When you feel like you can't do it...

Hey ladies and non-binary friends!

What do you do when today is just one of those days? If you're the only software engineer around who's not a cis man, you might get times where you feel like you're not as good as the lads; like you have a mountain to climb in order to prove that they hired the right person; like you can't do it.

I have a huge learning curve ahead of me so I sometimes find myself feeling like that. Today that's not been helped by one of my colleagues standing up and declaring, for the second time, that a mate of his in Brecon shat in a bag the other day and had to take it home with him. This hilarious story was so impressive that he had to tell it twice. Watch out Jimmy Carr, someone's coming for your comedy crown!

Sometimes I can't help but wonder 'How is is possible that this berk gets paid more than me?'. No amount of eye rolling can help you when it's just one of those days. Luckily for you, I have some practical nuggets that I find help assuage the negativity!

• Go for a wander (outside is best, but simply walking and stretching in the office does me a world of good too)
• Book a meeting room and meditate/do yoga/do pushups
• Make a soothing cuppa
• Ring a loved one
• Write down on a piece of paper what's worrying you and logically evaluate whether there is sufficient evidence to merit worrying about it. Usually there is not!

So be kind to yourself. YOU CAN DO IT Are there any practical nuggets you have that can help too?