Repetitive practice is natural and it’s the easiest or must I say the hardest way to learn a programming language, music notes, critical analytics, or anything. Practising every day can be boring or difficult but if you try and practice, the ‘tedious’ task can be made easier and fun.
I’m told that good musicians practice, not until they get a piece right, but until they cannot get it wrong.
There’s lots of code to read and write. Good code and bad code. You start to learn the difference more quickly than you’d think when you PRACTISE.
Why do the beginner programmers leave practising halfway?
Reasons vary. Some might fear failure. Some anticipate it to be boring. Some think that it’s not possible to cope with new advancements that come in the IT field every year. Another underlying factor that prevents a beginner is the fear to compete with an experienced coder who is in the industry for years and is upgraded every year to meet the challenges.
For a coder, the beginning phase is tough and confusing. If you do not understand a symbol or a function you cannot proceed and that is where a person tends to stop trying because his doubts linger on and get piled up as he progresses.
The condition is quite similar to learning a new language. I am learning French, basics. When I do not understand a word, I get confused and I stop. I need to know the correct meaning of the word first and then practice the usage of the word to get it in my system. Then the word comes naturally to me and this is how I proceed further. Will talk of it in detail some other time in great details.
People also have to understand the goal of practice, else they just iterate on the same bad stuff without improving – a drive for mastery and a goal is critical to make practice something. with a trajectory instead of lip-service.
So, it’s just PRACTISE PRACTISE PRACTISE
Would love to conclude here with an illustration by Sarah Andersen.
