It was back in 2010, I just got my first personal laptop. I have always been fascinated by what the device could do and how it did it. One of my goals for when I got my personal computer was to become a programmer. The computer was finally here. Nothing was stopping me. I was finally going to be a programmer.
I started out on my programming journey. Trying out several languages in a bid to find the easiest to learn. I failed woefully in figuring any of them out. While I had the interest, I had no idea where to start from. The eBooks I had where a bit outdated and hard to follow, soon the interest wasn’t enough to drive me. It seemed too difficult.
I went online, typed ‘‘how long does it take to learn c++’’ into the search bar and the result that came back helped in sealing my already conflicted mind. It stated, ‘to learn any programming language, you need 10,000 hours of practice’’. I didn’t have 10,000 hours. ‘’Maybe this isn’t for me I thought’’, as I finally gave up.
This might have seemed like a major disappointment to me at that time, but little did I know it was a life changing moment too.
I soon found myself proving the 10,000 hours rule wrong a year later when I found another hobby, I wasn’t ready to give up on. Along the road since then I have developed a process that has been extremely beneficial.
As I came to figure out later, while the 10,000 hours rule might apply to fully mastering the skill, it doesn’t apply to learning it. Josh Kaufman claims you need 20 hours. I feel it all depends on you. And by saying this, I mean it can be a lot shorter, all you need is a strong drive.
My Practice
The list below is my personal practice. It makes the learning process easy for me, as long as it’s a skill I am interested. Using it, I barely find the learning process challenging, I actually look forward to it. It has made me versatile.
- Interest
- Research and passive learning
- Practice and Learning
- Projects/challenges
- Emulate successful people
I know, the list looks basic and sound like something you’ve heard time and time again. I will explain better in a bit, and then it will all piece together.
Interest:
There really isn’t any hack here. This is all you. First step to learning is interest. Once you have this you can be rest assured that you will succeed, you just need effort. A lot of effort.
Research and Passive Learning:
Another obvious one. Go online, read about what you want to learn, and find out as much as you can about it. Research about the tools you will be working with. Most times, there’s more than one. So, make a conscious irreversible decision of choosing one. After choosing, stick with your choice no matter what. A big mistake most people make when learning is trying to figure out many tools at once. It will end up leaving you overwhelmed. The right thing to do is to stick with one. Once you have it figured out. Other tools that does the same thing will be a whole lot easier to learn.
Also, start watching as much tutorials as you can. At this point you are in a passive learning mode. Say for instance, I want to learn how to sculpt. From the moment I find it interesting, I go on YouTube and I watch as many videos as I can of someone sculpting. The aim is not to practice it yet, or to start sculpting immediately, it’s just to watch different people work from start to finish. I don’t just sit and say I will be watching tutorials all day. I watch them while doing different things. E.g on my way to work, while at lunch, on my way back home, at dinner, the little time between being awake and drifting off to sleep, etc. basically any free time I have with my phone.
I find this helpful in 2 ways.
1. I start picking up things I might not realize I am learning yet but can apply when the need arises.
- when I need to perform certain task, I haven’t quite figured out yet, I Remember I have seen something similar, and refer to the video where I saw it. It reduces the amount of frustration I feel when I can’t figure stuff out and shortens the time I need to get through obstacles.
Practice and Learning
First thing you want to do here is to learn the basics, you can get tutorials online. Learn what each tool at your disposal does, how to apply them and when to apply them. This part can be boring. But it’s also very rewarding. You will feel the need to start creating immediately, but since you can’t do this if you don’t understand what you are working with, ignore that urge and figure out your tools.
Next, consciously break down what you want to learn. Decide on a project and get tutorials from YouTube. Do exactly what the tutor does. The temptation to deviate, take a short cut or tell yourself you already know it will be high, ignore it and follow along anyway. Do this for a few projects and once you see them through to the end, you should start feeling confident, this confidence will help you face more difficult projects ahead. There’s also a sense of accomplishment that comes with the confidence.
Note that at a point or two things won’t work out the way you expect. if you get stuck, leave it for a while and try something easier. Chances are while practicing something else, the tutorial you are using will help you figure out this roadblock.
You are going to face a lot of self-resistance at this point. It’s something you’ve never done, and so naturally, you will be afraid of failing. This is normal. The difference between you at this point and the people doing it already is that they put that fear of failure aside and did started working on something. So just start.
Also, another factor you need to come to terms with is that you won’t start creating masterpieces immediately. So set your expectations low, because you are going to suck at first. But then again, the
aim at this point is to learn not create wonders. So be proud of whatever you create, you got something done after all. The masterpiece will come soon.
Projects/challenges
Once you are confident enough with your progress in the step above, start taking jobs. By taking jobs, I don’t mean going out there and overselling yourself, or charging exorbitant rates. Nope. I mean pro bono jobs. Work for free or work (very) cheap.
You’re not trying to get rich (just yet). You will have the chance to do that later (when you are good). But for now, the aim of taking these jobs is to get the chance to work on a project that is;
- Not initiated by you.
- Going to be criticized by someone else (with a lot of feedbacks that will leave you pissed at
first, but ultimately help you grow).
- Totally different from what you are used to.
Even though it’s free, let the person know that they can ask for whatever changes they want. Don’t get hard feelings when they do. Trust me it for your benefit.
This is your exam/test, so take it seriously. If you get stuck at any point. Always remember that someone else was stuck there at some point, so log into YouTube and search for what you need. You will find it.
Emulate successful people in your field
This is the final step. It’s exactly as it sounds. Look for and follow them on I.G, look for things they do that you are missing and start applying that to yours. You have an advantage here. You can get inspiration from as many people as you want, so make good use of it.
Try to take feedbacks from your mentors in good faith and listen to whatever advice they give. Keep that beautiful pride aside and ask questions when you don’t understand certain things. Trust me everyone was at that stage at some point. So, no one will think you are dummy. If it ever crossed your mind, put that thought aside.
Conclusion
Humans excel in a controlled environment. That’s why majority of students read hard in preparation for one exam or the other, not because they really love the course, they do it because they don’t want to fail, it’s also why some people work dedicatedly from 9 to 5 to avoid getting a salary slash at the end of the month or getting fired. This check and balance system don’t apply to self-learning, so we tend to find it easy to give up.
