Blog, career, freelancing, uncategorized

7 Secrets to Staying Motivated When Learning to Code

You know learning to code is an indispensable skill in our modern world. But how do you make sure you can reach your goal? 🤡

Secrets to Learning to Code

#1 Let Everyone Know What You Are Doing

Tell your family. Tell your friends, announce it on twitter, share it on social media. Build up your social support network, as besides help you celebrate small victories of learning they can also hold you accountable to staying true to your ambitions.

Secrets to Learning to Code

#2 Know When You Will Do the Work

Set a clear time for you to do the work. Figure out a schedule and then commit to it! It doesn't have to be the same time everyday (but that can help) but do know how far you want to get each week and plan accordingly. Then when real life intrudes, and your schedule goes hairwire, be kind to yourself. Don't stop. Just keep the needle moving forward.

Secrets to Learning to Code

#3 Know Where to Code

Think about where you learn best. Is it a crowded cafe with your coffee cup and your headphones on? Is it early in the morning after a run? I can work more effectively from my home -- sometimes. Depends on the state of my kitchen, heh. It’s not so much “where you are” as it is “what is your frame of mind”. Come summer you may write your best code by the pool because mai tais, flip flops and code goes really well together. And once you get pro status you can go anywhere in the world that has decent wifi. Oooh yeah.

Secrets to Learning to Code

#4 Look for Mentors

Find good resources for beginner's. Whether its joining an online community, like free code camp or codenewbies or a meetup, like Women Who Code or Beginner Programmers it helps to find others who are learning, too. Attend conferences, like this summer there is CodeLand a supportive conference filled with talks, panels, and workshops and the most supportive community of people learning to code.

Use Meetup to find a group that matches your interest (e.g., a women-in-tech group or a game-development group). Look for a project night where others will be working. Start to regularly attend these events, and strike up a conversation with someone standing by themselve or a relationship with someone from whom you want to learn.

Secrets to Learning to Code

#5 Don’t forget to celebrate the small wins.

Start small, celebrate the little things, and build, build, build! It’s great to set out to achieve an ambitious goal. This might be a time to write down reflections on your coding journey. You will be surprised when you look back at how far you have come by the end of the semester. Once you’ve gotten the hang of coding, give yourself a pat on the back! Go ahead and brag a little!