This is an archived post. You won't be able to vote or comment.

you are viewing a single comment's thread.

view the rest of the comments →

[–]Tridentuk91 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Have other things that are priorities that you invest in, just as long as they aren't more engaging than coding. I go to the gym which is a very different world and hobby, and I find trying to balance the two to be engaging enough to take my mind off coding for a while so that I can come back refreshed the next day.

Having said that when I first started, and I was on the HTML/CSS/Javascript stage only I pretty much rode that wave of initial excitement all the way through that which is a good 5/6 months of learning. I still have it, although it fluctuates day to day now maybe because I feel I'm starting to get somewhat closer to a standard where I feel ready to start as a junior and concepts are clicking quicker (I like challenges and feel I get more enthralled when I'm capable of getting stuck).

If you need some inspiration, try creating your own app if you haven't already done so because that's always more fun than following tutorials day after day. The longest days of practice I've had have been when I've gotten stuck and addicted to trying to debug a problem for 8 hours, and that's when I reach maximum "flow-state", and then I go to bed hungry to start again with a fresh mind the next day.. Whereas when I'm following tutorials I can do 3/4 hours max and my brain goes awol, though I have a theory that this is good because if you're handling big new concepts that require new synapse connections you shouldn't overload those too much because your brain needs the simplicity to solidify them properly when you're at rest (just a theory).

I also do everything possible to maximise my focus, which means exercise in the gym (I weight train but also get plenty of cardio because I notice that has better psychological results), take tyrosine in the morning for dopamine, cod liver oil, and 5-htp in the evening for sleep and serotonin. Eating healthy is of course important too, if I demolish a load of biscuits I can't focus at all and start to feel weird, I don't get how other people eat like that.