How to Learn to Code FAST (Do This or Keep Struggling)
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- Äas pĆidĂĄn 2. 11. 2021
- In this video I overview the principles for learning that can rapidly speed up the process of learning to code and becoming a software developer.
đ Books Recommended In The Video
* Peak: Secrets From The New Science of Expertise by Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool: amzn.to/3k4Vz73
* Ultralearning by Scott H. Young: amzn.to/3wpStj3
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Solid advice.
That last part about proper sleep, breaks and exercise is probably the most fundamental part. Without that the level of focus, and the ability to deal with repetition and failure goes down.
And there will be failure, plenty of it. Learning to code is a perpetual cycle of finding bugs and fixing them. Many of those bugs will drive you crazy!!
I would also add in maintaining a healthy diet as well. If I don't get the right food, I can't solve problems worth a damn.
Oh no, I really don't like Facebook - it's super distracting! The second I open it up for a specific purpose - maybe to look up an event, or look for coding advice - I get sidetracked by notifications and stories jumping into my face and I forget what I came for. The noise level on FB is just terrible! Do you have any other channels for getting together?
Iâm actually pushing harder to learn about 5 different code languages. So this is actually fantastic advise. Do you know Jesus Christ, your attitude shows that you do and itâs awesome that and the really great advise too. Stay awesome friend.
Whatâs simpler, cleaning your room or learning how to code?
@@son_of_hiskingdom5092 actually I feel that's not taking the advice from this video. You can't focus on specific areas and skills when you're trying to learn 5 languages at once. I believe it's not a good strategy
I have been programming for 35 years. I am an EXPERT at learning. I completely agree everything Andy said in this video. Two concepts in the video are key for career-long skill growth, (1) keep a list of the concepts/skills you want to develop, and (2) use your study time to focus on your weakest skills.
I'll add (3), whenever you start a project with a new team intentionally look for the "thing" that is the team's biggest problem. This "problem" could be a legacy system that we have to integrate, or an unfamiliar new tech, or a troublesome relationship with a key stakeholder, etc., etc. etc... Then, become the "subject matter expert" on that problem.
Taking the initiative to become the go-to-person on what was a big headache issue will advance your career.
Thank you đđœ
If you could make a longer list given your length of experience, would you add anything in addition to the third point or recommend any addition books to Andy's? Thanks in advance.
This is an amazing advice as someone beginning their career- thank you so much.
That's a great advice.
Hello sir, I have a question. How can I make my time more effective to learn full stack web developing while working 12 hour drifts in the containers? Would it be worth it to buy a laptop to take to work and learn how to code on lunch/breaks? What programs would you reccomend to solidify to maintain a long career Python Javascript c? Thank you in advanced sir.
A simple advice from a fellow coder, don't try to learn a programming language aimlessly. Sit down , figure out what you want to build ( after you have understood the basics) and then learn how to build it and that's how you learn coding.
Thank you for your advice! What do you consider basics in JavaScript? Iâve been studying for almost 2 months a course from Udemy by Jonas. Itâs been going awesome, and I understand functions, loops, arrays, objects, sets and stuff, but I always feel like I donât know enough to explore the possible of a language. I canât think of an idea to build myself, because I donât know what it takes :D if that makes sense. Again thank you
@@Chill2094 Dom manipulation (most important).
@@engineerepixlele2845 thank you
We need videos to explain these though đ§đ€
Yes, learning the basics is like learning to make a raw sketch, you practice the structure, learn the big picture, how the language is structured, how to make a back bone, once you know that you can aim at an specific goal, although its good practice to analyze some pro code, that teaches you some tricks.
Any time I hear any kind of "hustle" style advice, it's almost immediately worth dismissing. If you don't know Chinese, and you try to read Chinese, you won't be able to do it by just trying really hard
Well said :-)
A Chinese agree with you.
Its stupid advice indeed cause if u have 10 years of experience and hustle eith an allnighter and burn yourself out, youre not gonna quit and give up cause u have momentum and your dopamine receptors are already aligned well with coding. But if you are a beginner and push yourself too hard, you will give up completely. Better to make it bearable at least
Unrelated but it seems to be an interesting coincidence that it says We Speak Chinese at the bottom right at 4:48
How about you put your avatar double fingers on your forehead? :)
As a piece of advice for beginner developers: Donât code without taking breaks. It is pretty overwhelming and causes dangerous health issues. Also it increase mental fatigue overtime. At least I have experienced with it. Therefore, I take 30m break after each 90m of coding.
