This article was originally written by Princiya Sequeira in her blog where she wrote about Dear opensource - you are not easy.

The Opensource dilemma

Are you a first-time opensource contributor and find opensource overwhelming? Does it happen that everyone’s been talking only about good things, and you are struggling to find the time or motivation to contribute? In this article, Princiya Sequiera shares tips on how to make the most of hacktoberfest.

Tip #1: Find your motivation

What is that you wish to learn or gain from being an open-source contributor? Do you want to prepare for an upcoming opensource internship? Or are you working at a startup but want to find out what it is like to contribute to Facebook, Microsoft, or Google? Have you had a pause in your career and want to use opensource as a career bridge or want to upskill yourself but being an opensource contributor? The reasons can be many, but you need to find your motivation.

When the motivation is clear, it gets easier to choose a project, and filter projects belonging to certain companies or based on your preferred tech stack, interests, and matching skill sets.

Tip #2: Manage your time wisely

Finding the time to work on opensource itself can be very challenging. Not everyone gets to work at a company that allows contributing to opensource as part of the daily work. Or you might be a student and have to balance college work plus internships and other side projects. Time indeed is a crucial factor but as long as you have good Motivation (which is tip 1, find your motivation) you can find ways to make the time!

Tip #3: Be honest and open in your communication

Working in the open means you also have to learn how to communicate in the open. You will be collaborating with people across multiple time zones and cultures. Ask questions when things are not clear. Detail your thought process. Do not be shy. Things can be overwhelming, which is totally normal and fine. If you don’t find the time to work on a claimed issue, it’s fine! But be honest about this and let others know so that someone else can pick up this issue. Find your support group or a community.

We at WomenWhoCode Frontend track are running an active study group for folks to get comfortable in learning to work in the open.

Tip #4: Be selfish

Lastly, a bonus tip: Be selfish! Yes, you read it right!

Opensource can be used in multiple ways, that’s why tip 1 is very important, find your motivation. Come up with ideas so that you can use opensource to fulfill your motivation, and that’s why to be selfish. You don’t have to do the tasks which others want you to do, instead, you can pick up tasks that you want to learn and fulfill your motivation.

So, in order to make the most out of this hacktoberfest month -

• It is important to have a personal motivation. Motivation is found when the purpose is discovered
• It is also important to have a supportive environment to find the time to contribute; be it a supporting employer, family, or university
• We need to get used to the culture of working in open
• We are bound to find good as well as bad people
• Nothing is easy, and opensource is not easy too :)

We wish you all the best for Hacktoberfest!

Youtube link - https://youtu.be/yfL0Q83beNI