I’m starting my week dedicated to studying and personal growth.
I’m with my family this first weekend, and it will be devoted to organizing the upcoming week.
I chose a small house found on AirB&B (Happy Work&Relax) on the Pistoiese’s mountain.
The closest point where to go shopping is a hamlet at the foot of the hill with a bar/shop, butcher, and greengrocer more than an hour away for going and the same for returning.
It was the ideal place for this experience. It is conceived to work, study, relax, or a combination of the 3.
Good internet connection. A village of 40 houses at the end of a mountain road. Non-existent traffic. No restaurants, bars, or tobacconists. Only homes and many inhabited only during holidays. You get here only if you want to come.
The idea comes from Bill Gates’ “thinking weeks” but also from the reading two years ago of a book, “Deep Work” by Cal Newport, and one read this year, “The Ultralearning Method” by Scott H. Young.
The basic concept of Bill Gates, Cal Newport, and Scott H. Young is the same.
Focus, immerse yourself in what we do. For an hour, for a day, or for a week. It is not the time that makes the difference but the immersion in what we do.
So I put these three experiences together, all based on the same concept, to deepen a topic I studied for the first time in 2001-2002, when it was just beginning, that is, the C#.
At that time, I worked as a full-stack developer in Rome for a software house that created websites and interactive portals, all PHP and relational dBase connections.
As I said, I will be here alone all next week. Food is already in the pantry and, therefore, free time to do this test.
I have three books on C# and one on Design Patterns. This is because C# is a language in constant evolution, and my knowledge has remained stuck for more than 20 years.
Over time I made some slight upgrades by reading articles on the web or looking for solutions on Stack Overflow, but not enough to keep pace with the upheavals of this language, especially after the introduction of .NET Core.
In addition to these books, I also put some sites in my browser’s favorites:
- the official Microsoft documentation here;
- and the site https://www.thecsharpacademy.com/
I also brought other books to read to intersperse these study and deepening sessions.
The choice of this location is also because there is a splendid wall in this house, covered with cork panels, perfect for creating mind maps, a Kanban board, or other things.