Amen to that! Thanks âđŸ
If you are at work?
â@@abdulbasir8740 "that's my secret cap, i don't" -hulk
thank you!!! appreciate it. I have a full time job on top of learning - am in bootcamp and its pretty tough also i am staring at the monitor around 13 14 hours a day due to my work is a desk job. =(
The POMODORO technique đ
"Take a Break" - Ok, story time...I was racking my brain on a Calculus homework problem and I JUST COULD NOT FIGURE OUT HOW TO DO IT...I finally got so frustrated that I went over to the couch and just plopped down on it. The moment my rear hit the cushion, the solution popped into my head. It wasn't until I stopped thinking that the answer came to me. It was quite a cool experience
Same happened to me several times over past few years from high school to college , while learning anything like mathematics , physics , coding , or even beatbox. It's always the time when you kick back and relax or maybe you are in shower or just using your mobile or playing games. As soon as it pops up in my head , i write it down.
Thank you. Some takeaways I get:
Deliberate practice
Attack the weaknesses
Understand your energy
Understand your mind
Focused sessions
Sleep and take rest for a creative brain
I also recommend embracing the struggle when you're trying to figure something out that you've 'learned'. Spend 5-10 minutes really trying to recall how to solve something you've seen or feel you should know before going to look it up. This will strengthen your memory and improves your learning.
The last thing i've learned, is, that i can rename the functions of an inherited class with a metaclass which wraps functions around them and i can delete unwanted methods from the dict.
Well, that's at least one solution i came up with.. but the problem from which i derived those questions was ill-defined in the first place. I simply shouldnt use polymorphism when i don't wanna use everything what a parent class has to offer. And i guess it would be bad practice to rename stuff just for personal preference.
This literally applies to everything.
Twitter has gems of advice, but most of them are pretty garbage.
Work Smart, Not Hard.
Well said! Been coding for 11 coming on 12 years now learning new stuff regularly and I can confirm this is 100% true.
Coding for practice and coding for work are two very different things. Deliberate practice accelerates progress.
Nothing more I could add to this. Great video Andy đ
Where can I learn for free?
@@raidenflare8711 the odin project, youtube, google, resource is everywhere
Still, being "hireable" and being a good programmer are two different goals. As unfortunate as it may be, most interviews are decided by things like interviewees' confidence.
â@@natetolbert3671 Totally agreed. Actually, come to think of it, this probably applies to most industries.
What do you think interviewers can do better to pick the best programmers even in cases where they may not externally appear to be the most confident?
@@raidenflare8711 freecodecamp and odin project.
I seem to learn best in 45 minute bursts. Then I can practice in longer burst and as long as I'm practicing the same thing (no matter what it is) I retain. So to repeat, I learn "new" things in up to 45 minute bursts and reinforce things in longer bursts. Great video. Everything you mentioned I have experienced as truth. At least for me. Thanks!
Iâd suggest if you arenât already doing it pointedly in practice, look up the Pomodoro Technique, which can be adapted to the person for durations of focus/relax.
I read a book called Super Learning by Peter Hollins and it said exactly what you just said 45 minutes of deep work 15-30 minute break repeat.
I just wanted to thank you for giving realistic guidance for those of us wanting to work in tech. There are _way_ too many snake oil salesmen on CZcams, and I appreciate channels like yours that keep the advice practical and the expectations reasonable.
Thank you it means a lot...I love hearing this!
This was actually a huge relief. I'm always worried about not doing enough, or quick enough but this advice really put my mind at ease. Quality over quantity.
These principles apply to learning just about anything. Iâm going to implement some of these strategies while trying to learn 3D modeling.
This was really good advice dude..better than so many channels I have seen.
Really appreciate it.
Thanks Andy đŻ
Sir I just started the 10000 hours thing after reading the books just few days back ... thank you so much for your guidance this really means a lot me
All the best!
I think something key to note is not everyone learns at the same rate. A skill one person is able to grasp in one month might take you six months or more. Every learning experience is unique to the individual, it's about finding what learning pattern works best for you.
My drum line instructor used to say, "Practice doesn't make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect." And I felt that.
