# Six Months of Commits

DevFeed: [Six Months of Commits](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/six-months-of-commits-21048.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://jakeyesbeck.com/2015/11/01/six-months-of-commits/>)

Published: 2015-11-01T12:00:00Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Jake Yesbeck](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/jake-yesbeck.md>)

Topics: [Open Source](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/open-source.md>), [Development](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/development.md>), [coding](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/coding.md>), [Software](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/software.md>)

Tags: [article](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/article.md>), [code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/code.md>), [contribute](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/contribute.md>), [development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/development.md>), [history](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/history.md>), [open-source](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source.md>), [open-source-software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/open-source-software.md>), [patterns](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/patterns.md>), [professional-development](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/professional-development.md>), [projects](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/projects.md>), [software](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/software.md>), [writing-code](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/writing-code.md>)

## AI overview

An account of a year-long commitment to make at least one daily commit to an open source repository and publish a weekly article. After six months, the author reflects on consistency, recurring routines, professional development, and perseverance through difficult days.

## Source excerpt

Six months ago I started a challenge for myself. I wanted to contribute to open source software, a task that I had previously thought out of reach and intimidating. A plan that I had devised to overcome this mindset was to achieve consistency. For a full year, I made a commitment to make at least one commit to an open source repository (someone else's or my own) every single day. Additionally, I decided to write an article every Sunday about either my projects, my journey, or something interesting I encountered along the way. To be honest, I did not give my original goal all that much thought. I primarily was making a hypothesis: "If I just keep doing something, chances are that I will improve". Looking back, I believe that I have improved. How much I have improved has been hard to measure, but the journey itself has helped me understand the real value I was gaining. However, only after reflecting on my progress could I really understand that there was an at all. Re-visit Routines and patterns enable unintentional autopilot. The drive to work, the morning coffee run, even the same weekly meeting are examples of every day life patterns. Can one really distinguish between their commute last Wednesday versus the previous? When our brain does the same thing over and over, it automatically optimizes itself. We forget the details about our days and what distinguishes them from one another. This year of commits project has been no different. Since I have been writing software every single day, I find myself with another daily pattern. I am lucky that this project exists in a world where history is king. From Github to Google, I have the ability to rewind time and watch my journey step by step. While some days have been lighter than others, the overall picture is clear: This has been one of the best things I have done for my professional development and my state of mind. I might have not noticed this development unless I took my own advice: to stop to take a moment. Perseve