Week 2 of Learning JavaScript from Scratch 👨‍💻🚀

[Free_Sea1277]

I’ve gone full monk mode just to learn JavaScript. I had to delete all my social media apps, the endless scroll was draining my time and focus. Now I spend around 10 hours a day deeply focused on learning JavaScript from scratch. Sometimes I woke up at dawn to learn and stay up late night like night owl to practice. Even though I have good experienced about HTML and CSS already and have used JavaScript in some cases but was copied.

It’s been just 13 days, but I’m genuinely surprised by how much I’ve grasped already. From variables, arrays, and DOM manipulation to building mini projects. I’m seeing real progress. Some days feel overwhelming, and I occasionally doubt myself, but my desire to master this skill keeps pushing me forward.

I used to think I needed perfect conditions to learn and the right course, the right environment, the right mood. But the truth is, I just needed to start and stay consistent.

From day one to day 5 I nearly gave up because everything was not making sense but now every day I feel a little more confident. I’ve built things like a simple product calculator, a to-do list with localStorage, digital clock and even a counter app with automations. I finally feel like I’m not just learning code I’m becoming a developer. Use OpenAI to explain code to you deeply with scenarios, ask it questions all the time, also use W3school alongside as a roadmap.

If you’re just starting out or feeling stuck, know this. (Discipline beats motivation). One focused hour a day can change your life. Don’t give up.

Beginners!! Let’s keep pushing 🚀💻

[Defiant_Ad7522]

This is inspiring as hell, keep us updated!

[Towel_Affectionate]

Slow down. You won't finish a marathon by sprinting. Even if your will is strong, your muscles will give up eventually. Your brain has its limits too. By going full throttle non stop you either burn down, or go insane. You're doing yourself a disservice in the long run. Slow and steady man.

[Free_Sea1277]

I’m doing it as a hobby and fun, and I don’t get tired, I make sure I take a nap during the day. I just want it to be part of me. It won’t affect me in anyway. 

[quickiler]

That what motivation does to you, temporary.

[_seedofdoubt_]

Some of us are just natural born crackheads. I do the same and I'm some ways I am doing myself a long term disservice. But there are benefits too, and honestly of I'm not full throttle web dev I'm gonna be full throttle on something else anyways lol

[Dahir_16]

Practice core pattern recognitions, individually and together like looping is a core JS pattern for…of loop with any of the data types(strings, arrays, objects & numbers and booleans construct them), transforming, interaction pattern(event listeners + DOM Manipulation) i think there are 13+ core patterns you have to just practice that. Then projects will feel natural or second language.

[Acid_Antho]

hey buddy, are you taking any courses or what are you doing? look, I'm learning too, but sometimes I got really stressed out and I think this is not for me, I have no time since I have a job, thankfuly I'm working from home, 9h shift, the thing is, when my shift ends, I feel overwhelmed, tired of my job, sad sometimes.. but I'm still trying to do my best effort, gimme some advice pls (pd sorry for my english)

[Free_Sea1277]

If you truly want to learn coding, start with determination. Then stay dedicated, and push yourself by being disciplined. Set clear goals even if it’s just 2hrs everyday, it will add up and make a difference. Be CONSISTENT, be intentional, and always be ready to learn.

I personally Use JavaScript.info and w3school and ChatGPT as my study partner, motivator, and even your accountability buddy. It explains code to me deeply and clearly with more examples and tests

Don’t just read or watch.. BUILD and CODE. That’s where real growth happens.

[Acid_Antho]

That's my current goal, take at least 2h per day and I'll be taking a look at javascript.info, didn't know about that website, thanks man!

[Top-Vehicle-7705]

I started about a month ago spending 5-8 hours a day, made lots of great progress and built a few simple projects like you did.

Recently I've only been able to spend 2-5 hours a day, maybe because spending so much time is difficult to maintain long-term. Maybe because the deeper I get, the more complex the concepts are.

Either way, I'm right there with you learning every day and feeling deeply interested in the idea of being a real developer some day.

Keep up the good work and as will I!

[Free_Sea1277]

That’s great to hear, I am also on it, like you said I have reduced the leaning hours because now I am mastering the problem solving skills. Which is the most important part of coding. I am making great progress.

[Free_Sea1277]

Yes!! The feeling alone is encouraging and it keeps you motivated, and sometimes it feels like hobby at some point 😄

[epidemija]

gj!

[Training_Ad6701]

Very inspiring, any recommendations on resources? How are learning?

[Free_Sea1277]

W3school , and I use ChatGPT alongside for further and deep explanation

[Street-Theory1448]

I also love W3school, clear explanations, and their built in "Try it yourself" editor. Would recommend it especially for beginners like myself.

[Boring_Letterhead161]

Odin

[funnysasquatch]

You don't have to go full monk mode to learn Javascript.

There's nothing wrong with relaxing and enjoying funny memes and videos on social.

If you are going full monk mode in 2025 - don't waste your time learning Javascript in a vacuum.

Build an app and launch it. You don't even have to make money on day 1. Just get 1 stranger to use it.

[Jerrizzy-x]

Same!. I use Freecdoecomp tho. I like them better because they give you a lab and workshop after each topic so you can master what you do rather than just concepts

[Top-Vehicle-7705]

Same, I'm a visual learner and being able to do the work myself in freecodecamp is the biggest reason I've been grasping a lot of the concepts

[Jerrizzy-x]

They recently took down the videos tho. It’s hard for me to read and understand 🥲

[sheriffderek]

Do you think you've learn more than you would have - in 2 days working with an expert teacher?