Another variant I like is "practice makes permanent," followed by the perfect practice part
I've been watching your videos for the last couple of years, Andy. And I honestly have to say that this is the best video you've ever made. Thank you so much for this great piece of wisdom!
Glad you enjoyed it!
What I love about the video is that you can apply the points mentioned to so many other topics.
andy: it needs 100% of your attention... if you're doing this while watching a podcast or a youtube video it won't work..
me: closes his video and continues course
Always great advice. I am glad that I have you as a coach!
Thank you for the advices. One thing which is hard is when you must learn to much different kind of things in a short period of time. The mind canât record too much differents sorts of hard concepts and paradigms when we study. And also because we should use each new knowledges just right after learning them to get theses knowledges.
Thank you, Andy. I always appreciate your coaching content.
I'm learning in a bootcamp and struggling with my JS skills, especially in APIs. I'm glad I watched your videos because they really help me a lot! Cheers!
You know that motivation feeling that suddenly goes all the way through you at 3 AM? For some reason it âbrokeâ for me today, this night I had completely no motivation to even try coding my own web project, but now is 10 AM and Iâm full of motivation
Andy, you are a great teacher! This video really motivated me. Thanks!
SO TRUE! Have to get out of your comfort zone and going head on with your weakness. Which is hard~
Totally. No one particularly loves doing it but those who can will excel. Cheers!
Even more than that. You also need a burning desire for it. At 12 I forced my parents to buy my a computer so I can learn to code. And it was not fashionable then. The only reason I went to the mall was to hang in the bookstore and read books.
I did not care about friends or socializing. Not saying this is good, but software has to be a burning force in your soul. You have to be extremely passionate about it.
Thank you for a video with actual substance and practical advice!
Yup. I eventually figured out after thousands of failed kick flips, that I was not practicing deliberately. Never got one right đ, but years later I got a lot better at bike tricks, due to more focus and deliberation - not more repetition.
BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:
OUTLIERS - MALCOLM GLADWELL 1:00
PEAK - ANDERSON ERICSSON 4:15
ULTRALEARNING - SCOTT H. YOUNG 5:55
Thanks man
yeah outliers is next level book
Thank you Andy, Your channel help me a lot. Now I'm learning web development skills to change my career from a musician to a developer :D
Consistency is key and motivation can be wrecked by a lack of patience, but yes, technique & approach are what converts consistency to success
This video is great! Your examples on identifying weaknesses is clear and comprehensible. Nothing like those other videos that just tell you to strengthen your weaknesses, but it's completely vague.
I found this super super helpful!!!
Especially the part about going to search for interview questions around your weakness. That made a lot of sense đ€Ż
Thanks so much!
Great video Andy! Really enjoyed this one!
Thanks a ton!
It's so true what you've explained in this video, Andy! Great job and peace out! đ»âđ» Cheers! đ„
Mario didnât know you were into coding ! Time to flex your programming muscle as well haha
@@gurvijaybecker he did his undergrad in computer science. Also worked in Tech I believe.
@@Atlas92936 damn ! Multi talented dude. I got the comp science part down just to need to make a physique like his hahaha
Love the book references, added all to my read list! Amazing video
Thank you so much, Andy! Excellent video!
See, I started learning with python. After Learning the syntax I went off to CZcams to watch people apply python to certain tasks and problems. From there I began building my own. From there other languages were cake to learn because I had a fundamental understanding of how programs work.
That's the way
You mind linking or dm the links to those videos? Wanting to get into programming and want to get a head start
What do you mean by syntax
@@zakyvids6566 The way itâs written
@@TheBadassOne17 I commented earlier and replied but I think it got deleted. Tech With Tim has excellent videos.
One of the best videos you did so far!
It's very great to learn from someone who has worked many years in that domain. You will learn the mistakes that you should not do. Learn Earlier or Keep Struggling. Thanks for the telling the great authors in your video.
The information you shared in this video is pure gold! Thank YOU đ âșïž
You gave me and your viewers great advice for any type of skill. Thanks for doing this for free!
Related to this topic, this is the best video I ever seen. Thank you! đ
I'm going to use that interview question strategy to figure out C#. Thanks, Andy.
Totally agree. Practice doesn't make perfect; Perfect practice does.
Great video! I'm teaching myself to code while working another job and this was super informative. I also love playing Rocket League and often coach & help lower ranked friends get a better understanding of the game so this was a perfect analogy for me to understand!! Thank you!
