Self Learning

Self learning to code sounds so simple. Tutorials, a few personal projects, and you're off to the races. But it's actually way more nuanced than most people realize.

The Tutorial Trap

A lot of people mistake tutorials for progress. They'll clone a project, follow instructions, and feel like they're moving forward. But that's just mimicry, not real understanding. The real learning happens when you're forced to make decisions and when you build something that doesn't have a tutorial.

I've seen that the best self learners aren't the ones who jump between a hundred different frameworks, but the ones who pick a real problem, something they actually care about, and go really deep. One small project you care about teaches more than five half baked side projects you're not invested in.

Finding the Right Balance

And the split matters. It's easy to get stuck in project mode and skip the theory, or get stuck in theory mode and never build anything. I've found that a 70/30 split with 70% building, 30% targeted studying keeps the wheels turning. But the studying has to be deliberate… It's not about grinding through every course on Udemy, but pausing when something breaks, asking why, and really taking time to understand how it works.

Then there's second order learning, the stuff you don't see in tutorials. Like how version control isn't just about Git, it's about thinking in snapshots and history. This is the skill that compounds, not just in coding but everywhere!

What Actually Works

A few things that help:

• Pick one language and framework.
• Ship something you want to use yourself. Solve a real itch.
• Show your work and ask for feedback.
• Keep a simple doc or journal of what you're learning. Write down what you figured out and what you still don't get. Treat it like a cheat sheet for your brain.

The Art of Problem Framing

Furthermore, one of the most important parts of learning how to learn is learning how to frame the right questions.

In a classroom you're handed problems with neat answers, but when you're teaching yourself, you have to decide what's worth working on in the first place.

A lot of people skip that! They go from tutorial to tutorial, copying what others have done, but never really digging in. The people who really move forward are the ones who pick a small problem they care about and push until they figure it out. Even if it's something as basic as fixing a workflow that annoys them or solving a tiny daily frustration, working on something real makes it click in a way that generic tutorials never will.

Building Confidence

There's also the confidence piece. Self learning is about trusting your own decisions. The only way to build real judgment is by testing things out, watching what happens, and tweaking along the way. That's something no video or textbook can teach.

Finally, self learning is about building your own playbook. Stay curious and be willing to get things wrong at first. That's how you build the mindset to learn anything you want to, anytime you want to!