Struggling to move from learning to actually building
Posted by PalpitationOk839@reddit | learnprogramming | View on Reddit | 5 comments
Hey everyone
I’ve been learning programming for a while now and I understand the basics pretty well things like syntax, loops, functions, and even some OOP concepts
But whenever I try to build something on my own I just freeze
I don’t know where to start, how to break the problem down, or what steps to follow
I usually end up searching everything or looking at examples and then it feels like I’m just copying instead of actually learning
I feel like I’m stuck in this loop of learning but not creating anything meaningful
How did you guys move past this stage
Also how do you make your thinking process more simple and Runable when starting a new project
Any advice would really help 👍
ryan_nitric@reddit
Start smaller than you think you need to. Not "build a todo app," more like "print a list of todos to the terminal." Get that working, then add the next thing. The freeze usually comes from the gap between where you are and the finished thing in your head. Close that gap by making the first step embarrassingly small.
PratikVR@reddit
Tip: start building, learning happenes and it never stops
Typical_Hypocrite@reddit
You’re struggling because, in a nutshell, nothing you’ve learned is relevant to solving problems. To actually use that stuff you need to figure out the problems you actually want to solve and then learn the tool(s) to solve them. What you’ve learned was just how to understand how the tool works.
no_regerts_bob@reddit
Break the problem down into small chunks. Pick one chunk and if it still seems like too much, break it down further until you get to something that seems obtainable. Write that, just use dummy functions for anything that it needs from some other chunk.
Most programs are:
Begin While (not done) DoTheThing() End End
So mostly you're doing to break DoTheThing into more steps, and those steps into more steps until you get to something you can write
abrahamguo@reddit
Go through a problem set like this one.
If any problem is not an absolute "breeze" for you, then apply the "reps" mindset: Just like how you wouldn't go to the gym and do an exercise only once, do the same thing here. Once you complete it, start over from a completely blank slate (not a "half-blank" slate). Do it again, then again. Then again in an hour, then in a few hours, then the next day, and so on. Each time, you might encounter different bugs, but it should get a little easier each time.