What is the perfect time to become a contributor @ GitHub? #OpenSource

Question

I always wonder what's the motivation behind the contributors @ GitHub and when do you start picking up someone's project and start contributing? If so, how do you achieve work-life balance?

It's always hard to take the first step especially for new developers and what makes one to step out of their comfort zone among 90% others (1% rule)?

Answer 1

Perfect time is about 3:24PM. ;)

Personally, I'd get into open source projects as soon as you're capable of reading the code. You can learn a LOT from other people, so not only are you learning from the open source project and what others before you did, but you'll be able to add your own flavor to the project in the long run. In the beginning, you may just read their code, change their code, and just get a good feel for how it works. Eventually, you'll be able to add your own features or improve upon the ones already there, and then give back to the project so others can use it and learn from you as well. I highly recommend working on open source projects, even if you keep it to yourself and don't share it back out; it's a good means of gaining experience and knowledge.

As for work-life balance, I have a wife that yells at me, so that's how I achieve balance in my life. Otherwise, I'd engage into my passions and the rest of the world gets lost in the time-space distortion that my brain creates when it's focused. As well, I already do programming work professionally, so there is pockets throughout my day which allow me to work on the various projects that I work on. Time management is very important, regardless of what you decide to do with your life. There is a lot more time within a day that could be used toward any of this if we utilized it properly; we often waste time on distractions.

For me, I have a vision. I'm nearly 32 now, and I'm not where I thought I would be by this point. More so, I better understand and appreciate the time I'm given, whereas when I was younger I took it for granted. When I found my vision, I made a decision with myself and my vision has become my only option. It doesn't matter what brick walls appear or how far I get flung outside of my comfort zone, I can't let anything stand in the way of what I want to do while I'm still here on this planet. If I'm going to die one day anyways, there is nothing for me to fear or run away from in this world; that'd be a waste of time.

Answer 2

@Netkos Wow that's some great insights from you!

I often find that my developer friends around me are hesitate to work on open source project due to their hectic lifes.

Most of us understand GitHub is probably the best place to work with the smart or even top brains around the world.

Perhaps all we need is a little push to persuade ourselves to join the wonderful open source community, thank you! 😄

Answer 3

Nice tips! Thanks for your sharing Thomas! 😄

Answer 4

browse browse code code if you see one where you feel you can add something, go for a pull request !

Answer 5

Hats off to you netkos ent.. U write well... Coding... Job.. Life philosophy all combined.... Respect..

Answer 6

Look in the Issues in a repo for a project that you use as an end user. Pick one that interests you and try to address it. Look through the code base to understand the flow, and use its existing patterns and methods before writing new. That's your first pull request.

Answer 7

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