Don't blame yourself for quitting. Self-learning can be hell.
Teaching yourself a computer language is a tough assignment. Here's how to complete it next time.
Confusing terminology.
Baffling explanations.
A crushing load of information.
No wonder discouragement is the Number 1 reason people quit, according to my informal survey.
I taught myself my first computer language ten years ago, when I was 70. Call me ageist, but that’s not the best time in life to start coding. Pottery classes in a nursing home might have been more age-appropriate.
But I slogged on. Ten years later, my books have taught coding to 200,000 readers from all walks of life.
How did I keep from quitting in frustration?
It had nothing to do with a positive attitude or unusual strength of character. I didn’t visualize, count my blessings, or give myself pep talks.
I did something better. I put together a strategy to dodge the worst problems. These are my rules:
Don’t be a loyal reader.
When an author isn’t getting the job done for you, it isn’t cheating to see other people.
Google your question.
Ask Stack Overflow for help.
Ask ChatGPT to coach you.
See how another author explains it. (When I learn a computer language, I don’t depend on a single book. I buy three).
Read a little. Do a lot.
The point of coding isn’t to know things. It’s to make things. So every time you learn how to do something new in the book, do it. Then do it again, changing a detail to make sure you really understand it.
You’ll need to sign up for an online code playground. Most of them are free.
On a playground site, you write a little piece of code. Then you click Run and find out if it works. When it fails, that’s when you really learn.
There are code playgrounds for most popular languages. To find one, Google code playground for [name of the language you’re learning].
Keep winning small jackpots.
Ask the folks who sit at slot machines for hours: Wins keep you playing. They don’t even have to be big ones.
When you’re learning to code, you get a dopamine hit every time you see a little bit of your code doing exactly what you want it to do. That’s why you need to bail out of the book every few minutes and hit the code playground, where the fun is. It’s also where the real learning is.
But what if your code doesn’t work? Keep revising until it does. That’s an even bigger win.
Steer clear of smartypants.
Many authors and teachers are brilliant and want you to know it. If their preening makes you feel dumb, find another way to learn. These people don’t mean to defeat you, but they will.
Once you start, don’t stop.
Without the momentum of regular progress and the constant encouragement of small wins, a vacation from your project, even a brief one, can make it harder to get back to work. “Just a little break” can turn into permanent retirement.
Practice some code every day, even if it’s for only 15 minutes.
Personally, I use Jerry Seinfeld’s Don’t Break the Chain method to keep my oar in the water. It did wonders for him, and it’s been a lifesaver for me.