Learning new stuff is hard. Here is a quick post about how I approach working on something that I have never touched before.

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Learning new stuff is hard

Learning new stuff is tough. It’s hard work. It’s annoying. It’s frustrating and down right crap. But… we have to do it or get left behind. Learning stuff that is complicated and badly documented is that x10.

So whats the secret to learning new stuff?!

It is really a simple concept.

You will be crap at this in the beginning.

The expanded version of that is: You will suck at what ever you are trying to learn when you first start and you should be ok with that.

The learning path

There is an algorithm for learning that just about everyone will follow when learning new and complicated things. Its called the FFAK process.

Displayed below in some gifs.

Fury and Frustration will be what you start with. Represented below:

Shouting at computers, smashing keyboards, feelings of killing every living thing because this stupid thing just doesn’t do what it says; are all symptoms of the FF stage. However it is important you realise that this stage will pass and you will make it to AK. That being said many people don’t make it out of FF.

Rest assured learning new stuff is hard. You are not alone in feeling stupid at times. I keep this in mind with learning new stuff and it helps me greatly. It has kept me going long enough to find those little nuggets of information that just make everything make sense all of a sudden. And that is when I know I have finally arrived at AK. At that point it is worth looking back and laughing at the fury that you generated.

Keep learning and don’t get lost in the woods of knowledge.