I guess you need to watch Scott Hanselman talk "It's not what you read, it's what you ignore" very good description about your situation.
Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
11–20 of 84 posts
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#12Maybe book learning isn't for you? Try an online resource such as Code Academy or Coursera. You might enjoy the immediate feedback from each lesson as you make progress.
While being able to learn from books, I find that online courses with deadlines are a tremendous help to stay on track. I think I just need a little pressure. Maybe OP needs the same.
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#13Find a little project you want to do using the technology. For example if you are learning Python, come up with a little program/website idea you want to make, and do it in Python. It's always easier to learn "as you go" rather than just reading a book in isolation.
Agree. Throw the book out. Do a project, and if you really care, at the end make it more perfect.
But don't make it more perfect - do the next project. Make your focus to make some money, get more customers, etc.
The beautiful code will follow from that. It doesn't matter how beautiful the code is if no one uses it. (Well, maybe if you need to pass an exam or open source the code or something like that, slightly different goals for the code to 'succeed'.)
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#14I have sth similar. Only noticed after I've seen how my wife learns. She does it depth-first (won't move to another subject till she knows every little detail from the first subject), I learn breadth-first (a little of everything, skimming the books, then I try to do sth and look up the details as needed).
I think for IT breadth-first is better at the beggining, but you can stay half-competent for too long if you never bother to look up the detais that weren't needed so far (my main problem).
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#15Find a little project you want to do using the technology. For example if you are learning Python, come up with a little program/website idea you want to make, and do it in Python. It's always easier to learn "as you go" rather than just reading a book in isolation.
This would be my recommended approach as well.
Think of a project you can build with the technology you want to learn, and then learn the technology through actually building the project.
I generally feel more motivated with this approach because at the end of the effort, I'll actually have something to show for my time. If the project idea is good enough, you might even be able to turn it into a business, but don't let the lack of good ideas stop you, because your primary goal is still learning, and for that, even clones of existing products can work (and you might be able to find a good twist on it that can differentiate your own project as you build it).
And for me personally, no amount of reading and exercises can compare with real usage if I wanted to become truly proficient at a technology.
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#16I have the same problem. What I do when learning new techniques by studing a book I progress a project in the same pace as I read the book. For example right now i'm learning about the MEAN-stack, so I picked up a book that seemed good and read the first chapter about setting up and creating a dynamic site with express and node and I didn't continue reading before I was done with my own site for my project. This forces you to really studie each chapter and it's more fun then just reading the book!
When studying more general subjects it's not always easy to come up with a fun project and the books are usually not structured in a way that this techniques works. In those cases I try to find a good course online with a lot of reading material or a recommended course book because just watching videos and doing exercises is usually not enough to really learn the subject for me.
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#17I would try to reduce the pressure. Are you genuinely interested in the things you need to learn? Doing the exercises will significantly increase the things you'll be able to recall.
Maybe Mindfulness meditation can help you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nwwKbM_vJc
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#18Why are you thinking of "a million other things" you need to learn?
That's the core obstacle these days to picking up new skills and knowledge.
Mastery of any subject-matter ALWAYS takes practice and repetition. Simple, but those things require sustained repeated investments of your time and attention.
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#19I'm studying for the CCIE exam at the moment. A solution I have found is- if you are in flow state keep working until you burn out. That can be at 2 at night or 7 in the morning. Also try to take on information from different media types- video, books, notes, practice questions, reading blogs. I think the various approaches to problems is what forms the cross networks in your head.
Re: Ask HN: Do you get impatient when learning new things?
#20I did a great course earlier this year on Coursera called "Learning How To Learn"
It's pretty short but covers some good strategies for learning that are backed up by current Neurobiology research.