HN Explorer

Ask HN:How do you manage to go through loads of infos to build a product?

7 points by hemtros ↗ HN
Everytime I want to learn some topic, I learn many things about it but never seems to be sufficient to build a product. I am of course talking about the programming and technology stuffs. suppose when I want to learn about javascript I get started soon but then I am lost within tons of information about it, the books, documentation, videos and never reach to build some product I am proud of. Any good suggestion would be appreciable.

6 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 26.7 ms ] thread
bradmilne
Go through less information. A far, far superior developer to me once said 'An efficient way to find the answer your looking for is the most valuable thing a developer can have.'

1. Decide on what to build 2. Break the project down into small chunks (i.e. add dropdown) 3. When you get stuck, stop reading as soon as you find an answer that works and get back to developing

You can always go back and make it better later. Just make sure you're moving forward with your projects.

lnanek2
Yes, agreed. OP shouldn't be out trying to learn JavaScript, take classes, etc.. OP should be out trying to learn how to do a specific thing they ran into problems implementing - how to loop through a set of things that each take a callback in NodeJS and run something when done, etc..

The amount of general learning people do nowadays should probably just be classified as procrastination. Easier to read a book or take a class than actually sit down and write something. So there are people who just do that constantly and never actually build anything.

icoder
Focus, patience and meta learning.

Focus: don't try and learn about every topic

Patience: it seems you simply do not stick to one subject long enough to build some product you are proud of. Remember that learning takes time and practice.

Meta-learning: get an idea of how you learn the easiest. As you said there is tons of information. You'll have to figure out what helps you most: Real life courses? Practice? Video courses? Short tutorials? Books? Peer programming?

So, once you have your focus, decided to be patient and know how you learn the easiest, go and find out what is available on your topic of interest.

This depends per topic (for iOS, for example, there are loads of pretty useful videos available for registered developers). Often you can find nice lists of 'where to start', for instance on StackOverflow.

mcartyem
Start working on a project, and when you have a problem, only then go look for a solution.
jnazario
i was going to say "learn how to learn", but that sounds rather trite. instead, learn what to learn and from where to learn.

if you're "lost within tons of information about it", it sounds like you are trying to gather everything you can. learn how to evaluate sources and pick a small handful to focus on, learn how to figure out what minimal info you need to to learn, and go from there. focus on the minimum viable info needed to accomplish your task, and go from there. minimize your inputs to what you need to have something to show.

richsin
Try reading or listening to "The Checklist Manifesto: How to get things right". I believe Jack Dorsey gives it to each of his employees. As you learn independently you will find long term success in mastering your own process.

I agree with the other comments regarding breaking projects into small chunks. I have found success just finding the most recommended resources and then organizing it in order of beginner to advanced. Build your own curriculum with all of the resources you have gathered.

Structure is important even if it needs to be self imposed.

Don't be too concerned with being super efficient in what you learn because resources will overlap in content, some more than others. The overlapped content is usually fundamental and never a bad thing to go over more than once with a different perspective.

You seem to be very driven and kudos for attacking your personal development full steam.