I bet the year 2022 has been a roller coaster and while some days I feel I haven't learned anything, there are some small lessons I’ve picked up along the year.

Not everything in this list will apply to everyone, but these are the things I think of daily in my tech journey.

You might sometimes take a long time to understand a certain concept.

It sometimes take weeks to a month to understand a particular concept in coding and its alright. I remember spending weeks on understanding reducers and filters in JavaScript, gosh I literally had headaches, but after a while it started sinking in after consistent practice.

You don’t have to do it all alone. Find your self a community.

I remind myself of this regularly.

There will come a point where you might think you shouldn’t need to ask for help; that you should be able to figure things out on your own. From experience, that’s the ideal time to ask. There wasn't anybody born with programming skills. Take full advantage of your colleagues’ experiences and knowledge to level up.

Always asking for help is not a sign of weakness instead it is one that shows you are ready to learn.

I found myself a lot of mentors in the industry that gave me help. But I also found reaching out to vibrant, passionate online tech communities to be really rewarding. Sites like Dev.to have had a huge impact on me, and not to forget communities on Discord and Slack.

Prioritize sleep.

Lack of sleep dumbs you down, especially when sleep play a critical role in our cognitive processes like thinking and learning.

Regular breaks can effective on the long run , as it can increase alertness and concentration. Times when I take breaks off my work and return I feel a lot sharper to be honest.

Getting eight hours of sleep and your mind will be so much sharper for it.

The possibilities are endless.

You’ve got a foot in the door of a very lucrative and amazing industry. Don’t be afraid to explore it. Take every opportunity you can to learn and grow. Just because you’re a frontend developer, it doesn’t mean you cant explore customer data or UX design or information architecture. I alone this year have learnt a lot in the data analytics space.

You’re not limited to the role you have, but you’re also not limited to the company or the clients you work for. The tech community is huge and the opportunities are far, wide and diverse.

When you’re having a bad day and lack motivation, remember why you chose to become a developer.

Most of us got here because we’re motivated, and that motivation will really help you out of a rough spot. There are so many days when I got up from bed, but been reenergized by looking back and seeing that I am better than myself of six months ago, which shows I am improving.

What are some of the things that you have learnt in your professional journey?