It’s been a little while since I last gave an update on my journey through learning Web Development.

Since then I have not had the opportunity to work quite as much as I usually do because of some shoulder issues (basically because I worked too much, and exercised too little. Solution: Work less - for a while - and exercise more). I have however learned a lot. I never stop doing that. I read articles, I saw videos from conferences (like ng-conf), I read books and I have started slowly on my own project.

Getting Results The Agile Way

I love productivity, and I love JD. Meier’s ‘Getting Results the Agile Way’. However, I don’t love non-streamlined tools. I don’t particularly enjoy doing these processes in tools that were not specifically made for it. Therefore, I am making my own tool, for me. I am implementing the basics (at least initially) of the Agile Results productivity system.

If you are not familiar with Agile Results, I suggest that you go learn a little bit about about it here:

http://gettingresults.com/wiki/Explained_-_Agile_Results_in_a_Nutshell

In short, it’s a pretty simple system where you every day write down three outcomes for the day. Three wins. You can also do this for every week, every month and every year. Three results you want to accomplish in the coming time (the week, or month etc). The shorter duration for the outcomes (eg. daily), the more specific the outcomes are.

Examples:

Yearly outcomes:

Become a much greater developer
Get in shape with Mind, Body and Spirit (meditate and work out)
Create a name for yourself

At the end of the year, I want to have those things under my belt. Those are my high level goals.

Monday Vision:

For weekly outcomes (Monday Vision) it might be something more like this:

Meditate every day
Write up two new blog posts
Create a new screen for the Extreme Results app

There are also a lot of other things you can do with the system, like Weekly Reflections where you look back on the week and reflect on what went great, and what to improve upon.

The system allows you to fail, because you can get back on the horse with new outcomes whenever you want. New day, new outcomes. Easy as that.

The big thing for me, however, is that the system forces me to focus down on what’s important. Focus on the things I really want. I ask myself, which three things will help me today to get me moving towards my high level goals.

To learn all about the system, you should read the book:

‘Getting Results the Agile Way’ by J.D. Meier

These things are currently implemented with a combination of Evernote and IFTTT. I have IFTTT make up all the appropriate outcome notes, and I write in them every day. I don’t love that. Evernote was not made for that. It certainly works, but for me, it’s suboptimal. I forget to write in the notes, It’s hard to get a good overview of my progress and earlier goals. I just know it could be done better with a more focused tool.

Enters Extreme Results.

Extreme Results

My app is (currently) called Extreme Results. I want to implement all the features I use from Agile Results in this app.

The app is being written in AngularJS, using Parse as the back-end cloud provider.

I will write more later about the technologies I have used, and why. For now, the project is so young, that many things might still change. I will however, probably not change the platform (web), the front-end framework (AngularJS) or the back-end cloud provider (Parse).

Currently, the project is in a infant state. There is no design, no colours, nothing pretty to look at. I am focusing on creating basic layout and functionality that I can actually use on day to day basis.

Current Screenshot of Extreme Results

Developed in the Open

The entire project is being developed in the open for anyone to see.

The code is available on Github:

Web App: https://github.com/bjaanes/ExtremeResults-WebApp
Parse Cloud Code: https://github.com/bjaanes/ExtremeResults-CloudCode

The Github repos should contain all relevant information

Forward

My current plan is to learn by doing. I want to continue the Extreme Results project going forward. I am at the point where I will learn much more from just coding away than by just doing examples and small experiments. I will still read and try new things, but my main focus (for now) will be on Extreme Results.

The Journey – Visualized

I have a visual aid to help show where I am currently at on my journey. I have created a “prezi” presentation to visualize my path more clearly.

It will be updated through the course of this series – so it might be longer than the current post you are reading.

Follow me on Twitter: @gjermundbjaanes