Developer’s Dungeon: Where Idealism Meets Reality.

Failing to deliver is not the end; it’s an opportunity to learn, grow, and come back stronger. It’s in those moments of adversity that we discover our true resilience and determination to overcome obstacles and deliver our best.

I completed one single certificate on Zero to Mastery, Learning to learn. I feel very proud of myself for that, but at the same time, I feel like could’ve done so much more. I hate it when things are going on well then in no time, suddenly there’s a swarm of work to be done. I mean, its a good thing its a form of keeping active, but on the other, you cant do everything at once. I still intend to carry on with ZTM and I hope I can acquire the certificates I had intended. I fell of the wagon, I procrastinated I thought I’d be able to hold it all together and still deliver. I couldn’t.

Me right now.

The beginning of the end of the course I was working on (and wrote about previously), and the lessons I picked from it.

Follow Your Passion.

The first lie shocked me as it is something I have been told and is so deeply rooted in me: Follow your passion. Passion is overrated, just because I or anyone enjoys doing something, purely as a leisure activity, does not mean I want to turn it into my career. We lose interest in it and soon it becomes a chore to us. Working on something and gradually getting better and improving, the approach to work and skill development, emphasizes dedication and a deep focus on mastering one's craft. This mindset values the intrinsic rewards of doing a job well rather than external rewards like fame or money.

Truth is stranger than fiction, but it is because Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities; Truth isn’t. ~Mark Twain

You Can Avoid Risk

You can't! Risk is part of the process. Get out of your comfort zone, and enjoy the feeling when you know you are stretching beyond your boundaries. It doesn't really matter how many times you fail, what matters is that one time you succeeded. Consider risks as challenges, and be prepared to be put down more times than you can count. In the end, you have to make a decision to not give up.

Trust This One Person

It's easy to look up at someone and think that everything they say is the true gospel that works for you. However, you forget that they give advice based on their own personal life experiences. This is wrong because their experiences do not match yours. Instead, look for different people with different experiences, different sources, authors, and articles, this is a better way to learn and get better techniques for learning that work for you that are sourced from different opinions.

10,000-Hour Rule (The Magic Number of Greatness)

Practice makes perfect, there is no doubt about that. Practice is a key factor to achieving greatness. The 10,000-hour rule is a popular concept that suggests it takes approximately 10,000 hours of deliberate practice to achieve mastery. However, there are contributing factors, for example, genetics, environment and so much more. Not everyone learns on an even playing field, not everyone starts at the same level, intellectually, financially, mentally, emotionally etc. Not only this, It promotes oversimplification, potential burnout, fixed mindset quality over quantity and more.

THE PILLARS!

If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants. ~Isaac Newton

Growth Mindset.

A growth mindset is the belief that our abilities and intelligence can grow with effort and good strategies. It means thinking that we can get smarter through hard work. In contrast, a fixed mindset is the belief that intelligence is fixed and unchangeable; you’re either born smart or you’re not. People with a fixed mindset often make excuses to avoid challenging tasks, fearing that failure will make them look less intelligent. On the other hand, those with a growth mindset embrace challenges and see them as opportunities to learn and improve.

The difference between fixed mindset and growth mindset is when we view everything as a game, we give ourselves chances to develop further as opposed to quitting as soon as we encounter struggle.

Locus of Control (How much control people believe they have control over the outcomes of their lives)

An instance would be: When someone has a strong Locus of Control, let's say, in a test scored below average, the person is likely to blame himself for the poor performance and make steps to improving. However, a person with weak Locus of Control would likely blame other people for his failures, making excuses such as “I had too much on my plate/ the lecturer didn't teach well” and so on. As an effective learner, one must strive to develop a strong Locus of Control, taking responsibility for actions and working hard towards improvement.

Feynman Technique.

In order to learn efficiently, one must need to explain it. Explaining something in a simple and easy to understand method not only helps you learn, but also test your knowledge. Feynman technique brings a concept down to its basic level, you must be able to explain it to a child. When we use complex terms, it seems like we hide behind a mask or to hide your lack of knowledge on a subject. The Feynman Technique goes against this, shifting our focus from hiding our knowledge from others to showing how much we’ve learned.

