4 Pieces of Advice That I Wish I Had Known Earlier.
A few tips for you to grow faster as a better developer
I would like to share several tips I wish I had known earlier. I think these small things helped me to grow as a descent developer, and they were not as obvious before someone point them out.
Be brave
"To know and yet to know that one does not know is the highest attainment; not to know and yet to think that one knows will lead to error.” — Confucius
After years of working, I have come to realize one thing: you must be confident enough to expose your own ignorance. Once you muster the courage to expose your own weaknesses and shed the burden of being an "expert" or being "experienced", you can grow to your fullest potential and become a more confident and excellent version of yourself.
For example, when I joined a project, I was apprehensive about how others would perceive the questions I asked. I was afraid of looking "stupid" by not knowing basic knowledge, etc. However, later on, I realized that people probably wouldn't care too much about whether my questions were "beginner-level" or whether I lacked "common sense." Answering these questions would not waste too much time, and hiding the questions could be more harmful.
When I realized this, my mindset became much more relaxed. For example, I recently joined a new team, and when onboarding, I asked many questions (some of which I might have preferred to study on my own). Answering these questions not only helped me but also helped align everyone else on the team. A characteristic of knowledge work is that output is difficult to visualize, documents become outdated, and architectural diagrams become invalid. However, knowledge from team discussions is relatively up-to-date. Answering each question is a fact that refreshes the team members' knowledge of the domain.
Another interesting thing is that in previous pairing sessions with my colleagues, I tended to jot down some uncertain points and then digest them myself. However, the downside of this approach is that after digesting it, I might have understood it, but my partner missed the opportunity. If you ask questions when you have doubts, even if your partner doesn't know the answer, you inspire them and may drive them to learn more.
I know this takes extra courage, admitting that you don't know, and facing your knowledge gaps, but it is a crucial moment for your growth. Therefore, I hope you can be braver and less "self-centred".
Take actions
"I have pondered all day long, and found out that it is not as good as learning even for a short while." - Xunzi
I often find myself caught in inexplicable emotions, feeling lazy and unmotivated to do things that I may not find interesting or lack the drive to complete. And when I'm forced to do something, I feel conflicted and my mood drops.
To sum it up, this kind of emotional state is purely caused by overthinking. When our brains have some idle time, they tend to summarize and generalize things, such as what is the meaning behind a certain thing, when in reality the process itself is the meaning. The key here is to take action and not worry too much about the results or costs.
An interesting "five-minute rule" suggests that if you don't want to do something, try to convince yourself to do it for just five minutes. After the first five minutes, your brain often enters a "might as well finish it" state, and you naturally complete the task. In my experience, this method really works, whether for going to the gym, reading, writing a blog, etc. After the initial five minutes, I usually get into a "I have to finish it, or else I won't be able to sleep" state.
Be focus
The purposeless straying of the mind will leave you mired in confusion; when you are centered in purpose, your mind will be one. — Zhuangzi
When our attention is consumed by various pieces of information, focus itself becomes a scarce resource. You may have had the experience where once you start browsing on platforms like Twitter or Youtube, you can't stop and before you know it, half an hour or an hour has passed. These colorful blocks and fragments of information can give us the illusion that we have consumed a lot of content and learned a lot. However, this type of consumption reading is no different from watching TV or movies, even if you are reading about 10 common code refactoring techniques or 7 Clean Code tips in React, and agreed with the points in it, but that’s not learning.
Learning is a focused and thematic activity. First, you need to have a learning goal, such as learning about refactoring. The second step is to find relevant materials and then focus on that list to learn. You may refer to or consult other materials during the process, but the key is to have a goal. The advantage of this approach is that it is highly focused and will naturally form a system. Of course, learning methods such as efficient note-taking, review, connection, and even outputting knowledge to internalize it may also be necessary when paired with focus.
In contrast, browsing or reading content on social media is the opposite. It's like aimlessly wandering in a supermarket where you see various fresh fruits, vegetables, dairy products, Christmas promotions, and live prawns in the seafood area. Then you happily go home without a clear idea of what you actually need.
Goal-based learning is more like having a shopping list, going to the supermarket with a plan, and completing your shopping (although you may hesitate between different brands of tomato sauce or buy a few live prawns to try when you see them), and then going home happy.
Share what you learnt
"…we learn and then realize our insufficiency, teach and then feel stuck. Knowing our insufficiency, we can reflect on ourselves, knowing we are stuck, we can strengthen ourselves. Therefore, it is said: Teaching and learning promote each other." - Dai Sheng
If you can explain your understanding to others and make them understand, then you have truly mastered it. Our brains like to take shortcuts and often remember just the gist of something and assume that we remember everything. When we hear someone else's description or watch them perform a task smoothly, we mistakenly believe that we, too, can do it just as smoothly. However, when we try it ourselves, we realize that we have only learned it superficially.
Another interesting example is when we read an interesting point in a book and nod in agreement, but when we try to explain it later, we find that our mind is blank.
But this bug in our brain can be fixed through repetition. Specifically, if you have trouble repeating what you read after closing the book, then open it again and read it a few more times until you can explain it in your own words. Then, the next day, find a partner, such as your pair, and discuss the point you read. If you can make them understand, then the knowledge is truly yours.
I hope these points are useful, and please let me in the comments. Feel free to share that with your friends or anyone you think may benefit.