"A key part of my life is physical activity," says the Android tech lead at Kolesa Group about their lifestyle.

Nailya Berdali, city — Almaty, Android tech lead at Kolesa Group, @trinity.303

About me

I am an Android tech lead at Kolesa Group. I have been working at the company for seven years. I have traveled a path as vast as a galaxy: from an intern at Kolesa Academy in 2017 to an Android tech lead. Previously, I worked on all of the company's products within the Core Team, handling technical debt resolution and infrastructure tasks. Today, I am an Android tech lead on the Krisha.kz team — the #1 platform for selling, buying, and renting real estate in Kazakhstan. I am responsible for maintaining technical expertise and product quality, working on plans and implementing the product's technical strategy, and much more.

I like that, despite all my tech lead responsibilities, I continue to write code. This is one of the important components of my mental well-being.

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The second important part of my life is physical activity. It is necessary for emotional balance. I regularly practice yoga, stretching, calisthenics, and go to the gym. Since school days, I have engaged in various sports such as volleyball, cycling, running, and long jump. I have achieved podium finishes: for example, I took first place in district long jump competitions. For me, physical activity is a form of rest. Because, in addition to strength training, I pay special attention to joint mobility, stretching, yoga, and breathing practices. This does not require superhuman effort from me, and after completing a practice session, I gain physical and mental relaxation. Therefore, I train almost always, even on vacation in another country.

With such a schedule, it is extremely important for me to maintain a work-life balance. I try to adhere to a work schedule. But sometimes there are moments when I am strongly driven by work energy, and then I work in the evening or on weekends. The main thing is to listen to your body's signals, focus on how you feel, and act based on your own desires.

The third important part of my life is proper recovery and rest. It consists of three points:

— quality sleep

— balanced nutrition

— regular sports massage.

I track my deep sleep stages and, depending on how I slept, I plan my current workout: either an active strength session or a lighter one. To maintain stable, good sleep, sleep hygiene is necessary, the key to which is a clear schedule for going to bed and waking up.

I devote the rest of my time to myself: self-development, hobbies, passive rest, family, and friends. I appreciate that my husband fully supports my active sports lifestyle. We support each other in this: we train together, plan our diet, cook food, and count calories.

Where and how I learn

As a developer, the learning process is continuous. If we talk about purposeful study of something new, Kolesa Group helps me with this. Almost all departments in the company have a grading system. This applies to both hard skills and soft skills. This makes the motivation system transparent and gives employees a clear path for professional development.

All I need to do is conduct timely self-reviews and then move forward on the topics where I am weak or that simply interest me.

As a plus, and also a slight minus of working in the IT sector, is the constant development of technologies. You need to constantly monitor trends, study new things, and improve your qualifications.

The mobile app market continues to grow, which means mobile developers are in demand in the market. The languages used to write apps are also evolving, becoming more user-friendly, which fuels interest in the industry and lowers the barrier to entry into the profession. We at the Kolesa Team have prepared tips for beginner mobile developers, which you can view at this link. 

I do not have a single source of truth from which I draw all new information. Usually, it is a composite image: three or four articles from the internet, videos on YouTube, a post on Telegram. Then I note down these useful things or interesting thoughts for myself. I believe that in the age of information abundance, one must know how to work with different sources of information and choose the best.

Where I spend my free time

I do not often attend events as a guest. But in the past, I actively spoke at IT conferences and meetups organized by Kolesa Group because I enjoy sharing knowledge. I was one of the mentors for the Kolesa Upgrade online Android development courses in 2020.

But being a guest at such events is not really my thing — I do not like communicating with strangers. I recognize the power and benefits of networking, but for me, inner comfort is more important.

Circle of acquaintances

I treat my circle of acquaintances with care and form it myself. I surround myself with people with whom it is pleasant to communicate and spend time. Reflection and tolerance are important to me. Let me explain why. Reflection is a path to developing emotional intelligence, and tolerance teaches patience. People are different, and everyone has their own life experience. Therefore, it is important to be tolerant: not to project one's own experience and views onto others.

Historically, almost my entire circle of acquaintances consists of people from the IT sphere. Even when meeting someone by chance, for example, in a gym, it often turns out that they are an IT professional. My husband is also from IT.

Like-minded people in IT can be found at IT gatherings and conferences, which are often held in Almaty, Astana, or Karaganda. For example, these are meetups and conferences organized by Kolesa Group, BeeTech, and Terricon Valley. You can follow announcements of IT events on company websites or social media.

Where to buy what

I track my activity and sleep using Apple Watch. But I think any smartwatches would work here. I mainly use Apple technology, which I order from the official website apple.com. For training, I shop at the sports store sportidea.kz. Sometimes I order something from Ozon.kz.