Level Up Log

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been starting my mornings by reading for just 10 minutes a day. I recently finished You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero, and it’s been the perfect way to set the tone for the day, getting me into that “go get it” mindset. I wanted to share some key takeaways that really stuck with me. The Power of Your Thoughts – Focus on what you want, not what you fear. Visualising Success – Train your mind to expect success. Decide, Don't Just Wish  – Act like success is a matter of when , not if . The Power of Your Thoughts One of the biggest ideas in the book is that we’re all vibrating energy, and we attract whatever frequency we put out into the world. That made me reflect on how I’ve approached things up until now. For a long time, I had this habit of always preparing for the worst. Even if something only had a slim chance of going wrong, I’d focus on it. I wouldn’t let myself fully believe things could work out because I was too afraid of being disappoint...

Over the past week, I spent a total of 31 hours completing both the Excel  Fundamentals and Data Analysis with Excel  Power Tools skill tracks on DataCamp. Having enjoyed Excel during the Google Data Analytics course, I was excited to further develop my skills. Why I Enjoyed Learning Excel Excel has always been one of the more intuitive tools for me. Since I already use it to track personal data, picking up new concepts felt easy and exciting. The visual and interactive nature of Excel makes it easier to grasp compared to some other tools. I also really appreciated the pace of the DataCamp courses . They move quickly enough to stay engaging without feeling repetitive, which kept me motivated. M Language Difficulties The final section of the Power Tools course introduced M Language , and it was a steep learning curve . While I appreciated the introduction to more advanced concepts, I found the last exercises particularly challenging—I felt like I was following instruc...

At the end of February, I took the next step in my data analytics journey: the Stanford Introduction to Statistics Course on Coursera. Since I had just completed the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate Course that same day, I couldn't help but find myself comparing the two. What I didn’t expect was just how different the experience would be. A More Intense Learning Experience The course is labelled as beginner-friendly and estimated to take around 14 hours to complete. In my case, it took closer to 18 hours—partly because the content was quite dense and partly because I wanted to ensure I truly understood each concept before moving forward. With the Google course, I was able to move quickly, watching most sections at 2x speed. That wasn’t an option here. I frequently had to pause, re-watch explanations, and work through my own examples to fully grasp the material. While some concepts were familiar from previous studies, I aimed to go beyond just recalling formulas. I w...

When I first reached the case study of the   Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate , I felt completely unprepared. The idea of working on a full project from start to finish seemed overwhelming. A big part of me wanted to put it off, thinking I should learn more before even attempting it.  But after some reflection, I decided to just go for it whilst keeping a few key things in mind: It’s not going to be as good as I want it to be.   And that’s okay. It’s my first time, so of course it won’t be perfect. The only way to get better is to actually do it, no matter how unready I feel. I’ll get to experience the full process.   This was my first chance to work through an entire project on my own. Learning how to ask the right questions, make decisions, and problem-solve along the way are some hugely valuable skills which I can only gain through hands-on experience. I’ll learn more than I would from just following tutorials.   Doing a case study forces me to ...

Last week, I wrapped up the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate , and I wanted to take a moment to share my experience and thoughts. This course marked my first big milestone in my career transition into data analytics, so I thought it would be helpful to reflect on what I learned, what worked well, and what didn’t. This post covers my experience with the course up until the final case study—I’ll be dedicating a separate post to the capstone project next week. What I Liked About the Course A Focus on Soft Skills One thing that really stood out to me about this course was its focus on soft skills before diving into technical ones. Instead of immediately jumping into tools like Excel, SQL, and Tableau, the course started with topics like effective communication , collaboration , and how to ask good questions . As someone with no prior experience in a corporate job, I found this approach really helpful. It gave me a better understanding of what to expect in a professional...