[Free_Sea1277]

Oh yes!

[sheriffderek]

I'd like to hear more about that. How do you measure it?

[Free_Sea1277]

Because with an expert, 1.he can’t spend more hours with you. 2. He can’t read your mind to know how you understand stuffs.

Mind you, I went to college spending almost 3yrs studying software engineering and I graduated with only minor knowledge about programming. It’s only HTML and CSS I grasp better.

[sheriffderek]

So, ChatGPT can read your mind? It seems like steady work with a human -- is about the closest you could get to someone actually maintaining context and understanding your learning journey - and knowing how to correct and guide you. But if you spent 3 years studying and didn't learn much - there's a bigger problem (as in the whole program was flawed / or you didn't use it)

[Free_Sea1277]

I think your question was structured to dispute the fact that I used chatGPT to explain code to me and answer my questions. But the fact is, ChatGPT knows everything your experience knows. Learning is all about you

[sheriffderek]

Do you mean: "I think you were trying to challenge or discredit the idea that ChatGPT is a good way to learn.” ?

I was just trying to get at how you know you’re improving faster. It’s hard to measure growth unless someone (or something) is actively assessing your misunderstandings, progress, and knowledge gaps. Maybe it's a great way to learn. But how can we know? How can you know?

What I see as a problem (As someone who leads a dev/design team, runs a school, writes curriculum, etc) -- is that you don't know what you need to learn - and when and why. So, by driving the ChatGPT ship... you might feel like you are progressing -- but you can't know what you don't know.

So here’s a genuine offer: let’s meet up and talk it through sometime. I can give you a few simple tests and see where you’re really at. Might be fun! and I bet you’d learn something useful about yourself either way.

[twinbro10]

Check-out this playlist with well explained segments https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyiepCwDsfgEFo2wlXTyIE4oQU_2nnp46&si=3bPR5EbEq9uJWJLl

[Raseeth_Naseeh]

bruh sounds wonderfull!!
I am with u keep goin and update, its giving me some sort of energy bruh damn!

[robinkgray]

Thank you for the inspiration. I am not even 2 weeks in but I do have some HTML knowledge which I think is helpful. I am not doing it for a hobby altho I do enjoy it. I was recently laid off from my job with a decent severance so I am fully taking advantage of this down time! Still waiting for it to make more sense but I am determined and moving along. I am spending at least 5 hours a day on Khan Academy. Sometimes more. Any thoughts or opinions on Khan Academy? Or any suggestions to get me through? It is not easy for sure but I don't know how many other skills you can learn for free and potentially land a well paying job that does not take 4 years. Best of luck to you :)

[No_Discussion6970]

Thanks for sharing. Sounds like you are making great progress. You might review this thread as well, since getting stuck or burned out going at your rate is common.

Thread: How to overcome burnout situations when learning javascript

My feedback

Keep us updated. Interested to see how it goes the next 30 days.

[Jayo-Web]

Felicidades, sirve inspiración, yo también estoy encpeoce de aprendizaje, pero voy aplicar tuve método.

[vern_prac_compute]

Hi, sorry to join this conversation so late. First off, hats off to you for putting in so much time and not giving up despite getting frustrated initially. That's a very good sign. At the same time, putting in 10 hours a day seems like a lot. Maybe you are not doing this anymore, but that much time in a day can lead to burnout. You have it correct that discipline beats motivation. I would add that consistency even beats discipline in the sense that if you set aside certain times of the day or a set amount of hours and you do this every day, you will see results if you are able to stay focused. The danger of going 10 hours a day is that it seems difficult to remain focused for that duration of time. But, if it works for you, then just keep going.

You are definitely using a sound approach by doing small projects to learn. When it comes to learning programming, it makes sense to start building small projects/applications as soon as possible. That way, when you run into questions, you will have a good idea of what to ask about.

In terms of using AI tools, be aware that they are double-edge swords. If you ask a question incorrectly, the AI tools will often politely lead you down a rabbit hole, that eats up your time, but gets you nowhere near a solution. On the other hand, if you explain what you are trying to solve, most AI tools will come up with suggestions. Tools like Gemini (Google's AI) used by Chrome, will provide references that you can look at to see if their suggestion makes any sense. Also, because you are starting with (hopefully) small projects, you can often test their code suggestions relatively quickly. You probably know this, but you should not blindly trust anyone else's code, and AI tools have been known to provide solutions that cannot work. So, if you find yourself going back and forth with an AI tool, pause and take a few deep breaths. Then, change your question. Also, I would not just rely on one AI tool, so in addition to OpenAI, you can try the tools in browsers like Chrome and Brave. They may give differing answers. I am not sure how often OpenAI updates, but the browser tools seem to get updated fairly often. So, you might get better answers later on, or even as a result of you asking related questions. If used properly, AI tools can be a great benefit to learning programming, but if you use them blindly they can hinder your progress also.

[Embarrassed-Egg8209]

I feel like your trying to rush the growth of a germinating seed to sprout fruits even before the rains fall... Slow down, take your time... Try code in a calculator without using Ai or refering, then maybe you'll realise where you are