You don't need 10,000 hours to become a pro in programming language. You need to define what you want to solve with the programming language, then learn the basics of the programming language, advanced, Google problems and solutions. The rest is practice practice and practice
No, this is not sufficient to be a good programmer.
You shouldn't be looking at other people's solutions. To become a good programmer you work out your own solutions to the problem. It is that problem solving ability, the ability to have a real world problem and see how it could be solved by a program that you are trying to develop.
There is a certain amount of computer science theory you need to learn, notably on data structures and algorithms. Programming is far more than just the language
Your video gave me great insight into my life that had nothing to do with coding or computers. Thank you.
I have a masters degree in educational psychology. I think everything that you've said in this video is pretty spot on. One of my personal pet peeves is when people say practice makes perfect. It does not. Perfect practice makes perfect. You can spend 10000 hours practicing something the wrong way and at the end of the day all you've done is gotten really good at doing it wrong. If you want to get better, as you say, you must practice what it is you want to achieve. Great advice, thanks for the video.
I hate it when people correct me on that though. When I say âPractice makes Perfectâ, I KNOW that means âPerfect Practice Makes Perfectâ.
However, why the hell would I want to add on another word and make the saying overall laborious to say?
@@Veganstega That's great that you know that, you're among the minority though. Quite a large number of people don't even think about that aspect of practice. They just think that if they practice they will get better regardless, and that's simply not the case.
My music professor used to say âdoesnât make perfect, practice makes permanent. Whether or not it is good or badâ
This video wrap's up everything for 2021. Well done Andy đ
Glad you enjoyed it :-)
one of the BEST advice videos I have ever seen!!! #welldone #respect
I needed this. Thank you Andyđ
This video is awesome - I needed to hear this really bad today - I can't sleep for more than 3-4 hours, and I really need to work on breaks as I tend to work hard for 45 mins then my break goes for like an hour or more :/ - really need to be more disciplined - thank you for the wonderful video Andy!!!
Excellent video đ, sleep is very important, take breaks and being in a fasted state is great for maintaining effective study sessions.
Thank you so much for emphasising the importance of rest, Andy. âș So important âđœ
Nicely done Andy!
Fantastic video my man. Keep them coming.
That was very informative . Thank you !!
Thanks for the video! It felt genuine and is much appreciated!
The information is valuable and straight to the point. Thank you so much!
Thank you, Andy.
I'm following everythign with projects and all. Watching everything. Where have YOU BEEN.
I guess I found you at the right time. Great videos
This video was amazing! You quite rightly support the debunked theory of the 10K hours to mastery and introduced so many concepts that it took me years to find out on my own. I can attest that the style of deliberate practice works. At some point I was working with a more senior colleague with a CS degree who was determined I wasn't to succeed and prove that he was some sort of a member of a master race I didn't belong to. I had no real coding skills then but did much of what you described and slowly built myself up by tackling my weakness one by one. I still have a loooong way to go but I managed to prove that colleague wrong so big point scored. Subbed!!!
Thanks for explaining why you recommend this approach!
I'm a final year software dev student, I still struggle with the simplest things, your advice has been insightful. Thank you @Andy Sterkowitz
I know Iâm a year late for this video, but considering that Iâm at the beginner stage of coding Iâm happy to have come across this video. Thank you for the advice!
Andy, thank you so much. You always give the best advice. I started to read a book about Data Structures and Algorithm and it's been a nice read, as an absolute beginner it's the best resource I have found.
Can u please share thr name of book?
@@siddharthrajan616 A Common-Sense Guide to Data Structures and Algorithms - by Jay Wengrow
Loved the rocket league bit haha! As soon as you brought it up I knew you'd be talking about aerials.
I think competitive games can provide a great analogue for skill building. They provide tangible feedback on your improvement (generally thru a ranking system) and it's done on a short timetable.
These are great elementary principles for studying and improving. I mean elementary elementary both literally and figuratively. I have kids in elementary school; their curriculum suffered tremendously during the last couple years due to remote learning and excessive closures. We have been employing some of these techniques to make sure that my kid doesn't fall behind in their expected knowledge and understanding in math and reading skills, such as identifying weaknesses, and practicing the hard skills that are out of their comfort zone, and targeted practice, at home in addition to what they do at school. My point is that these are basic study principles that can easily be leveraged to improve any skill. Great insight!
