Learn to code like a pro in 30 days

There are no shortcuts. Next time you see an article like this - skip it!

But while I have you fooled, let's talk about patience and deliberate improvement.

Coding, like any other skill, takes time to learn and a lifetime to master. The bad news is that time alone is not going to cut it. If you keep writing for loops for 12 months, you will become really good at writing for loops but not much else. So how do you become a "pro"? You develop a plan.

Plan

Your plan must be designed to stretch your understanding to the very cusp where familiar turns into scary. That is where the learning happens. In the simplest example it goes like this: A) Learn to change the color of a button B) Introduce pseudo-class to make button really pop on hover C) Animate the transitions so it looks amazing

Aim - Incremental addition to complexity building upon base understanding

Avoid - Building the same (in terms of complexity) thing over and over again.

As far as actual plan goes for your goal - there are many to choose from depending on what you are after. First understand your goals, then pick a plan and stick to it.

Patience

So you've got a plan and some time set aside to execute it. Now what?

Keep at it. This is the hardest part, it is inevitable that distraction will creep in. After the first few days or weeks (if you are lucky) doubts, insecurities and distractions will start seeping into your conscience.

• What if I drop React and start learning Vue instead? I heard Vue is cool on a podcast.
• Maybe I should play with Golang, everybody is talking about it.
• Is development even for me? I may be too (dumb, old, marginalized, busy, lazy ⇒ insert your self-sabotage go-to reason here) for it.

These thoughts are very dangerous, I think that is where 90% of good intentions and project ideas and self-improvement goals fail. You have to be pushing through this noise and executing on your plan no matter what. Ignore the distractions and doubts, drown those pesky thoughts with the noise of your fingers hitting the keyboard.

Success will come. But not in 30 days. Be patient.