šŸ§  Mindset & Motivation for Programmers

Learning to code is incredibly rewarding but can also be difficult and frustrating. Like any skill worth knowing, it takes time to acquire, and it canā€™t be learned in a weekend or even a month. With that said, we believe anyone can learn how to program as long as they are willing to put in the time and effort.

So before we get into the meat of the curriculum, weā€™ll cover factors that will help you succeed in learning to code and the pitfalls that you should try to avoid.

Motivation

Take a moment to think about why you have decided to learn programming:

  • Do you want to have a fulfilling career that pays well?
  • Are you excited by the creative outlet programming provides?
  • Are you determined to develop the skills and abilities to build any app you can think of?
  • Do you want to start your own company by turning an app idea into reality?

Your motivation could be a combination of these reasons or something else entirely. Whatever it is, hold on tightly to your motivation - this will be what pulls you through to the end of this journey, giving you a definitive goal to aim towards.

Growth Mindset

Your mindset is very important when teaching yourself any new skills, not just programming. Your mindset will have more of an impact on your chances of success than just about anything else.

Someone with the fixed mindset believes if they donā€™t get something on their first attempt, they never will. They believe that they arenā€™t smart enough to be able to do or understand some things.

However, there is a wide body of research showing that intelligence is not fixed but can instead be developed. Someone with the growth mindset believes they can get better at anything with effort and persistence.

What does this mean for you? It means you can learn new skills and develop new talents with persistence and grit.

There will be many times throughout this class that you will get stuck on a concept or a programming problem and may find yourself questioning your ability to learn programming. When you find yourself in this position, remind yourself that you may not get it yet but that with persistence and grit you will. Struggling with something is growth. It doesnā€™t matter how long you struggle with a concept or project; all that matters is that you have the grit and tenacity to see it through. Thatā€™s how real learning happens.

While youā€™re working through the curriculum, embrace the struggles you encounter with difficult concepts and complex projects. Be sure to celebrate your persistence in overcoming those struggles!

When you find yourself questioning your abilities, reflect on the successes you have already achieved while learning to program: the projects you have completed and the concepts you once didnā€™t understand but now do. This is all the proof you need that you can do it.

The Learning Process

Learning concepts and then practicing them will help you to more fully understand how things work and fit together. Projects are the ultimate method for ensuring that your theoretical understanding aligns with how the programming concepts and techniques actually operate.

When learning, your mind will consistently switch between focus mode and diffuse mode. Focus mode occurs when you are consciously focusing on learning, reading, watching videos, or working on a project. Diffuse mode occurs subconsciously, at times when you are not actively learning, such as when youā€™re doing the dishes, exercising, or sleeping. In this state, your mind goes about the business of connecting what you have been learning to the other things you know. This is where breakthroughs happen.

Itā€™s important to know that your mind goes through these two states when learning because you can utilize this to make your learning more efficient. When stuck on a concept or project, taking a break to refresh and let your subconscious work on making connections more often than not yields a solution to your problem. The trick is to put effort into solving the problem first and then take a break.

In short, understand it, practice it, and finally teach it.

Teaching what you know to others is a great way to solidify what you have learned and can often reveal holes in your knowledge that you wouldnā€™t have identified otherwise.

You can practice this method of learning by helping others in our community.

Getting Unstuck

You will inevitably feel stuck at some point in the curriculum, perhaps due to a concept that you are having difficulty understanding or perhaps due to something not working correctly in a project. Whatever it is, use the following tools to get unstuck:

  • Google it: You can be certain someone else out there has encountered the same problem as you at some point. A quick Google search can often lead to a solution.
  • Take a break: Allow your diffuse learning state to work on the problem.
  • Ask for help in office hours; come prepared with your research. Your teacher will be more willing to help you when they can see you have already put effort into trying to figure out the solution on your own.

Additionally, feel free to follow the diagram below to help you navigate problems that you may come across:

diagram to help learners go through problems when they are stuck

AI Code Generation

As technology advances, we have seen some incredible tools emerge that can help accelerate coding capacity. One particular area that has exploded in popularity lately is the usage of Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AIs for code completion (like GitHub Copilot) and code generation (like ChatGPT).

While these tools are amazing, learners should be aware of the impacts that using such tools can have on core competency. David Humphrey, a computer science professor, wrote about ChatGPT and its potentially negative impacts on core learning. It is a good read about the pitfalls of using generative AI in an educational context.

For learners who are new to programming, tools like ChatGPT or GitHub Copilot can result in blindspots and gaps in your knowledge.

