Just starting to learn to code?

Hey folks, since we are all here to learn, I thought I would share an article that I found super helpful when I was starting to learn to code. It helped set realistic expectations and ultimately saved me from quitting several times. I hope this helps someone else not give up too.

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Thank you Ill give this a read!! My motivation for the JavaScript is so low at the moment. And the Time of Need for new skills is Ultimate with this current situation

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I hope you find it useful. Learning to code can definitely be a painful process at times. But as you said the Time of Need is Ultimate right now. The benefits will outweigh the pain in time. Fight through the pain my friend. You can do it!

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Thanks for sharing! always good to have some backup :smile:

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Thank you for posting Thinkful. I suck at time management and prioritising. And the other thing is I’m trying to run before I can even crawl. So your post helps me to reorganise, slow down and not jump in and out of the next new thing online. I have all my marbles in the morning and slowly lose them as the day progresses. So the hard stuff for 2 hours, the rest of the time is research. I have 3 days a week that are mine. This allows me 6 hours a week intense study and hopefully it sticks. The trick is the absorption rate.

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Sounds like you have a good plan.

Remember to be flexible and gentle with yourself. You don’t want to burn out. Listen to you body!

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My apologies CurlyBracketEffect - I should have thanked you for the post on Why Learning to Code is So Damn Hard. And believe me - my body IS the boss. I feel so privileged that I’m in this revolution with like minded people. When I talk to family and friends - there is an immediate glazed look, so I love the fact that this forum is available to share, to dump and to support.

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I’m glad I could help in whatever way. And I’m glad you’ve found your way to the community.

ONE OF US! ONE OF US!

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Whanau, whanau, whanau. Family, family, family.

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I think the hardest part about coding is that a lot of the newbs get hung up on the mechanics instead of understanding the concepts. Coding is the easy part, understanding the concepts is the hard part.

For example, when I was learning JavaScript, I noticed a lot of people were trying to work out the mechanics with ‘this’ to make something work. They would learn mechanic or coding patterns to make sure ‘this’ behaved as they expected.

This is not the worst approach but I gained a lot by just understanding exactly what ‘this’ is, what it’s supposed to do, how it behaves in different contexts and scopes, and common mistakes made when using ‘this’. And I didn’t even write a single line of code yet! When I had a better grasp behind the concepts, then I implemented the mechanics or coding to solidify my understanding.

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I hear you aenhsaihan. I have jumped straight into learning c++. I realised then, that this is way beyond my scope. However, instead of giving up, I have done the following, before I’ve completed my first assignment:

  1. Took a 7 lesson course with 99 bitcoin to understand how to secure my devices ( android and laptop). This was a mission on its own.
  2. 99bitcoin also helped me to understand how the internet works. Their reviews and research about various exchanges, wallets and some of the alt coins and their purposes.
  3. These were all presented in byte size, simple to understand layman’s terms or at least for my level of comprehension.
  4. I have recently brought my first hardware wallet (Trezor) - imagine this - ordered from Czechoslovakia during lockdown Level 2 in New Zealand (Mid May) - and arrived this week (End of May). So now I’m learning how to set this up, and that will probably take me a while to figure out too.
  5. The thing is - I should have had all these in place well before I enrolled with Ivanontech. But not to worry - I’m getting there.
  6. My course is centred around EOSio - So I have spent the time exploring their website, and that too is a mission in itself - along with looking up terms that I don’t understand.
  7. I watch every one of Ivan’s good morning posts - sometimes live, sometimes not. - His presentations may go for at least an hour. But then it takes me at least 2 - 3 hours to dissect his information. Visiting the sites or blogs or links that come with each posting.
    Every day - I learn something new and it keeps my interest peaked.
    So aenhsaiha your comment resonates. I too, haven’t started the technical stuff yet. I’d like to think that I’m being methodical and the information I’m absorbing will stick and be of use further down the track.
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Thanks for sharing, half way through leaning Java haven’t looked at it for weeks !!!