Learning How You Learn
Be a Better Coder During a Coding Bootcamp
As I work my way through this coding Bootcamp, I’ve come to realize that the mastery of a concept or subject is most often impossible and a cruel goal to set on one’s self. Rather the greatest takeaway should be that I have mastered “how to learn”. The idea of how to learn is not as simple as how one processes new information but a series of steps that create a healthy learning atmosphere.
Please know that all my ideas are heavily opinionated being that no two individuals learn identically, but perhaps through my experience, you may find what works best for you.
The best place to start when learning new content is to set proper expectations for yourself. Learning is challenging and not being too hard on yourself will allow you to push past moments in which you feel no progress is being made. It may be that you are surrounded by intelligent individuals who seem to lap up ideas as easy as drinking water, but what you don’t perhaps see is that at one point they were just like you. They knew nothing but they struggled and learned. Which is what you will do.
The next step is to get a good understanding of what type of learner you are. What I noticed about myself is that I tend to want to break things down to their smallest parts then build them back up. Sadly this method may not always be conducive to a learning environment such a Bootcamp where time is limited. I had to keep reminding myself of was that I was here to acquire my tool belt and spend the next several weeks filling it with tools. I needed to know what each tool did and how to use it but, for now, there was no need to sit down and take this ‘power drill’, for example, apart and see how it worked. It’s a power drill. It makes holes and turns screws. On to the next tool.
Next, come instructors and content, the actual subject matter you are learning, and who you are learning it from. It may not come as a surprise to you what I say next, but depending and these two sources alone are never enough. You must be willing to go beyond what is provided to you and learn from every available and relevant source. For me, this was extremely difficult at first. I would waste enormous amounts of time searching for relevant content only to walk away with scraps. When you are learning something new it may be difficult to narrow down the content you need. Yet over time, I found that this skill improved. Becoming a self-learner is invaluable and worth every minute spent trying to perfect it.
Finally, the most obvious yet the most ignored and abused aspect of learning is…… taking care of yourself. Learn to take several breaks throughout your day. 10–15 minutes of diversion to let your mind refresh. For the love of all things good, eat healthily! Your brain needs proper fuel for it to do what you want it to do. Build relationships with the people around you. You aren’t alone in your struggles. Finally set a proper sleep schedule. Working yourself into the dead of night after a long day is an extreme waste of time. Rather, go to bed early and you will find that what takes you 2 hours at night only takes 45 min in the morning.
don’t worry you’ve got this