  1. By using a generative AI, learners may miss the opportunity to discover how something works and why things are done that way.
  2. Asking good questions is an important skill, and relying on generative AI instead of asking people (like our helpful Discord community) can delay the development of this skill.
  3. Learning to talk about the code that one writes is another important skill. In a professional environment, it is highly likely that you will be doing code reviews where you have to explain the how and why behind what you are presenting. Using the Odin community to ask good questions about your code when you require help can help develop this skill as well.
  4. As David Humphrey mentions, the output of generative AI must be closely scrutinized, and learners who are new to programming generally donā€™t have a good overall understanding to be able to determine if the output is good or bad.
  5. While learning how to provide good prompts to an AI tool is a skill, it is supplementary to developing foundational programming skills. The Odin curriculum strives to teach that foundational skill.
  6. AI tools are designed to answer questions and are not designed to help learners develop research and problem solving skills. If you ask an AI for information, it will provide information to you. If you ask a human, they may invite you to share your understanding of the problem and offer some guidance on how to discover a solution.
  7. Without practice in research, problem solving and critical thinking, interviews could be a struggle since it is very likely that applicants would not be allowed to use AI tools.

We do not recommend using AI tools when you are first learning a new programming language.

Pitfalls to Avoid

The following are some of the pitfalls that beginners often encounter when learning how to program. Try your best to avoid these.

Procrastination

Procrastination will be your biggest enemy when trying to make progress.

Solution: The Pomodoro Technique is a way of managing your time in order to stay focused. The idea is to set a timer for 25 minutes and to work on a task until the timer goes off. If you get distracted or interrupted during the 25 minutes, start the 25 minutes of work over again. Once youā€™ve successfully focused on work for 25 minutes, take a 5 minute break. When your break is over, repeat the 25 minutes of work and 5 minute break. After youā€™ve completed four 25 minute blocks of work, take a longer 15-30 minute break.

The Pomodoro technique is great for avoiding procrastination as it forces you to work without distractions. Since the work time only lasts 25 minutes before taking a break, itā€™s not overwhelming, making it harder to rationalize procrastination.

If you want to try it out, Pomofocus is a customizable pomodoro timer that works on desktop & mobile browser.

Not taking breaks

As you get into the material, you may feel compelled to continuously study for long periods of time. It might seem like you are getting more work done at first, but this often leads to burnout, which consequently results in lower productivity.

It may seem counterintuitive, but you will actually get more done if you regularly step back to recharge your brain and body. Studies show that performance increases after breaks of all durations: from extended vacations down to microbreaks of 30 seconds. John Trougakos, Associate Professor of Management at the University of Toronto, says that mental concentration is similar to a muscle. Our focus becomes fatigued after sustained use and needs a rest period to recover, just like a bodybuilder resting between sets at the gym.

Solution: Use the previously mentioned Pomodoro Technique to time how often and how long to take your well-deserved breaks. Feel free to play around and experiment with different frequencies and durations of breaks.

What to do during your break:

  • Listen to music.
  • Journal
  • Doodle
  • Meditate
  • Play a quick game.
  • Go for a short walk outside.

Check out this article for more information on breaks & productivity.

Digital distractions

Digital distractions are email and Facebook notifications and time-wasting websites, such as social media. These distractions break your focus and make procrastination tempting. Therefore, they should be avoided during study time.

Solution: Turn off notifications and add a blocker to your internet to limit your time on distracting sites.

Physical distractions

Physical distractions are distractions from your environment, like a TV in the background or other people talking. These distractions can be just as damaging to your focus as digital distractions.

Solution: Find a quiet place in your home where you can focus on your studies. If thatā€™s not an option, you can use noise cancelling headphones to block out noisy distractions in your environment. There are also complimentary public and university libraries that are serene and comfortable. Some libraries even operate 24/7, uninterrupted. Beyond just providing a pleasant study space, the presence of others studying around you instills a sense of productivity.

Comparing yourself to others

Students often compare themselves to others who are farther along in their coding journey or have more experience. This is a recipe for depression and frustration.

Solution: Only compare yourself to your past self. Have your abilities and knowledge improved from where you were last week, last month, or last year? Be proud of the progress that youā€™ve made!

  1. To give your motivation a bit of a boost, read about the success of others in the TOP Discord serverā€™s Success Stories forum.
  2. To learn more about the growth mindset, go through the following resources:

  3. To learn more about the best ways to learn, watch this summary of Courseraā€™s learning how to learn course. The full course is linked in the additional resources.

  4. You will need to ask for help at some point, and with coding, there is a correct way to ask for help. Read about the ā€œXY Problemā€, which is a common pitfall both new and experienced programmers fall into when asking questions.
  5. Read and bookmark The Odin Projectā€™s community guide How to Ask Technical Questions. It is a great reference to refer to whenever you find yourself needing to ask for help, and you might find yourself solving your own problem as you think about the points listed in the article.
  6. Donā€™t ask to ask, just ask demonstrates the importance of just asking your question and not asking to ask your question.

Additional resources

This section contains helpful links to related content. It isnā€™t required, so consider it supplemental.

Acknowledgement

Content on this page is adapted from The Odin Project.