Trunk Based Knowledge.

The idea where if we need to be successful, one must learn from the roots, the point is to first start with the principles because when we just start learning from anywhere, it will make it difficult to learn. We need to make sure we understand the fundamentals that live long through our careers. Instead of seasonal leaves. No matter how fast trends change, we have the capability to adapt easily.

Efficiency Triumphs Grit.

To be good at a task, you don't have to continually be on and productive, waking up at 4am and ending at 9pm, then rinse and repeat. Being busy is a good thing, but it also means that you have poor time management skills. Efficiency is learning how to use the right strategies and methods to get a head of others. Without knowing the where’s and how’s, you spend more time working and learning whereas you could systematically learn and develop new different skills.

THE SCIENCE!

Focus Vs Diffuse.

Focus mode is when all your energy is fixed on one activity and your prefrontal is activated. Diffuse mode is when your brain is wandering and all sections of your brain are activated. The most effective way of learning is switching between focus and diffuse mode. Taking breaks is a sign of high performance.

The Science of Sleep.

For long term learning, the lack of sleep is a horrible strategy. While we are a wake, we accumulate toxic products in our brain, sleeping flushes them out. Therefore, It is important to sleep not only to flush out the toxins in your brain, but also to organize bits and pieces of information.

Brain Training.

We need to start thinking of the brain as a muscle and train hard so as not to lose it. Learning new things and practicing physical exercises helps with our brains.

Science of Feedback.

Between negative feedback, which you are doing something wrong, and positive affirmation, which one would you rather pick? Both are great, however, to achieve mastery, negative feedback, criticism is usually more actionable and is more effective. Positive feedback is good for the beginning, for when you start to get any doubts out of the way. In order to enjoy what you are doing or learning, instant feedback is really essential because you’d just be wasting time not knowing what direction to take.

Procrastination.

When we learn something new, the brain generates negative feelings and pushes us away from doing something we don't like. Hence, we are pushed to doing something we enjoy doing like distracting ourselves with social media or watching movies, something fun and enjoyable.

Procrastination is not a time management issue, it's an emotional issue. The only way to get rid of procrastination is getting the work in question done. Once you start, it will be very uncomfortable, however the uncomfortable feeling will soon fade away. The sooner we realize that distractions are short term, we acknowledge that a sacrifice is being made in the long term and it will pay off. Procrastination to achieve a short term positive feeling is sacrificing a long term goal.

Short Term and Long Term Memory.

Long term memory is formed with practice and is essential in learning, whereas short term memory usually only involves the front part of our brain. To achieve long term memory entails practicing a skill over a period of time. Cramming is doing twenty tasks in one day, learning and understanding is doing one task each day. Our brain needs to be trained, and memory is part of that training.

Active and Passive Learning.

Active learning is practicing what you learn away from tutorials, passive learning makes it feel like we're being progressive for example, watching YouTube tutorials and copying directly without undertaking a personal project and challenging yourself without the external aid.

The illusion of competence stems from incorrect learning. When you learn new information, it is stored in different parts of the brain, long and short term. Your short term memory stores information you just read and learned. Long term memory aids in retention and recalling.

In order to effectively learn, your brain needs to actually do the work. One hour of testing is better than one hour of studying. You learn complex concepts by trying to make sense of the information you perceive, not by having someone else telling you. It is better to recall material than re-reading it, the connection of dots comes, from working, practicing, retrieving knowledge.

The Science of Motivation.

There is two types of Motivation, Intrinsic and External motivation. Intrinsic motivation comes from within you, a willingness to learn something, undertake a project, develop a new skill, external motivation stems from external factors pushing you to perform such as money, chasing that promotion and so on.

In Daniel Pink’s Book Drive, he gives us three motivators:

1. Autonomy: To have control, we need to work on things we want to do and have control over. We want to work on things that give us control.
2. Mastery: We’re wired to have mastery, we’re motivated to be masters of something, a skill and be able to showcase it.
3. Purpose: we need to ask ourselves how what we’re learning is benefiting us and others around us. what is our destiny?

In the end, learning is simple, however, without internal drive, no trick is going to the job for you.

