Learn to code quickly: One step at a time.
This article is for anybody that has been trying to learn to code and struggling to get out of the tutorial stage or retaining information. Also if you are considering learning to code I suggest you read this (and my other articles!) now and then bookmark it and read it again when you hit this point on your journey. First let me say that everybody I know that has ever started down this path has struggled with this and it is a point where a lot of people quit or give up because they feel like they aren’t smart enough or will never understand the material. I strongly advise you keep pushing through because if you are at this point, you’re a lot closer to being able to do amazing things than you think!
One of the hardest things to do when learning how to code is sticking with one topic until you have a really good understanding of it. With there being so much information out there, it is very easy to jump from topic to topic, technology to technology, before you are ready. This is especially prevalent for self-taught individuals because there is no road map for you (and me!). I am going to share with you a strategy that I have been using to make sure I keep reinforcing what I have already learned.
Feel free to move on to new things once you feel like you’re ready. In fact I encourage it. But continue to work on the things you have already learned as well. Only then will you start to really solidify your knowledge and be able to absorb more complex ideas.
This is so important. I know it seems simple but you will want to dive into new topics the second you feel like you understand the ones you’ve been practicing. People will learn one thing for a short period of time and then jump to something else and not touch what they had just learned for a few weeks. Then when it comes time to use that old information, you realize you don’t understand it as well as you thought you did. The best way that I have found to combat this issue is to build your projects progressively.
What I mean by this, is to continuously work on personal projects and every time you start a new one add 1 more skill/feature. For example, say you build your first website using strictly HTML and CSS. After you complete that, (and it is important that you try your best to complete your projects every time!) try adding basic Javascript to your next website, such as a form, as well as using the HTML and CSS that you have been practicing. This will ensure that you do not forget everything you’ve learned while simultaneously adding to your skillset.
This sort of “progressive overload” has sped up and strengthened my learning exponentially. Every time I start learning a new topic in software development and add it to my projects with everything I’ve learned so far, something else I’ve learned starts to become second nature. I think this happens because ideally you are learning slightly more difficult things each time so everything you’ve been learning (as long as you are still using it) becomes easier. Just trust me when I say it is a lot easier to learn new things when you don’t have to worry about remembering the “simple” stuff every time.
If there is one thing i want you to take away from this article it is don’t fall into the same cycle of learning something and forgetting it that I (and many others) did in the beginning. It may seem tedious to do simple little things over and over again that you think you know but you’ll be happy you did when you start learning more complex stuff and don’t even have to worry about everything you’ve learned up until that point.
It is a fine line between not learning a topic well enough and trying to learn every single thing about it before you move on. Both will stunt your growth as a developer and I hope the strategy I’ve outlined in this article helps you to navigate that line a little better each time.
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What strategies do you use to help retain what you have learned while continuing to expand your knowledge? Leave some comments below!
Until next time,
Jesse