What I learned After A Month of Learning Code

One. Month. In.

April 13 marks my first month of officially learning code! I want to share a few things that I learned from my journey thus far, and hopefully this would encourage someone to start learning code.

1. Take breaks.

It’s important that you don’t burn yourself out, especially when you just started to learn code. The industry is going to keep on growing, and there will still be jobs out there waiting for you, so there is no need for you to rush. Rushing will only contribute to you not being able to absorb all the things you have been learning. Don’t let coding consume you. Spend time with friends and family, exercise, go outdoors, create content, and do other things that you enjoy doing. I know you love coding, but resting is vital if we’re to continue to become better developers. I need to remind myself that as much as I enjoy coding, I am not Superman. My mind, body and spirit need to rest. Burning out is not a good place to be. Don’t be afraid to take a few days off if you feel that that’s what you need.

2. Practice and build, don’t just watch and listen.

We can watch every coding course that existed, but we will never become better developers if we don’t build our own projects. We should avoid living in what is called, “tutorial hell”- a place where the developer depends on tutorials to make projects. Practicing and building your own projects is the best way to learn. Use every resource available to you to find the answers, like Google, Stackoverflow, or even Discord servers. Anything! Research the solution on your own, and build it with your own hands. Ask questions. Get stuck. Get frustrated. Be tempted to give up. But keep on going. Who said being a developer(especially a self-taught one) was going to be easy?

3. It’s okay to not know everything.

When you first start to learn code, it’s inevitable that you’re going to feel overwhelmed. Just remember, you are learning a new language. Learning a new language is not easy, so don’t expect yourself to know everything right away. But just like any language, the more you practice it, the more you get better at it. You’re not going to know what every word means right off the bat. Similarly in code, there is no way you’re going to know every code right off the bat. There is a lot to take in with HTML, CSS and JavaScript alone, so don’t pressure yourself to know every code. You can always ask the community questions or research the code later.

4. Celebrate the small victories.

I originally intended only 3 points here but I feel compelled to add this one. It’s important to celebrate small victories! Pat yourself on the back for learning something new, and stepping out of your comfort zone!

I hope this short list encourages or inspires you on your journey to becoming a developer!

Keep coding on!