Over-justification effect occurs when external motivation influences intrinsic motivation making it difficult to pursue learning, an example is if you loved writing articles you start to lose interest in it. This doesn't mean extrinsic motivation is a bad thing, external motivation is used while doing tasks that were initially uninteresting.

Once this early skills are being developed, you need to start becoming intrinsically motivated to pursue the activity. If you’re not internally motivated to pursue the mastery of a skill you’re not going to pursue it actively. The idea of learning should be internal.

I know you’re tired…But lets keep going.

System Vs Goals.

Setting goals gives us a sense of direction, however setting big goals may make us scared of the tasks ahead. The larger the change we want to make in our lives the more intimidated we get. This is normal since there is a part of our brain called the Amygdala that handles our emoticons and detects fear.

Goals are good but systems are better. Success in life usually comes from the skills you obtain and luck. Having a great skill set doesn't automatically make you successful. Luck still plays a role in your life. When we create goals, we assume we have everything in control and often neglect the luck bit. When you have negative days you decide to procrastinate because of how heavy or unattainable the goal in question might be.

Instead, create systems where you dedicate a certain period of uninterrupted time to perform a task. For example, it is easier to do small tasks that lead to the goal instead of just working on the goal as a whole. Working for twenty minutes is a system, where as a goal is “I need to make a project” Creating a goal is important. However, if you are the the type of person who doesn’t reach the finish line (Me) a system is better to implement.

Goals are good for small simple tasks, but, if it is something you are working on for a long period of time, it is better to implement a system.

It Pays not to Be Busy.

Being busy is a lack of time management. Your brain needs time to breath. Once you become too busy you no longer have time for leisure, socializing or doing physical exercises that prevent the growth and stimulation of the section in your brain known as the hippocampus. The hippocampus is crucial for learning, it helps grow neurons so that the brain doesn't deteriorate. It is important to take breaks and let your brain relax.

Chunking.

When we learn we are creating new neuron-patterns and link them to previous ones. We need to understand how chunks in our brains work in order to understand how we learn. This is known as the bottom up learning. Learning implicit knowledge first then learning explicit knowledge.

Top down learning refers to assimilating explicit knowledge into implicit form. Without having a top down representation of what we’re learning we won`t know how each peace co-relates to the other.

How to Solve Problems.

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Jobs are basically paying you to solve problems, so, how do we solve problems?

1. Focus mode problems: Easy to solve sequential problems.
2. Diffuse mode problems: Solved through intuitions, ideas or creative solutions.

It is important to solve focused problems, but as solutions become less intuitive or harder to grasp, we need to adopt diffuse mode. Instead of focusing on a problem for a long period of time, take some time off, a break and come back to the question feeling fresh and perhaps you will land a solution this time. Problems are solved differently, and being able to switch between focus and diffuse mode and incorporating other strategies is what makes you a good problem solver.

Deliberate Practice.

The learning process should be tough, the small frustrations during learning is important. Deliberate practice is starting to learn a program where things start to work out and you see progress so great in the beginning. However as we continue we hit and surpass these limits.

Deliberate practice requires us to have immense focus, having that immediate feedback and goal set specifically so we may know exactly where we need to go. Deliberate practice entails getting out of one’s comfort zone. Unfortunately, deliberate practice is not meant to be fun but rather it is meant to push you beyond your limits. How do we start deliberately practicing?

1. We need to ensure we have periods of pure focus.
2. We need to push ourselves past our limits.
3. We need feedback Immediately.

The better you become at learning a new skill, the more you enjoy pursuing it.

Spaced Repetition.

Revising and practicing what you learn is the best way to improve memory. Our understanding improves with each repetition we do. Being more efficient with your time takes away from exhausting your brain. Don’t go over something over and over again, but revise it spread over a period of time continuous repetition goes back to focus and diffuse mode. The point is to keep firing those neuron-patterns in our brains related to that memory to assist our brains to understand that “This is the memory to keep long term”

The forgetting curve shows us how cramming is not a good way to learn because once we cram something for a test we never really revisit it and what we learn is almost completely forgotten. However , the forgetting curve is slower when we start to practice.

Habit as Energy Savers.

