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Discussion on: How to properly practice what you learn

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db325

Wow! This is one of the best articles I've read in a while. You're absolutely right. I suffered from non-deliberate studying for a long time. I understood the concepts and if I was asked to write a function or s for loop etc, I could. My issue was when I got my ide up and running, I'd go completely blank. If just stare at my screen until I gave up. I think my issue was also the fact that some of the languages it frameworks I was learning, I was learning because that's what the job market reflected at the time. Over time I've learned to think through what I'm trying to do. I know the best data structures to use for a given set of data. But all that can't with trail and error. I spent most of my early coding days just trying to remember what I'd learned because I would read books and code for a few weeks to a month then stop for three months. I also totally underestimated the value in reading documentation!! So I thank sites like FCC for making me read the docs. Because that was something I didn't like to do.

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Nicole Archambault

Thank you! :) I'm glad you found it helpful.

"Over time I've learned to think through what I'm trying to do"—this is a powerful statement. For literally the first 6 months I was learning, I never really truly stopped to map out my approach and determine what skills were in line with what I wanted to do with my career. Once I learned how to not only identify but then hone in and deliberately practice the appropriate skills, I was off to the races!