Learning Paralysis: How to pick what to learn next
Tags: beginners, codenewbie, learning
Published: 2020-05-04 16:59:37

---
title: Learning Paralysis: How to pick what to learn next
published: true
date: 2020-05-03 00:00:00 UTC
tags: beginner, code newbie, learning
canonical_url: 
---

Whether you’ve been a dev for years or you’re learning now for the first time, there are always shiny new things to learn. And it’s never just one. They’re everywhere in front of you. They’re like a field of flowers of different varieties and colors, but you can’t have them all. You can only have a bouquet. But you have no idea where to start or what you should think about to narrow down which flowers you’ll choose. So you just stand there. You stand there and you stand there. You’re in the paralysis phase. With all the new technology out there, how do you choose what to pick first?

Depending on where you’re at in your learning journey, the answer might be different. If you need to learn something for a job, the decision is made for you. But if you’re learning or just starting out, there are some things you can do to help you pick your tech bouquet.

## Look at your goals

If you follow me on Twitter, you know I set goals on Monday for the rest of the week. It might be a short term goal or a longer term goal that helps you choose. Right now, I’m working on taking a site that I originally did in WordPress and I’m moving it to Gatsby and Netlify. There are a number of reasons why I’m doing this, including making it easier for my client to update the site. Another reason is I think learning Gatsby won’t be a one-time thing for me. Long-term, I see more opportunities working with Gatsby.

## Look at the jobs you want to have

This is an extension of the last point, but think about what job you want to have. Look at some job descriptions, especially if you want to work at a particular company. Is there a technology they’re consistently using that you don’t know? Is there something that you can learn that brings you closer to being a more ideal candidate?

## What enhances your current knowledge

A lot of technology is complimentary. What do you know that will enhance your current skills? Or is there something you can learn that fills in a weakness? I wish I were good at design, but I could sit for hours in front of the screen making adjustments, trying to figure out if something looks good or complements what I already have. So about a month ago, I decided to learn more about [Material-UI](https://material-ui.com/). And what I found was, it wasn’t as confusing as I thought it would be and it freed me up to not worry about my design as I was working through coding challenges.

## Consider what will challenge you

Sometimes the path of least resistance looks the best, but the more you challenge yourself, the more you’ll grow–and growth is ultimately a main goal, right? Don’t be afraid to push yourself. The resources are there.

## Ask someone else

Sometimes the paralysis is so much that it feels impossible to make a decision. In these moments, I think it’s really helpful to ask someone else what they think. This could be a mentor, someone who’s also on the coding journey, a slack group, or even TechTwitter. Sometimes, it’s easier for someone else to see what makes sense

It can be overwhelming to try to figure out what to learn next. No matter what, if you’re learning, you’re growing and that’s moving in the right direction. And if none of these things helps you pick out what’s next, just roll the dice and get moving. I’ve never regretted learning something new, but I have regretted sitting still.