Habits are behaviors that have been repeated enough times to become automatic. Being more efficient with your time takes away from exhausting your brain. Habits we form save our brain that is requires for specific actions.

A lot of people use will power to force themselves to learn something. This is a terrible strategy when it comes to mastering a skill. It is better to prepare ourselves for learning. You need to create obvious, easy, attractive and satisfying habits. We are more likely to repeat these habits if they meet these four characteristics. it’s more effective to design an environment and routine that naturally encourages and supports learning.

Be Adventurous.

When you gain new experiences, your neuron-pathways strengthen in your brain, we remember things clearly when our emotions are heightened, when we are in an adventurous state. When we’re experiencing something new our memory is sharper, we remember things more clearly.
New experiences grow our brains.

Monotony is bad for us. When we create a cycle of activities it doesn’t create strong neuron-pathways in the same way someone who has new experiences does. We should allow ourselves to be adventurous and experience new and exciting things.

As children, we grew up being creatives, coming up with new games, ideas, stories and more. however, as we grow the idea of creativity fades because our experiences have become monotonous, we start to experience the same things over and over again creating a loop of boredom. To be an effective learner, cultivate new adventurous habits, travel, learn something completely unrelated to your main topic (in my case Spanish).
Treat the world like you once did as a child, because that helps your brain grow.

Have an End-Point.

When performing an unpleasant task, your brain needs to know that there is an end in sight. Your brain needs a break. Having set an end time to your focused learning actually helps your brain stay more engaged and more focused. Planning your finishing time is as important as planning your waking time.

Create a road-map

Learning something requires a plan. How you use the chunk of knowledge is what really matters, and being unable to do this, you will not learn efficiently. You need to understand what you need to learn. Every single minute you spend learning is a dear path towards achieving mastery. Before choosing materials to learn, seek opinions from other self learners and conduct research about said materials, learn about the industry, figure out what objectives you plan to study. You need to recognize quality resources.

Interleaving

This is a technique to use different problems to learn learn something. Variety is important! For example, when learning a new concept, don't just use one method, learn something new. Instead of practicing the same skill over and over again, it is better to learn and practice different skills simultaneously.

If you want to be an excellent cook, don't just cook one meal cook different meals. For instance I’m currently chasing multiple certificates I can get and hopefully pursue a course in finance. The question to ask here is, how am I going to mix up my learning?

Einstellung Eine Haltung festlegen.

The German phrase Einstellung eine Haltung Festlegen translates to “setting an attitude.” It describes a mental state where the brain becomes rigid and mechanized in its thinking, creating a roadblock to new ideas. This fixed mindset can prevent us from seeing novel perspectives and limit our ability to adapt.

Even when you become a master in a field, viewing yourself as no longer a beginner can hinder growth. You may stop seeking advice, feedback, or insights from others, shutting out fresh ideas that didn’t exist when you started. This rigidity stifles innovation and keeps you stuck in outdated ways of thinking.

The solution lies in embracing integrative complexity — the willingness to accept and explore different perspectives and opinions. By continually evolving your understanding and staying open to learning, you can break free from mental roadblocks and maintain a dynamic, adaptive mindset.

Importance of Community

No matter what you do while learning, If at the end of the day you don't have a community of learners, then you are going to be at a disadvantage. thinking you can handle everything along the journey by yourself is wrong. You are not as smart as you think. Being open to getting feedback and having a team speeds up the learning process, as opposed to going through the learning process by yourself. This will make learning more difficult. You are always going to have blind spots, things you didn't know could be solved by a team together.

You get immediate feedback, overcome obstacles, but most importantly you can have accountability partners.

The Power of Senses.

How do memories form in our brains? Imagery in our minds really makes it easier to remember handwriting as compared to typing. whenever you travel, you remember those exciting days, compared to the long boring days at home. As humans, we use the mind’s eye to understand what we are learning. for instance if you a learning like coding, if you are given an answer it will be harder to learn. We need to use our visual memory and sensual memory to remember things.

We use our visual memories, the more senses we can hook into our learning process, makes it easier to recall these memories. Seek new experiences outside learning, seek out learning methods that stimulate our mind, make it as exciting as possible to stimulate your senses. Engaging your emotions and senses is a proven way to enhance memory. Another way is to create analogies in your mind.