Thank you for this!
Much appreciated video . I am stating to learn programming right now and it is really hard but all I can see and dream of is being a great accomplished programmer in some near future . Itâs all I want and all I aim for . Thanks
Thanks Andy, this was one of your best videos. Very informative! Mentioning the books was a plus.
Much appreciated!
So 10,000 hours of solely watching tutorials won't make me a master? OK, 11,000 it is!
Great video...as a veteran developer even I need to remind myself to step off the pedal from time to time and take a break
Excellent suggestions. I learned a lot. Thank you!
Great channel, in fact God sent, subscribed first time
Fabulous advice. Thank you!
you are awesome man, thanks for all of you great advices!!!!!
Great content at the right time for me. Thanks boss...
Great video đ...would definitely follow this approach.
Thank you Andy for the very helpful advice!
Here are my notes with only the main points:
First Principle: Deliberate practice
1. It requires clear and well-defined goals. Laser focus on what skills are you trying to improve. Eg. Understand what the problem or the question is asking.
2. 100 percent focus and attention. You have to go into very deep into thought. Really analyse your code which will require you to have long periods of thought and concentration.
3. Get comfortable with the uncomfortable. Practice things you are not good at. Taking that knowledge you learnt and apply somewhere.
Second Principle: Identify a weakness (For Speed)
1. Just practice only the part you need to master and then get back in the game. Similar to what I do in my dance lessons. Attack our weaknesses directly.
2. See a complex problem as an opportunity to attack the problem head on. Once you clearly identify the problem like not understanding a concept, then a) you make note of it (either an apple note or google document) and list out all the weaknesses you run into and you want to regularly update and drill them when you have time. b) you can run through drills repeatedly. You can search in Google, and see what questions pop and run through those. It's going to allow you to work on different problems in different contexts over and over again. Eventually your understanding will get better.
Third Principle: Manage your energy levels effectively
Must treat your brain and your mind like an athlete treats their body.
Just like athletes would never put 100 hours of training per week, neither should you. Athletes know the secret to success is short, but high intensity training sessions with very long periods of rest. If you want to maximise every ounce of effort you put into this, it is critical to manage your energy levels effectively.
Things that work for energy management are a) 7 - 8 hours of sleep per night, b) take regular breaks, don't study for 6 hours at one go (we can actually problem solve and be very creative when you are not active thinking), c) regular moderate exercise.
Thank you Andy for the super valuable advice! đ â€
Excellent video, backed up by great references! :)
Thanks man I have learned a lot on this. Ill apply this not just in studying on how program but other things as well.
I used to watch Andy's and others' videos to find out the secret of becoming very fast, some years ago. What I found out from my own experience is that there's not a secret recipe that makes you a hireable developer over night. The success lies in endless efforts.
Iâm a data scientist. And Iâve found what helped and helps me learn new languages, is realizing that if you can load your data, filter your data and present the data in a manner that your customer will understand it; you are officially in the top 5%.
What Iâm saying is celebrate the small successes when learning to code.
Handling frustration is important with any learning effort: understand you will fail, but it's a necessary failure and not an end in itself.
Thank you for the video, I think it really is usefull, not only for programming. It also makes me remember a saying (I think by a Rugby coach) that says "Practice does not make you perfect, it just makes you consistent, which means you need to focus on what you practice.
An additional note about sleep, deep sleep is actually when your brain moves your short term memory into long term memory, so getting good sleep will actually help what you learned stick. I learned this the hard way in college đ I found what I studied still felt fresh the next day when I got 8hrs
Very useful recommendations here. Thanks a lot Andy.
I'll save the video so that I can come back to it later.
Thanks as always - really great advise..
Keeping your room clean is pretty solid advice though. Not just you physical room but your surroundings and mind. Now iâm going to watch your vid.
Thanks for the realistic and pragmatic info.. Liked and subscribed.
Loved the video. Thanks a lot!
My weaknesses:
- coding
Great stuff. Thank you for this video.
Thanks.. This is a great video, and very helpful
Great advice Mr. Andy!
Man, those camera settings for rocket league are wild đ great advices btw. I am very new at programming and still learning but this was very helpful. Keep up the good work!
REALLY REALLY GOOD video - thanks so much for sharing ;)