Mistakes I Made While Self-Learning
I armed myself with knowledge thinking I won’t make mistakes when I start in tech.
I was delusional. I made mistakes, some of which I thought I’d never be caught dead making. It just proves that nobody is above mistakes.
Helping you navigate the tech industry also entails telling you the mistakes you are prone to make as well. Mistakes don’t make an announcement when they are about to happen, they can be avoided and sometimes, salvaged. Other times, we just have to experience them.
Read on to find out if you’ve made these mistakes as well and if not, how to avoid them.
- No structured learning path:
I picked my next skill and I was about to start learning.
I’ve been learning different skills and I thought this (UI/UX Design) will just be a walk in the park. I wasn’t prepared for the shock. I’ve been getting away with it but now I’ve been humbled.
Learning without a structured path is wrong. I didn’t set a time for learning.
I carry on with my day to day activities and fit in learning whenever I want to. It worked for the first few weeks but it wasn’t sustainable. Most times, I get carried away with my work and didn’t go back to learning.
I tried to learn everything at once instead of gradually learning from the basics.
2. Consuming too much information:
I wanted to be so good at UI/UX design so much that I set myself up with consuming too much information.
I got so confused, I had no idea what I was doing anymore. Having the right information is not bad but too much can confuse, especially as a beginner.
It is better to stick to the industry-based knowledge and follow veterans in the tech industry of your choice
3. Being hard on oneself:
I was hard on myself. I set goals for myself and when I don’t meet up, I scold myself.
I felt like I wasn’t doing the right thing.
I keep forgetting I just started and I’m allowed to make mistakes.
My learning pace might seem slow, but when I show people what I’ve done, they are impressed with how fast I could get it done. Then I realize, my pace isn’t slow. I was just being hard on myself.
4. Comparing oneself with others:
When I don’t get things right, I worry a lot and exaggerate to the point that I doubt myself.
I begin to wonder why I got myself into this in the first place. I don’t stop there, I start looking at people’s work on social media. I wonder when I’ll get to that level of expertise or if I’ll ever get there.
I had to stop because I was hurting myself. Rather than focusing on others, why not focus on me. I’m not in competition with anybody.
I only suck at this because I just started.
5. Not practicing what you’ve learnt:
Sometimes, I watch tutorials and they look so simple. I memorize how the tools were used and just move on to something else.
When an opportunity comes for me to make use of that knowledge, I realize I’ve forgotten what I’ve learned. This shows that practising is very important.
Mastering a tech skill is not the same as reading for an exam, you can’t memorize the tools or how to do certain things with software.
Constant practice will help you get to the expert level.
Conclusion:
I can’t guarantee you won’t experience these, but knowing what to do when they happen is also important.
Know that you are not alone and it is perfectly okay to experience them.
No experience is a waste of time. They happen to fill the void in the future.- Emmanuel Adikpe
What mistakes did you make while learning? Share how you overcame it.
I’m also available to listen. You can reach me here.