Learn something complex by attaching it to something you already know. For example, while taking history notes, you can come up with metaphors while taking said notes such as jokes that are funny to you, that way you invoke an emotion that “this was funny” and is easier to recall.

Method of Loki

Our brains are like muscles that need to be trained. we have good spatial memory, however, we are really bad at remembering data, we are not used to such memory patterns like the arrangement of a deck of cards or a sequence of phone numbers. With the Method of Loci, you need a memory palace, that can be a location you are familiar with and is memorable.

Imagine you need to remember a list of items: apples, bread, milk, eggs, and coffee. Start by selecting a familiar place, such as your home. Visualize a mental path through this space, beginning at the front door and moving through different rooms. As you walk through each area, associate each item with a specific location.

For instance, picture a basket of apples sitting by the front door, a loaf of bread on the living room couch, a carton of milk on the kitchen counter, eggs placed on the dining table, and a steaming cup of coffee on the bedside table. By creating these vivid associations, you’ll be able to recall the items on your list by simply mentally walking through your home and visualizing each item in its designated spot.

Pareto Principle (80/20)

The Pareto Principle is to figure out what the critical skills are for you, to get results as fast as possible, 20% should give 80% results. Pareto’s principle teaches us to select tasks that give us instance gratification. The best question to ask when picking a task is, “Is this the best use of my time?”. While using the Pareto principle, it is important to remove the unnecessary and add what is necessary. Always look for critical information when starting out, for example, when picking out career understand what critical skills are needed instead of wasting time doing everything.

Parkinson’s Law.

The concept of work expands to fill the time given to complete it. Using small systems and goals with specific deadlines forces us to complete task s with those given time frames, as opposed to having huge plans and time frames. This will make us drag everything to the end of the time line.

An example is a to-do list becomes highly relevant in this context, as it helps prioritize tasks and allocate specific time frames for their completion. By breaking down larger goals into manageable tasks and assigning deadlines, a to-do list ensures that work doesn’t drag on indefinitely, fostering efficiency and focus. This way, you avoid procrastination and make steady progress towards your objectives.

Deep Work.

Deep work is a period of intense focus. A period where there are no distractions and one is focused for a long period of time. Steps we could take to achieve deep work include

1. Make sure to have a dedicated work space.
2. Set an exact end time.
3. Make sure all power-ups are there (happiness, rest, exercise).
4. Avoid procrastination (Whoops!)
5. Deliberate practice.

You want to use what other people already know such as online tutorials, books etc. The shallower your work is, the less rare and valuable your skills will be

Stakes and Rewards

The technique is to focus on small rewards. Rewards give us motivation and discipline. You feel good getting better and better. Stakes ask what we put on the line which help us maintain accountability. you are more likely to not care if nothing is on the line. Stakes are a the things that we lose when we don’t improve. Reward yourself, however, remember to hold yourself accountable.

Concept vs Facts.

Concepts are more important than facts. it is easier to get facts whereas concepts are harder to search for. Concepts are high-level topics that give context of what you learn about. Concepts are valuable, facts are cheap, anyone can learn facts. By being able to ask questions and understand why certain things are the way they are, then you can understand concepts.

Test Yourself (Active Learning)

Without practice you are not going anywhere. You need to push yourself past your limits ( GO BEYOND! PLUS ULTRA!!!) . It is important to quiz yourself. Reading and watching videos is not a good strategy (passive learning). You need to recall information and see where you went wrong. If you want to learn, you have to do the uncomfortable bits, and these include trying and failing and correcting yourself multiple times.

Ultra-Learning and the First 20 hours.

We often think, we are far from mastery, but we are actually pretty close depending on how we spend the first 20 hours. How we use our first 20 hours can determine how we reach our goals by doing the following.

1. Create a roadmap and strategize how to spend your time.
2. Create a practice drill, figure out how to test yourself based on what you want to learn.
3. Have a good feedback system.
4. Use a stakes and reward systems.

With these techniques we have learned, we should be able to figure out how we can work towards efficient learning.

Finally!

Nothing else left to say. May the code be with me!