"Ready or Not"

Welcome to this week's edition of WEEKLY REPORT

If this is your first time reading my newsletter, Let me introduce myself to you.

My name is Makinde Mercy, I'm a frontend developer and technical writer.

I'm proficient in React.js, Tailwind CSS and Vite.js. I write product user guides, tutorials, and technical content on web2 and web3. 

I'm open to hiring and collaboration. 

Feel free to send me a DM. 

Check out my work on these platform

Twitter: https://x.com/_ileolami

Hashnode: https://ileolami.hashnode.dev

Github: https://github.com/ileolami        

In this week's newsletter, I will be sharing:

??Short Appreciation to my subscribers

??A short article titled: "Ready or Not"

??How I explain Layer 1 and Layer 2

??My recently published article

??Wins/Feedback

??Discussion

Walk with me ??♀?

Short Appreciation to my subscribers

I want to use this medium to appreciate everyone that subscribe to my newsletter. I wasn't expecting such huge growth. When I published my first newsletter, I only had 0 subscriber but right now I have 123 subscribers.

The growth was encouraging and it shows you are interested in my articles.

Thank you so much.

Ready or Not

Monday is the day when we plan our week and schedule our tasks. In short, Monday is one of the most productive days of the week. For me, last week started productively as I was about to begin my weekly newsletter.

Let me tell you what happened that day. After writing my first draft, I tried to proofread and edit it, but suddenly, I couldn't find it. I lost three hours of writing in just a few seconds. Honestly, I was about to shut down my laptop and let it go. But then I remembered the goal of writing this weekly report. I turned my laptop back on and started over. It wasn't easy, but I'm happy I didn't give up, and I was able to publish my first newsletter.

Besides this newsletter, I also have other tasks like teaching a technical writing group and submitting another article. The latter is more important than the former. After writing the newsletter, I thought I would be able to start the other article, not realizing I wasn't ready for it. For two whole days, I couldn't do anything. I did my research and read helpful resources, but I just wasn't ready. This feeling is called "MENTAL READINESS."

Mental readiness means being mentally prepared to take on a task. It's about getting your mind focused on the task at hand. Sometimes, you want to do something, but you're just not in the right mood, and it's hard to explain this to others. When you try to explain, people might think you're lazy or not understand what you mean.

You might be wondering what causes mental unreadiness. In my case, these are the causes:

1. Mental health conditions: such as anxiety, depression making it harder to feel ready for tasks.
2. Stress and burnout: Feeling overwhelmed or chronically stressed
3. Sleep deprivation: Not getting enough quality sleep disrupts brain function and can lead to fatigue, difficulty focusing, and impaired decision-making.
4. Lack of organization or planning: Feeling unprepared due to disorganization or procrastination can lead to anxiety and hinder mental readiness.
5. Unhealthy lifestyle habits: Poor diet, lack of exercise, and excessive screen time can contribute to mental fog and make it harder to feel sharp.
6. Environmental distractions: Noise, clutter, or uncomfortable surroundings can make it difficult to concentrate and feel mentally prepared for a task.

For others it may be due to Substance abuse, life stressors, unhealthy lifestyle habits.

When I figured out these causes, these are the ways I tackled them:

1. Acknowledgement: I was able to acknowledge that I'm not mentally ready and also tell myself why this article is so important and its impact on my readers.
2. Planning: I planned how I wanted to use my time and used a timer to program myself.
3. Have a to-do list: I have a to-do list for each day of the week so that I can keep track of my progress.
4. Set due date: The article's due date was May 18. I gave myself a due date of May 17, which meant I wrote the article for two days (15-16), edited, and submitted it on the 17th.
5. I slept well and avoided distractions at all costs, e.g., I didn't switch on the TV during these days and limited the time I spent on IG and X.

That's how I was able to submit a 2.6k-word article. You can use my tips anytime you are not mentally ready. If you experience this often, ensure you see a therapist.

How I explain Layer 1 and Layer 2

I noticed there is a lot of complexity in web3 terminologies. This was challenging for me when I first migrated to web3. The best way for me to understand these terminologies is to relate them to real-life examples.

To simplify what Layer 1 and Layer 2 are, I used the Lagos Mainland to Island analogy. Check out the article here.

Article

You know I mentioned that I submitted a 2.6k word article despite "not being ready" for two days. Here is the article.

The article is titled "From Queues to Quickness: zkSync's Role in Enhancing Ethereum's Scalability". It fully explores the technology behind zkSync, a layer 2 rollup protocol that enhances Ethereum's scalability.

I used a fictional yet relatable story to explain this technology and in comparison to other rollups.

Wins/Feedback

Last week, I held three sessions with the SuperTeamNG Benin Technical Writing Group. I taught two sessions, while my partner taught one.

In my first session, I covered "The Role of Content in Web3 Community Building." In the second session, I conducted a practical workshop where I taught them:

1. How to create an account on Hashnode .
2. Some of the amazing features they can use as writers, including the Hashnode AI chatbox.
3. How to draft a Web3-related article.
4. Lastly, we drafted the table of contents and asked them to finish the article and submit it by Sunday.

Discussion

How do you understand web3 terminologies and how do you explain them to newbies or teenage?

Leave your answer in the comment section, I can't wait to hear from you.

Bye, see you next week and have a great week ahead of you.