Code along with tutorials: Follow along with video or written tutorials, typing out the code yourself to reinforce your understanding and muscle memory. I have done this many times using videos from Bro Code and freeCodeCamp on YouTube. However, make sure you avoid getting stuck in "Tutorial Hell." This course tries to push you to do your own projects later on to help prevent you from being stuck on tutorials.
Practice coding challenges: Solve coding challenges on platforms like LeetCode, HackerRank, or Project Euler to improve your problem-solving skills and familiarity with different programming concepts.
Build projects: Apply your knowledge by building small projects, starting with simple programs and gradually increasing complexity as you improve. I urge you to go beyond doing the projects in the course.
Break down complex topics: When faced with a challenging concept, break it down into smaller, more manageable parts and tackle them one at a time.
Teach others: Explaining programming concepts to others can deepen your own understanding and expose gaps in your knowledge.
Collaborate with peers: Work on group projects or pair program with others to learn from their approaches and get feedback on your own code.
Use the Feynman Technique: Pretend to teach a concept to someone else, simplifying it until you can explain it in plain terms. This helps you identify areas you need to study further.
Leverage spaced repetition: Review new concepts and skills at increasing intervals (e.g., 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, etc.) to move them into your long-term memory.
Create cheat sheets: Summarize key concepts, syntax, and functions on a single page for quick reference and review.
Read and analyze code written by others: Study open-source projects or code written by experienced developers to learn best practices and improve your code reading skills.
Use debuggers and tracing: Familiarize yourself with debugging tools and practice tracing code line by line to understand how it works and identify errors.
Experiment with different coding styles: Try out different coding paradigms (e.g., object-oriented, functional) and patterns to broaden your understanding of programming concepts.
Participate in coding workshops or bootcamps: Attend structured learning programs to gain hands-on experience and learn from experienced instructors.
Contribute to open-source projects: Find open-source projects that align with your interests and contribute to them to gain practical experience and learn from other developers.