I am not a morning person.

When I do eventually emerge from my bed, I stumble straight to my Keurig to make a cup of coffee then promptly go back to my warm bed to enjoy it. In the past, I used this time to catch up on social media but I have found a far more beneficial task to do instead- listen to podcasts. Listening to a podcast in the morning requires hardly any energy and effort, is still productive and also entertaining. Listening to other people talk about their careers and their path learning to program first thing in the morning really motivates me to keep studying. It puts me in the right mindset to get to my computer and continue with Treehouse videos or work on my own projects.

Not only do I learn about people in different coding industries and their path to greatness, I also get real advice for many code related topics I would not get from a textbook, like:

• tips for interviewing
• finding jobs
• time management
• debugging common web performance issues
• project ideas
• blogs, and books to read

freecodecamp.org has a very in-depth list of some of the best code-related podcasts to start listening to.

“Why you should listen to podcasts”

“Podcasts are simply radio-style audio shows distributed over the internet, usually for free. They provide an excellent way to consume quality information while performing daily tasks such as commuting, cleaning, or working out.” -Ayo Isaiah

I regularly listen to Code Newbie, and Front End Happy Hour. Newly added to my podcast list is Design Life.

Code Newbie is the podcast I listen to the most. The shows’ host Saron,  has a smooth voice and is quick with questions that lead the conversations and interviews very well.

Her guests range from graduates of programming boot camps to founding engineers of startups to study group organizers, authors, and developers. They all have an interesting mix of coding experiences.

She has a common flow for each episode which breaks up the conversation and keeps you eager to continue listening. She introduces her guest by having them tell a little bit about themselves and their journey to where they are at now. Asking about the pros and cons of their choices and how it has helped them in the long run. Then she moves on to a series of rapid-fire fill in the blank questions including,

• The worst advice I ever heard was __.
• My first app was about____.
• One thing I wish I knew when I first started to code is ___.

They discuss why those were the guest’s answers and move on to the shout-out section where they pick a few fun things for the listeners to check out. I love this section because it is so random. Some recommendations are code related and informative. While others are just fun, quirky things that the guest found interesting and awesome such as items on Kickstarter or comics to read.

The podcast stays true to its name by keeping the beginner developer (newbie) as the target audience for each episode. Saron does an excellent job extracting useful information from her guests that will benefit any new coder.

As stated on Front End Happy Hour’s Twitter profile -

Front End Happy Hour is a podcast featuring panelists of engineers from Netflix, Evernote, Atlassian & LinkedIn talking over drinks about all things Front End development.

Each episode they choose a keyword related to that day’s topic of discussion. Whenever the keyword is said, they all have to take a drink. Clink “CHEERS!”

One of my favorite episodes so far is Episode 10: Raise Your Glass to Women in Tech.

Two women working in large tech companies Uber and Netflix join the happy hour group of speakers and share their personal experiences and thoughts on a more inclusive industry.

All the speakers are fun, open minded and easy going people. I love how they meet up and discuss these important issues over drinks. They are easy to relate to and would definitely be a fun group to join for happy hour.

I love learning about women in tech and their inspirations and I know it doesn’t come without hardships. Hearing men and women talk about what can be done for a more inclusive workplace is awesome and motivating. Gender bias doesn’t have to be a hard-to-have conversation and this episode is a great example of that.

I owe all my motivation to learn design with Sketch to Charlie Marie. Recently, I have been binge-watching her youtube channel and started listening to her podcast Design Life which is co-hosted by Uber designer Femke.

Their podcast has a theme for each episode as well and really dive into many aspects of the life of a Designer. Topics they talk about range from side projects, creating a personal brand, and formal education vs. self-teaching. They also share tips for staying focused and motivated, setting goals, and time management.

I definitely relate to their need for side projects as an outlet for their creativity. I have always had multiple things on my plate even before learning to code. These included multiple scrapbooks, travel itineraries, interior design, and random art projects I did around my full-time job.

Listening to podcasts has been a new way of learning information that is both entertaining and fun. I will keep on the lookout for more channels to add to my rotation.