A quick guide for when to study and when to build.
We’re all consumers.
Consumers of products, consumers of services, and probably most of all - consumers of content.
Content is everywhere, we can’t avoid it nowadays. Every time you pick up your smartphone or laptop or tablet, you’re getting ready to consume content.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as good content can be really valuable. However, when you add learning how to code to the mix of the content you’re consuming, it can be easy to get stuck in an endless loop of tutorials, courses, blogs, and videos.
You start to think that maybe just one more Udemy course or YouTube tutorial will finally make you employable and ready to build real-world applications.
But the truth is, no amount of passive consumption will ever prepare you to be a job-ready developer.
At some point, you have to make the transition from endlessly consuming coding content to actively creating with what you've learned.
That's when you truly cement your knowledge, build a portfolio, and gain the confidence to take on more complex programming work.
In this article, we'll explore signs that you may be stuck in a consume-only loop when learning to code.
We'll discuss the downsides of this approach and the many benefits of shifting your focus to creating real projects.
My goal is to help you break out of the immobile phase so you can start actively strengthening your programming skills.
Signs You're Over-consuming
Despite spending countless hours watching coding tutorials, reading programming articles, and signing up for online courses, you may realise you're still not feeling ready to build something on your own.
This can be a sign you've fallen into an overconsumption trap.
Here are some indicators that you may be stuck in an endless learning loop:
🤭 Lack of Confidence - You've amassed mountains of theoretical knowledge. Yet when faced with starting a real programming project, you feel doubtful about your skills. Self-doubts creep in and you feel like you need to learn more before you can start building.
😵💫 Repetitiveness - You catch yourself watching yet another "Intro to Python" video or reading another basic "How to Build a Website" article. Deep down you know you've already learned the core concepts being covered but feel compelled to keep reviewing.
😵 Paralysis by Analysis - You overthink every coding decision, unsure of which approach to take. You try to learn the "right" way to do things before writing a single line of code. This leads to decision fatigue and further delays in taking action.
🥺 FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) - You continuously jump between languages, frameworks, and tools out of fear of missing some new trend. You half-learn one technology before moving on to chase the next big thing, without ever creating a project from start to finish.
Benefits of Shifting from Consumption to Creation
The good news is that it's never too late to pivot from excessive coding content consumption to active creation.
Here are some of the major benefits you'll start to experience:
📖 Solidifying Knowledge - Passively watching tutorials only gets you so far. When you start applying what you've learned to build real projects, the concepts cement in your brain on a deeper level. Real-world coding forces you to problem-solve and truly internalise the lessons.
📝 Building a Portfolio - Every project you create, no matter how simple, is something you can add to your portfolio. This shows tangible proof of your abilities to potential employers or freelance clients. Passively consuming tutorials builds no evidence of practical skills.
💻 Learning by Doing - No tutorial can ever simulate the experience of bringing an idea to life. You'll inevitably encounter obstacles, bugs, and design decisions. Finding solutions is active learning that sticks with you.
🚀 Boosting Confidence - When you complete a project and have something to show for your effort, it gives you a huge confidence boost. You'll feel motivated to take on more complex coding challenges. Momentum builds as you turn more ideas into reality.
Tips to Transition from Consuming to Creating
If you do find yourself stuck in a cycle of excessive coding content consumption, here are some actionable tips to start shifting your focus towards creation:
Start Small - Begin your first project with something straightforward that aligns with what you've been learning. For example, if you've been learning web development, build a simple personal website. Resist the urge for perfection. Focus on getting a basic MVP (minimum viable product) launched.
Iterative Development - You don't have to learn everything before starting. With your first project, use the core concepts you do know. Once you have a foundation, iteratively add features and enhancements as you pick up new skills.
Join Communities - Engage with other coders by joining communities, attending local meetups, contributing to open-source projects, or finding an accountability buddy. Working with others provides support and motivation.
Teach - Explaining concepts forces you to understand them deeply. Start a coding blog, create video tutorials for YouTube, or mentor a novice programmer. Teaching reinforces your own knowledge while building your reputation.
The key is to take that first step to build something, anything.
Momentum builds from there as you realise the value of active learning through creation.
Focus on Finding the Right Balance
It's important to emphasise that the goal here is not to completely stop consuming coding tutorials, articles, and courses.
In fact, as ever-growing devs, continuous learning is crucial not only to stay relevant in the fast-moving tech industry but also to actively advance your skills.
The key is finding the right balance between consuming and creating.
Aim to shift your focus from purely passive consumption to spending more time actively building projects.
Strive for a balanced learning cycle of:
- 🧑🎓 Learn: Continue consuming high-quality coding content at a pace aligned with your goals. Stay current but avoid informational overload.
