Hey everyone! I’m studying information security and have been struggling with JavaScript for about a year now. I keep starting and stopping my learning journey because I lose focus easily. When I watch tutorial videos everything seems clear, but then I forget most of it right after. The real problem hits when I try to write actual code - I just stare at my computer screen feeling completely lost. Most concepts feel too advanced for me. I really want to get good at this language. Can anyone share some practical study methods that worked for them? Also looking for advice on developing a programmer mindset and understanding how developers approach problems. I feel overwhelmed by everything right now.
That forgetting thing is totally normal - watching videos tricks your brain into thinking you understand when you don’t. What changed everything for me was jumping into active practice right after tutorials. I’d pause every few minutes and try coding what they just showed without peeking. When I got stuck, I’d force myself to struggle for at least 10 minutes before looking at the answer. That awful feeling of being completely lost? That’s where you actually learn. For the programmer mindset, break everything into tiny pieces. Don’t think ‘build a calculator’ - think ‘make input fields, capture numbers, handle one operation.’ The trick is accepting that confusion isn’t a signal to quit - it’s just part of the process.
omg same here! Building small projects is what clicked for me. Start with basic stuff - to-do lists, calculators, whatever. Don’t worry if your code’s messy at first, just keep at it. You’ll start recognizing patterns and it gets way easier!
Same thing happened to me when I started. Reading docs and watching tutorials for months but nothing stuck. What finally clicked was treating JavaScript like learning guitar instead of memorizing theory. I switched to what I call ‘uncomfortable coding’ - picking problems just above my skill level and grinding through them even when they felt impossible. Ditched tutorial hell and started doing Mozilla’s JavaScript exercises daily. No looking up solutions right away. The breakthrough came when I realized feeling stupid while coding IS progress. Your brain needs that struggle. For the programmer mindset, I learned to think inputs and outputs first, implementation second. Write down what goes in, what should come out, then figure out the steps between. This stopped me from getting overwhelmed by complex problems since I could focus on one piece at a time.