Everyone Gets Stuck: How to Use Help and Improve Your Coding Skills

When working on a project or coding exercise, it's common to hit a roadblock—whether it's something you're unsure how to do or a piece of code that isn't working as expected.

The natural reaction is to seek help, whether through Google, forums, or AI models like ChatGPT.

You're not necessarily looking for the solution; instead, you're asking specific questions about how to do something or why your code isn't working as expected.

However, you might still worry that relying on external help too often could prevent you from becoming an independent coder.

So, how should you approach working on a project or coding exercise?

Professional coders look things up all the time. But when approaching a project or coding exercise, it's crucial to strike a balance between seeking help and developing problem-solving skills independently.

Here’s a strategy to consider so that you can effectively use external help to learn while developing your problem-solving skills as a coder:

Understand the Problem

Work through an example yourself by hand. If you can't do that, it may mean you need to further specify the problem or gain additional domain knowledge.

Break Down Problems

Problems or features can seem overwhelming, but try to break them into smaller, more manageable tasks. Tackling each part individually makes the problem less daunting and easier to solve step-by-step.

Use External Help Wisely

If you're still stuck, seek help by asking specific questions about the problem rather than searching for direct solutions. This way, you gain insights into why something isn't working and how you might fix it, rather than just copying a solution.

Learn from the Help

When you receive assistance, take time to understand the explanation. Review the solution and try to learn the underlying concepts and techniques.

Practice More with Similar Problems

Once you receive help and manage to get things working, practice with similar types of problems. This will help you build confidence in what you’ve recently learned.

Start by identifying the core concepts or techniques you’ve just learned. For example, if you’ve recently worked on a problem involving arrays and the map method, look for other problems that also involve array manipulation or higher-order functions. Websites like PracticeJs allow you to search for problems based on specific topics or difficulty levels.