Have you ever started an online course only to abandon it halfway? Well, don’t think too much about it, it happens to the best of us. At some point, almost everyone has signed up for a course they never finished, even after starting with so much excitement. But why does this happen, especially when it comes to tech skills? Here are five reasons and what you can do to change that.
- Unrealistic Expectation
You probably saw an expert using their skills to make so much money, and you expect to learn and become a pro in one month. The chances of that happening are very low because learning a skill takes time. When you set unrealistic expectations and timelines for yourself, you can get frustrated the moment you realise you can’t learn everything at once and still have a long way to go.
In situations like this, it is always advisable to take your learning one day at a time. Give yourself grace to unlearn, learn, and relearn. Learning a new skill takes time and dedication, don’t expect to know everything in just a short time.
- Lack of Clear Goals
One mistake most people make is trying to learn a new skill without a clear reason or goal. When you don’t have a solid “why,” it becomes easy to lose motivation and quit along the way. That is why you need to define why you really want the skill and make it something you are willing to fight for.
- Information Overload
There are so many tools, videos, frameworks, resources, and languages in tech. If care is not taken, you might drown in choices and keep jumping from one thing to another until you eventually give up. What you need to do is to spend more time deciding what to learn than actually learning. The best thing is to pick one video, resource, tool, or framework and stick with it until you’re comfortable.
- No Consistent Practice
Reading articles or watching videos is not enough. Without getting your hands dirty and practising in real life, the concepts won’t stick. At the end of each video or class, try to put what you’ve learned into action. Build small projects that will add up later.
- Learning in Isolation
Nothing discourages someone more than embarking on a journey alone. Aside from making learning hard, it can also get lonely and tiring, which can make you quit easily. Without community support, you lack encouragement and accountability. So, search online and join a learning group, forum, or mentorship program. You can also find an accountability partner to keep you motivated.
Learning a new skill is not easy. You have to be patient with yourself, set a time frame that works for you, stay motivated, and join a community of people who share the same goal. With the right mindset and consistent effort, you’ll find that progress comes faster than you think.
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