We’ve seen this pattern of frustration and self-doubt among developers that want to learn it all, and really know very little when actually doing the work.

Learning programming can sometimes be overwhelming. We are constantly trying to solve problems, and just as we think we’ve found the solution, we jump to even bigger problems. The constant process of problem-solving causes stress, pain and self-doubt for developers.

In order to be an effective programmer, it is important to understand how knowledge works, and narrow down the learning field so that you can become really good at what you do.

How does knowledge work?

Have you ever noticed that when someone explains something, you feel that you understand it, but when you try to apply it, you find it difficult, almost like you know nothing. You are not alone. The reason why is because knowledge consist of two important parts — information and knowledge.

As shown in the figure, information is based on facts or things that provide awareness, while knowledge is when we apply what we have acquired such as information. Watching online videos, reading articles or talking to people provides you information and to some extent knowledge (built upon experience), but that is not true knowledge.

An example of this is learning how to drive a car. The instructor may provide you information on how to drive the car and change the gear etc, but knowledge is when you actually apply it. A combination of eye- and body-movement, knowing when to switch gear based on the environment, how to hold the steering wheel and position the car in the right lanes is knowledge which is difficult to transfer.

You can’t learn everything

Programming is a large field, there are thousands of resources and ways of learning something. It is important to narrow down what is necessary in order to have the time and energy to solve demanding problems. If you constantly learn new things, you will end up with just information, and little knowledge. I’m not saying don’t learn new things, but learn what is relevant for the problem your working on. And that itself will help you become a good developer in your field, narrow down the noise.

Information is a good thing, but to some extent. It may provide a sense of feeling that you know something when you really don’t. Information itself is worth little, but the knowledge of knowing how to do things combined with information is whats important, and what you’ll make a living from in the end. To achieve knowledge, you need to put yourself out there. And of course, that requires time and discipline, which of course makes it easier to watch a YouTube video. But in the long-term, you’ll be surprised of how much more you learn when you actually need it from creating small apps.

With that being said, you should focus on one thing, and do it very well. It means there are lots of things you need to reevaluate if it is truly worth your time and energy, or just a waste of time.

Remember, information provides awareness while knowledge is the ability to solve problems and take important decisions.

Original article published by Dler Ari on Codeburst under: https://codeburst.io/developers-that-constantly-want-to-learn-new-things-heres-a-tip-7a16e42302e4