
Just Start... and Start with a Plan/Schedule
Quite often, people put off learning to code in Java not because of their laziness but because of the fear of failure. How to overcome that fear? First of all, you should set your goals and understand exactly what you want to do in programming. Application development, Mobile app development, or QA automation? Find which one of the above you want to do, set related end goals, define the set of specific topics you’ll need to learn, and then create a learning plan. Actually, an effective plan is one of the key things that will help you stay consistent and, hence, complete your studies successfully. By sticking to the plan (you can refer to a basic plan here), it’ll be easier to study regularly and get the right information step-by-step. What’s next? The schedule! You should create your personal learning schedule that will be comfortable for your lifestyle and learning pace. The schedule will be particularly beneficial for students who have problems with self-organization. Plus, they can refer to external helpers to stay more organized and, accordingly, motivated.Among the numerous note tools, Trello can catch your fancy since it’s a very handy project management app that will help you organize anything from a business strategy to a big move.
Notion is a bit simpler tool that can still provide you with notes, calendars, reminders, as well as kanban boards, wikis, and databases.
CodeGym Kickmanager. As the name implies, it’s a quite useful app provided by our service that can help you kickstart your learning each day. Simply set your preferred schedule, and the app will notify you when it’s high time that you get down to coding.
During the learning process, the Codegym Bookmark feature can come in great handy too. It’s intended not for note-taking but for bookmarking important info you’d like to refer to later. For those who want to be more organized and structurize their learning, this feature may be worth a fortune. You can find it at the bottom of each lecture, article, or task when completing our course.
Start Slow. Choose Consistency over Speed
Overloading yourself with information is a shortcut straight to frustration and loss of motivation. Don’t try to get everything at once and learn too many different topics simultaneously. The same goes for different practicing methods and techniques. Instead, start small. It’s better to concentrate on one particular skill and devote about 20 hours/week to it. Start with simple things. Don’t skip small things since even those small things may be very valuable, not to mention they will give a lot of confidence. In addition, you won’t get overwhelmed at the beginning and give up learning before getting to the most interesting part of coding. Keep in mind that even small efforts, when combined with consistency, will definitely lead to big accomplishments.Try to Avoid Burnout
From the previous point, you get confidence and then slowly progress each day. However, on those days when you feel really frustrated, it’s ok to take a deep breath and find ways to rest. Sometimes, you just need a small break to clear your mind. Try to shift your focus by going for a walk, listening to music, or doing any other activity you enjoy. That just being said, it’s fine to skip a day but no more. Avoid long breaks since they can eventually become a habit and slow down your progress.Switch to Easier or More Engaging Ways of Leaning
If you’re stuck at some point in learning, don’t give up. Probably, you’ve set the bar too high and it’s time to stick to easier ways of practicing. One of the easiest ways to keep practicing and become more confident in your skills is to use already-existing codes, i.e. copy the code. By learning from codes written by professionals, you can develop your own style, whereas reducing the study load. Among the open resources that allow you to glimpse into someone else’s thinking, you may find GitHub, GitLab, Pluralsight, Free CodeCamp, or SourceForge very useful. Another engaging and motivating way to learn Java coding is to create your own small yet exciting projects like apps, chatbots, or games. These can be:- Games: Minesweeper, Snake, Racers, Super Mario Bros; Clone, 2048, Tetris, and the like;
- Small Apps like calculator, calendar, wish list, or to-do list;
- Management Systems for schools, libraries, and sports;
- Airline Reservation System;
- Currency Converter.
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