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edijaloedoc
edijaloedoc

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My Problem with Learning the Internet. You too?

I have a problem...

When I sit down, review concepts, touch on libraries/frameworks, take notes, etc... I get lost.

I can't seem to pick one thing and stick to it. I'm all over trying to learn as much as I can, that I never fully pick up and understand the foundations. Even following the documentation that might lead to a small project or a tutorial that has links to supplemental material, or better yet, a video! I get lost!

This journey into web development is unlike anything else I've ever tried to do. Life before this was simple when undertaking new tasks at work or learn particular concepts. There's only two ways to do things; the right way and the wrong way. Which makes it A LOT easier to put into practice.

With this seemingly endless ways to create using your own skills based on the concepts, I get lost in the practicality and implementation. That coupled with the VAST amount of resources makes me feel like I'm in the middle of a digital ocean.

And because of this, I start, and touch on lots of topics and projects but never fully complete them or understrand the topics I'm working on. It's like I'm a cook trying to make a dish without all the ingredients or safety standards. I can put together something that looks edible but I'm probably gonna cut my finger and scrap the whole dish.

Foundations: HTML, CSS, JS
Recent Libraries: React
Recent Frameworks: Angular
Tutorials: Odin Project, FreeCodeCamp
Personal Projects: Portfolio, Social Media App

AND THERE'S MORE!

I could vent more, but I really just wanted to share my woes as I continue to find my footing in the world of web development.

Top comments (4)

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cecilelebleu profile image
Cécile Lebleu

Yes, I get it! I also get lost and can't seem to move forward. What I've started doing this year and has helped me a LOT is to dedicate one month to one thing.

One month, I will focus on a project. I will get as far as I can — if I can launch it, even better!
And next month, I will focus on learning a thing. I will eat through courses and subjects, all on a single subject.
Repeat.

During each month, I will think about what I want to do next month and write it down. For example, last month I learned a lot about CSS Grid, FlexBox, layout... on FreeCodeCamp, in Colt Steele's Advanced Web Developer Bootcamp, on Scrimba, tutorials, YouTube, etc. This month, I'm applying all of that on a project, going back to my notes as I need. My goal is to launch it this month. Of course, I'm also learning more as I go while building the project.

I still don't know what I'll be learning next month, but whatever comes to mind during this month, I'll write it down on a list and then pick what's most interesting, relevant, or useful.

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edijaloedoc profile image
edijaloedoc

I will definitely try this method. I've spent the last week or so just dealing with JavaScript, and it's helped maintain my focus. I appreciate the thoughts and suggestions. You got it!

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deciduously profile image
Ben Lovy

Totally. What helped me was picking a single project, and single stack, and not looking for anything else. There's a good post about his:

You won't ever know everything, nobody does. Pick something, say it's "React", and build yourself something working, looking up concepts as you need them. The ability to build something working is way more important and interesting than the ability to absorb trivia about every new tool.

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edijaloedoc profile image
edijaloedoc

I may try this, a project holds a little of everything I want. I just worry about starting, getting focused on learning a particular aspect, and then not getting back to the project. It's a problem! I'll def try to pick a personal project and grow with it. Thank you!