Best way to learn new stuff as a software developer.
Tags: webdev, beginners, programming, learning
Published: 2024-01-20 14:16:31

Learning new stuff is a very crucial skill, not only as a developer but in general. So I want to start this blog with a quick story.

Back in the days when I was watching a lot of anime, I was obsessed with amvs(anime music videos) so much so that I wanted to create my own amvs. Even though I only knew very basic video editing, I just had this super cool amv idea on my mind that I wanted to create anyhow. I built this project with the help of lots of tutorials. Learning advanced stuff was painful.
![alt text] (https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1536240478700-b869070f9279?q=80&w=2000&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D, "editing")

When I look back on that project, it’s very messy but for me, it was the best amv on the internet. I loved it. Fast forward 5 months I became a very good amv editor or video editor in general. I loved turning my imagination into media.

It taught me some valuable lessons:

- How to learn new stuff?
- How does it feel to get good at something?
- Having fun along the way.

Now to the juicy bits, there are some key points I keep in mind while learning anything new, it helps me learn it way faster and most of all have a fun time doing it:

## 1. Aspire Way Above Your Skill Level

Whenever learning anything new, the first thing to do is to set a goal in mind. Now by goal, I don't mean "I want to become a good developer", that's good and all but it's very abstract, what do you even mean by a good dev?

Try to think of something more practical, that you can achieve this month like "I want to create a workout application that I can use to plan my workouts, maybe others will like and use it too", now how cool that sounds.

Now try to achieve this goal, don't think that you can't do it. You have to do it anyhow. It doesn't matter if it's good or not, just complete it.
![alt text] (https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1607705703571-c5a8695f18f6?q=80&w=2070&auto=format&fit=crop&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxwaG90by1wYWdlfHx8fGVufDB8fHx8fA%3D%3D, "focus")
If you get stuck somewhere because you don't have the required skills, that's where you :

## 2. Learn Things on the Go
Believe me, it will save you so much time and headache. Doing this, I have learned so many advanced skills in such a short time that would have taken me way longer, or maybe I would have never learned them.

I constantly put myself in a situation where I have to learn it, rather than learning it because it might be useful.
![alt text] (https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1587093336587-eeca6cb17cf2?w=600&auto=format&fit=crop&q=60&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8N3x8aGFyZHxlbnwwfHwwfHx8MA%3D%3D, "figure it out")
If you have ever played any sport in your life, recall the first time you ever tried to play it, did you first learn every rule and technique? or did you pick it up and start playing?

I am pretty sure most of you did the latter, but why? Because it's more fun, duh!

## 3. Having Fun

Going back to my amv story. I like this story a lot, it made me a very good video editor and taught me so many lessons but the reason why I go back to it is because of how fun it was!!

At that time, the only reason I was doing it was because I was having a blast editing videos till I fell asleep(literally).

Motivation and discipline sure help you complete the task, but having fun is what makes you think about it all day and get excited to do it again the next day.
![alt text] (https://images.unsplash.com/photo-1545184180-25d471fe75eb?w=600&auto=format&fit=crop&q=60&ixlib=rb-4.0.3&ixid=M3wxMjA3fDB8MHxzZWFyY2h8Mnx8aGFwcHklMjBjb21wdXRlcnxlbnwwfHwwfHx8MA%3D%3D, "fun")
Try to have fun with it, and build projects that really excite you.

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These are the three main things I keep in mind while learning anything new. I am pretty sure you will pick up a few things from this blog and apply them to your own strategy(That's what I do).

All of this is straight out of my experience, so I thought sharing it with you guys would be pretty cool.

Have a nice day :)