When learning web development I found a special trick that worked well for me and still works today. It improves my retention of lessons, reduces fatigue, removes the risk of burnout, and doesn't sacrifice momentum. I started cycling my intensity.
Doing it wrong
When I first started learning web development, I tried to stuff it all in my head as fast as possible. I joined Treehouse and went through a ton of lessons. I read a book on HTML and CSS like it was a textbook. I read a book on Ruby from cover to cover and highlighted half the text. I joined a developer bootcamp called Bloc to learn even faster. I did Codecademy lessons and read as much online as my eyes could stand.
I spent the month of May 2012 crushing it, studying for 12 hours a day. When June came around, I was spent and didn't feel very confident that I'd retained much of what I'd studied. My fears were proven when I attempted to build a prototype of a hiring app with almost no success. How dejecting.
A new approach
In June, after some moping around, I tried a different approach. First, I decided that I didn't need to rush. My urgency is entirely self-imposed. Crushing it is overrated. Working long hours is the opposite of why I want to be a web developer. I truly enjoy learning and should treat this just like anything else I enjoy, savoring the experience as I improve myself.
Second, I broke down my learning path into small chunks. I gleaned some insight from blogs, online courses, and asking my developer-mentor to figure out what things I absolutely needed to know, what was a little important, and what was unnecessary to me becoming a web developer.
Learning should be like dining in a nice restaurant
Those small chunks were then separated into learning cycles. You can think of learning cycles like the many courses of a fancy meal. You start with something simple that doesn't fill you up. It wakes up your imagination for what's about to come later. It creates curiosity, which is vital to the learning process. The next course is a little larger and introduces you to new tastes. And the next builds upon the last. You get the idea.
Learning cycles work like the courses of a meal in that no single course should fill you up. No single learning cycle should overwhelm you. Each one should be brief and accomplish a purpose, like learning jQuery plugins or how to setup a database. Each learning cycle should have a beginning and an end and should give you a small sense of completion when you're done.
Let it digest
After each learning cycle, put down your fork. (Sorry, I'm mixing the metaphors a bit.) I mean, stop completely for a very short period of time. Use this very short break (24 hours or less) to think about as few things as possible. Don't use this short break to do your annual taxes or apply for 100 jobs online or plan a multi-stop trip around the world. Give your brain time to settle down.
Before picking up your fork for the next learning cycle, do a couple small projects that reinforce what you learned during the last learning cycle. Don't be upset if you need to review what you learned to make sure you're doing it right. The vocabulary, syntax, and specific limitations of each learning cycle will be engrained over time. What you're reinforcing is the general concept of the last learning cycle. If you learned recursive functions in the last learning cycle, use your projects to reinforce how they're used in the real world, not the uber-specific syntax of for loops, while loops, and unless statements.
Finally, take a deep breath and move into your next learning cycle slowly. Take your time. You're not racing anyone and there's no one chasing you. Partake in each cycle like it's a fancy meal.
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