Find, Join, Go!

When the stay-at-home orders have passed, I want you to find, join (if needed), and GO your local, pick your technology users group. Now, they usually are on Meetup.com. I actively go to three user groups when I am in the country. I go to the Chicago Java users group, the New York Java users group when I am there, a .Net users group, and an SQL Server users group. Over time, I have gone to Objective C groups and web developers' user groups.

There is one primary rule to this bonus idea. Don't go, or not go, based on the topic of the meeting. You interact with other professionals a few minutes before the meeting, standing in line for bad pizza, and the moments after.

In life, nothing is free. Though this Bonus Idea™ should incur no cash outlay, there is always a price. The price is the time on a Tuesday evening away from your family or TV. We live a lonely life. Even in a vast organization, we put our heads down to solve problems. I suggest you find your local user group and put it on your calendar.