When developing projects, companies often create strategy plans called roadmaps. It is a general look at what is expected of your project in the future. Plans often concern a selected period - it can be a month, a quarter, or even a year. The longer the time, the more general the issues are.
The roadmap helps projects move in the right direction, where authors expect to be. It also allows them to set milestones and motivate others to act. This can be achieved by measuring the current progress against the expected level of work advancement.
Your personal roadmap
In the case of a personal roadmap, the plan is for a specific person - you. It can be a great way to achieve your goals and expectations. Again, defined milestones and the ability to track your progress can be helpful.
It is worth monitoring the degree of generalization of the issues on the list. Perhaps saying “I will get to know the X framework perfectly” is not the best idea. It is much better to focus on smaller tasks that ultimately make up this large task.
To meet the above, it is worth following the S.M.A.R.T. criteria. It is the concept of goal formulation, indicating that any goal should be:
- Specific: clearly defined, unambiguous, no space for any interpretation
- Measurable: defined in a way that allows to indicate the progress of implementation, measure it
- Assignable: don’t be too ambitious to be achievable
- Realistic: at the same time, it must be significant enough to have value; it is an important step forward
- Time-related: we should set a time frame in which we want to fulfill it.
You can use any application that will be valuable to you to present your roadmap. It can even be a simple text editor, and the whole thing is saved as text or even in paper form. The most important thing is that it is written down. Also, it should be as easy to analyze as possible. Going back to it daily / weekly and analyzing your status can encourage you to take action.
I don’t have time for everything
Remember, you don’t have to fulfill every assumed goal. Sometimes you have to give up something when it’s not so important anymore. Technology, our aspirations, or time possibilities may be changing. However, the most important thing is to go step by step in the intended direction. Even if the goal changes.
It is worth taking care of your development. For some, it is the employer who should set new development paths. Sometimes it may be a mentor or just another person. However, we should not leave our lives in the hands of others. We only have one life, and that is our life.
Summary
Do you have your own personal roadmap? It’s okay to plan your future steps in the industry and your life. If you are looking for inspiration about Backend, Frontend, DevOps, Android, or even React, you can use the website roadmap.sh or directly GitHub repository.
Remember, this roadmap does not have to be only about your profession and career. It can also apply to a completely private area of our lives, such as learning to cook or dance.