As I’m getting more and more into programming the problem that I’m having is with one of too many resources and too many different branches and languages with no clear roadmap for achieving outcomes or goals.  While being rather free form and open ended is certainly a good thing, usually it helps to have end goals/principles in mind.  One of the most frustrating challenges has been going down “rabbit holes” in which one thing leads to a seemingly endless supply of interesting reading and articles.  Lately I’ve been working towards completing The Odin Project (http://www.theodinproject.com/), which is a WONDERFUL roadmap for learning how to do web development/code.  It gives a GREAT map on what to do, and how to do it, which feels a lot better than trying to flail about while trying to learn how to code.  Within the resources/extras of The Odin Project came a podcast episode on how to learn:

*http://rubyrogues.com/131-rr-how-to-learn/

Below I typed up what I feel are the relevant points and reading, I would suggest listening to it if you have the time.

Effort vs. Talent -there may be some natural aptitudes, but effort usually wins out -the key part of effort is time

Finding the key ‘uncomfort zone’ to encourage growth -usually we want something 1 or 2 levels above our current skill level, not 10 -The NOPS system can help N: Notice it, notice what it is that is making you uncomfortable O: Own it, acknowledge that whatever it is is making you uncomfortable and be ok with it P: Push into it, See if you can notice/understand what it is SPECIFICALLY that is making you uncomfortable (e.g if you don’t understand recursion, sit down and write the simplest recursion program you can, The 10k hours rule -While the ‘10k hours to be an expert’ ‘rule’ is often attributed to Gladwell, but it’s actually from Erickson who studied different types of practice, and the point of the study was to find out WHAT types of practice people were doing, what was effective, NOT how much practice people were doing to find success What practice is/is not -Practice does not make perfect, practice makes permanent -there are different types of practice:

1. Drills, specifc/focused for one specific skill
2. Simulation, Practicing specific situation and how to react to it
3. Case studies reflect/analyze on something that happened previously (business studies, Chess)
4. Direct Practice, Doing something over and over again until you know it by heart (e.g. playing a music piece/composition)
5. Imitation, Doing what someone else does without understanding/knowledge, but stumbling upon getting better.

-You do not neccessarily need to know WHY something is good, e.g. direct practice/imitation, in order to gain good instincts.

-Have a goal in mind and something that you want to do/achieve, because otherwise you will constantly go down rabbit holes of things to learn. There needs to be a motivation to learn.

How you start learning/going about learning something -starting out you will likely be bad at it. -start out with small tasks, because otherwise otherwise you might bite off more than you can chew. -give yourself ‘license to not care’, because you need to take some things on faith, otherwise you will be overwhelmed learning things -You may have specific metrics/measures of accomplishment or not depending on the skill that you are learning. (with programming it can be difficult because there are a lot of moving parts and there is overlap between creation and implementation) -mistakes can be good and used deliberately to learn -you can try and power your way through reading, but another good method is to read and try and explain what you learned to people. -Doing a quick overview of a book, reading a summary, the table of contents etc… can help you determine weather or not you think that book will be valuable versus, just reading a book/diving into a book someone else suggests. -determine if you need to memorize something or not, some people like/feel more comfortable memorizing things, others don’t. -different thing work for different people -sometimes explaining it/re-explaining something to others helps (e.g. teaching what you just learned to others)

Reading list picks: Mastery, Robert Green (how people have learned historically) 5 elements of effective thing (how to improve the process of your thinking) So good they can’t ignore you, Cal Newport (developing deep knowledge and coming into passion later) Paper: Making of an expert, Erickson/et. al (harvard business review video-Josh Kauffman, how to learn anything in the first 20 hours

Photo reading, Paul Sheel (speed/power reading) (expensive, b/c marketed to execs) How to be twice as smart, Scott Witt Make the Most of your mind, Tony Buzan -both of the above are tips and tricks to have a better memory