Master this one skill to become a web developer

I maintain a deeply held conviction that there is only one skill that you must master to become a web developer. It's something that I've struggled to understand all my life. It's a skill that I learned while training for my first triathlon in 2011 and I relearned when raising my son.

Without this skill, you'll accomplish nothing in life. And the web development trade will always be just out of reach if you don't master this skill first.

Ok, enough teasing. What is it?

Consistency

The skill of being consistent will take you further than any other single skill. In the world of web development, especially during the most intense learning phase in the beginning, you have to maintain consistency in your training.

Consistency will allow you to make steady progress. It will help you reinforce your learning by frequent use. It will keep you moving forward and maintain momentum. Consistency is the skill that keeps you focused until, one day, you realize you are already a web developer with a solid portfolio and ready to make money in this trade.

Consistency over quantity

When it comes to studying, consistency is far more valuable than sheer quantity. Studying 1 hour each day is much better than studying 14 hours every couple weeks even though the overall quantity is the same.

In fact, my highest recommendation to new students learning web development is to learn something every day related to web development. Even better would be to sit down with at least 30 minutes of uninterrupted time each day, preferably the same time each day. Waiting more than 24 hours between each study session will hurt your retention.

It takes discipline to be consistent since you have to decide to study each day. You have to say no to something else every day to stay consistent with your study. You have to make it a higher priority than sleep or TV or video games or leisure.

It's okay to get help

Being consistent is hard when you're on your own. When there's no one but yourself to disappoint and nobody else who's invested in your success, it's easy to sleep in or shirk a day's study session. But when you have someone that is there to kick your ass, get you to your computer to learn on a regular basis, you're no longer tackling it alone. You have help.

In fact, the New Method mentorship is more about accountability and support than it is about teaching and instruction. Sure, there are plenty of teaching pieces to the mentorship, but the most value comes from someone encouraging you to stay with it, text you everyday to remind you to study, send you helpful and encouraging emails, or call you to give you a pep talk.

If you have someone in your life that can do that for you, ask them. There's no shame in wanting help to stay consistent in your learning. Do it. Now.