It is said that the learning curve is at its steepest for a beginner than an expert. So, being a beginner, I tried and explored several things. Here, I will be sharing some of my takeaways and opinions which I strongly believe will be of immense help to you.
Here is a brief description of what I did in my entire 1st semester of college so that you get an idea and won’t repeat it.
Before the start of my semester, I was so privileged to get knowledge of open source, and learning in public and communities, but it took me a semester to take the first step and start. Below mentioned are some tips which will help you to accelerate your learning.
1. Goals and realistic timetable
Have long-term goals and break them down into short-term goals. For instance, if you want to do competitive programming and get a good rank, break this into smaller goals like learning the programming language ➡️ learning Data Structures and Algorithms ➡️ practicing them ➡️ working on solving the problem faster and many more. You can analyze and have your roadmap, but make sure it’s a realistic one.
Before getting started with your goal, it is very much important to spend some time planning and analyzing it. Some people think that it is a waste of time and skip this part but later they face more difficulty, and it slows down the process tremendously. A little every day has a lot more impact than a long learning spree for just a few days
2. Take the first step'
It is very difficult to take the first step. But believe me, it is very easy to continue after taking the first step. It is believed that to start one must be an expert, but it is the other way around, you start to be an expert. So, whatever is your dream just go for it without any second thought, you will learn many things on the journey.
*“If you teach a man anything, he will never learn. Learning is an active process. We learn by doing” -*Bernard Shaw
3. SAY NO to toxic friends
Your productivity not only depends on your motivation and mindset but majorly depends on external factors like friends, environment, health, etc. Here, health can be taken care of by eating healthy and engaging in some physical activity every day. The environment is not in our hands but what we can control is our friends.
Having good friends is very important because they can drive and support you more than you can imagine.
So, who is a good friend?
A friend who understands your dream, and passion and supports you throughout the journey is a good friend. Support need not be always technical, it can be like, not disturbing you when you are learning, understanding your priorities, and behaving accordingly. Unfortunately, such friends are very hard to find and if you have one you are really lucky. If you are determined and passionate about achieving your dream, you must let go of toxic friends.
Believe me, having no friends is better than having unsupportive friends. Make friends by joining communities that are active globally. You will find really interesting and motivating friends online. So, go out there and start exploring.
4. Tutorial hell
As soon as you plan to learn or do something, start with it immediately. Otherwise, you will fall into tutorial hell, which is very hard to escape. It seems like you are learning something new but when it comes to implementing you feel you understood nothing and get demotivated which leads to overthinking. Overthinking creates a problem that doesn’t even exist and pulls you back from progressing. I have wasted 2-3 months in this phase. You can escape this by implementing whatever you learn. Some ways are, making projects with the tech stack you are learning, contributing to open-source projects and learning in public.
*“Every pro was once a beginner”-*someone great
So, stop blaming and giving excuses that you are a beginner and get into action.
5. Imposter syndrome
This is the most dreaded psychological occurrence that prevents you from growing, it happens especially when you are starting. When you struggle in learning, you lose confidence and start believing that you are worthless. It is common to get this feeling. But don't give up, here is when friends and communities help you. At the end of the day, you are the hero in your life so, never compare yourselves with others instead get motivated by others.
That’s the end folks. If you follow all the aforementioned tips there is nothing that will stop you from unleashing your inner beast. And finally, take breaks often which will rejuvenate your energy and you get many ideas during then.
Happy learning 😊
Thanks for reading till the end. If you enjoyed and learned some values feel free to follow me on Hashnode and Twitter.