The question that haunts every programmer during the initial days is ‘what are the faster ways to learn to program?’ Let me tell you that learning the art of programming within a short span of time is not an easy task but it can be achieved by following the below-mentioned steps.
1) Spend More Time on Learning Fundamentals
One most common mistake most beginners make is that they do not give much importance to the fundamentals. They try to finish the fundamentals as soon as possible to begin working on the coding. In the process of learning coding, students forget the importance of going through the theoretical part. This can create a lot of trouble for a coder in the future.
People who learn coding this way usually get stuck during the difficult levels. They feel lost and ultimately they are forced to go back to learn the basics. Hence, it becomes extremely important for all students to understand the importance of every learning stage. It does not matter if it is a theoretical part or practical, they both have their own importance. So, do not think that you are wasting time on fundamentals, just try to learn as much as you can to avoid any difficulty while working.
2) Learn to Code by Hand
No, I am not kidding, it is absolutely true. According to experts coding by hand is considered the most effective method of learning. And for those who are thinking that coding is done on a computer, here is a fact check – When you appear for an interview of a programming job, you will be asked to do coding by hand during the technical round. There will be few cases where a computer will be given to you for coding but most of the time you are judged on the basis of your manual coding skills. Hence, the sooner you learn to code by hand, the better it will be for your career.
3) Keep Your Practice Mode On
Yes it is important to get theoretical knowledge, it is equally important to give yourself 2-3 hours every day for hands-on practice. The age-old saying of “practice makes a man perfect” applies everywhere, but it becomes more critical in the programming world. Whatever concept you learn during the first half of the day, just make sure that you spend a considerable amount of time practicing during the second half.
You can also ask your instructor to give you some mini projects for practice. It will be difficult during the beginning but as you will continue practicing it will gradually become much easier and fun to work on.
4) Find Your Mentor for Guidance
You need to search for a great mentor, someone who has already been through the many challenges of being a programmer. A good mentor will share his valuable knowledge with you and he will guide you in the right direction. You will learn a large amount of programming while working under a good mentorship. When you have a mentor from the start, you tap into the wealth of information that speeds up your learning and shortens the learning curve. Therefore, start looking for someone who could keep you under his wings and take you along on a programming journey.
5) Stay Calm in Difficult Situations
Although programming is exciting, but sometimes it also becomes very exhaustive. There will be times when you will spend a lot of time on a single bug but without any solution. If you are a beginner it can badly affect your daily schedule and hamper your speed which may feel frustrating at times.
But instead of getting frustrated, you need to remain calm in those tough situations. Just remember that a tired brain will not be as effective as the fresh and rejuvenated one. Your brain also needs some time off after regular intervals. Hence, you can give yourself a rest or meet some friends, go out on a trip, play games or do something else of your liking. Always try to maintain a healthy work-life balance and never lose your cool, no matter how tough the situation is. It will definitely help you become more focused and much faster programmer.
6) Search the Internet for Knowledge and Relevant Information
If you are unable to understand the concepts taught in the class, you can always turn to the internet for available resources to learn that part. There is YouTube, Reddit posts and many other sources to make your life much easier. Some newcomers in the world of programming do not realize the abundance of information available to them. They only depend on bookish learning but instead, they should look for alternative means of learning for better understating of concepts.
According to many expert coders, they learned to solve many coding problems through YouTube. The online lectures from some of the most reputed programmers of the world are available on YouTube and there are a plethora of coding tutorials available on this website.
Students who want to expand their skill set must look for information from all nooks and corners. It does not matter from where you are getting that info, the only thing that matters is how valuable it is for your future.
7) Do Not Rush Through the Coding Process
Even though you want to become a master programmer as soon as possible, you need to keep your patience while writing your own code. If you rush through this vital process, it can lead to some critical errors. Thus, to ensure error-free programming you must first learn the importance of slow and steady programming during important phases.
Despite all the above-mentioned tips the most important thing to learn to program faster is to believe in yourself. If you do not trust your abilities or lack of confidence, you will find it hard to succeed in life. There will be times when you will fail but you have to be patient and keep learning because becoming an expert programmer requires dedication and determination. If you have that zeal to succeed under all circumstances, then nobody can stop you from reaching the pinnacle of success.
