are broken down into five days. The approach goes something like the list below.

  • Monday - Make a Map and Choose a Target
  • Tuesday - Sketch Competing Solutions
  • Wednesday - Decide on the Best
  • Thursday - Build a Realistic Prototype
  • Friday - Test with Target Customers

Each sprint is focused on solving a specific problem. Monday sets the stage for the week. Tuesday is used to brainstorm potential options. Wednesday the best options are chosen. Thursday it’s time to get to work. Friday it’s time to test the creation. I originally came to the book via this awesome video on YouTube where the author explains how a sprint led robot delivery system used in hotels. The video is interesting, and the book makes me want to go through a similar sprint. It would be a hectic week, but it could be life changing.

Finished

Pluralsight Course(s): GitHub Fundamentals

Book(s): Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days

Currents

Pluralsight Course(s): React 16 - The Complete Guide

Book(s): Design It!: From Programmer to Software Architect

On the Next…

I’ve got a busy week planned. It’s the first full week without Cubs games, so it’s time to build up momentum. I’m looking forward to spending some quality time with Design It!. I’m a few chapters in and have enjoyed it so far. To this point, my biggest takeaway is HART. HART is an acronym for the four principles of design:

  1. Design for Humans
  2. Preserve Ambiguity
  3. Design is Redesign
  4. Make the Architecture Tangible

Outside of reading, I’m wanting to spend some time reading content on GeeksForGeeks. I’ve been reading it quite a bit lately, and just created an account today. I’m looking forward to exploring it further. There’s an amazing amount of content on the site related to the practice of computer science. It’s also a top resource for preparing for technical interviews. Give it a look if you have any interest in solving problems programmatically.