- 🧑💻 Do: Spend time practically applying what you've learned by coding real projects. Learn by doing and addressing real-world programming challenges.
- 🧑🏫 Teach: Reinforce and solidify your knowledge by teaching concepts through blogging, mentoring others, or contributing to coding communities.
This intentional "Learn-Do-Teach" cycle ensures you fully digest new information while continuously refining your skills through practice.
Finding this balance will lead to lasting results.
Conclusion
We will always be consumers, whether we like to or not.
And with so much great content available, especially when it comes to learning how to code, it’s easy to get stuck riding a consumption carousel 🎠.
But passive watching, reading, and listening will only take you so far.
To truly cement your programming abilities, you need to transition from absorbing information to actively building projects.
Apply what you've learned, solve real problems, and create functioning products.
Make the leap from tutorial hell to being a hands-on coder today.
Start small, be patient with yourself, and don't let perfectionism stall progress. The more you build, the more skills and confidence you'll develop.
Balance purposeful learning with creating. Immerse yourself in communities and share your knowledge through teaching.
Make this an intentional lifestyle of consuming content and producing code in equal measure.
The journey from newbie to expert programmer does not happen overnight.
But by shifting your mindset from endlessly preparing to actively building, you will take your first steps down a path of hands-on learning, tangible growth, and eventually coding mastery.
Now let’s see what you’ve got!
From your fellow ever-growing dev,
Cherlock Code
💙 If you liked this article...
I publish a weekly newsletter to a community of ever-growing developers, seeking to improve programming skills and stay on a journey of continuous self-improvement. Focusing on tips for powering up your programming productivity 🚀.
Get more articles like this straight to your inbox.
And stay in touch on 𝕏 @evergrowingdev
And if you're looking for the right tools to build awesome things, check out Devpages.io, an ultimate hub I built with 100s of developer tools and resources 🛠
Top comments (12)
Great post! This is a very common problem, especially with younger (in experience, not age) developers. If I may add a few little tidbits that I've seen really help with this:
As the OP mentioned, start with an MVP. But I see a lot of people fall into the trap of "I'll just add one extra thing". Do this half a dozen times and you've lost the spirit of the MVP. To help with this, write down exactly what the MVP will include before you start working. Once you've settled on that list, stick to it. If you have new ideas as you continue, that's awesome! write them down or add them as issues to your repo for a later iteration (never waste an idea!). By doing this up front, you have given yourself a clear target to shoot for. You know when you're done.
Only ever do 1 tutorial or video for a topic. After that, force yourself to rely on the documentation. This works great for me, and I have shared this with juniors I've worked with, and they've said it really helped them too. There is nothing wrong with doing a tutorial, or watching a video on a topic. It really helps to familiarize yourself with high level verbiage, concepts, and nuances of the tech. But after that, force yourself to get used to looking through documentation. This is where you will find quicker answers (rather than trying to remember what video or where in that 4 hours course you heard about that 1 thing), and deeper understanding of the tech.
If you find that you never finish the projects you start, fear not...you are not alone. There are many reasons why this might be, but let me share a few tips that have helped me and other I've shared them with:
Thanks for your article! I hope to read more soon!
Thanks for your detailed response, you've added many useful tips.
One of my favourites was around keeping projects small. I think sometimes when learners take on projects that are too big, it's very easy to get overwhelmed, get stuck on something and then quit. Keeping it small so that the task can be completed will drive confidence and motivation.
Cheers for this!
Agreed! Is very important to make every project, ours, that people see like our style, etc. Also, that helps to not be bored or overwhelmed. I like these tips too.
Amazing post! And direct to one of the biggest problems for self-taught, you think you are never ready or have not been enough. But in a world that is in constant change, you will never know anything. The better practice is working, making a team in a workspace, and learning from others.
Thank you 😊 and yes that's exactly right!
Great post! 👏 Could you share some community channels? 🙏
Thanks 😊 For communities I think being here on Dev.to is a great place to start because there are so many people and conversations to get involved in where you can talk to like-minded individuals. I would also recommend the freeCodeCamp community and Stack Overflow (for more technical support) and even Reddit can be a great place to engage and get support.
Hope that helps 🙏
Amazing post. I am pivoting to start creating and this post was of immense value to me. Thank you
Thank you, I'm glad to hear this 😊
I love this entry. Such an eye-opener. Thanks.
Thank you, I wish you all the best 😊
That correct, i did as you say, when i am a student at university, i build 2 personal projects, but i feel alone, because nobody in my class did what i did, they usually following the course at university and it is very boring and not valuable, when i am a 3 years student i got a jobs and did not have much difficult to adap with real work. when i read your article, i rethinking about the time in college, i am did not know this tips, but lucky i am do right way :v, when i read the title of your article, i am thinking about you say about become a creator like blogger or something like that :v