What is the best way to approach being "stuck" on a lesson?

I am having difficulty with several things throughout the “basics” of javascript lessons. I feel like i’m doing great for 10 - 15 lessons and then all of a sudden i get MAJORLY STUCK! It’s as if I’m suddenly asked to do something i have no prior knowledge of.
I’ve never been very good at studying or soaking up knowledge so to speak, and I am just getting very frustrated with myself. Is there some special way i should be studying this stuff in order too retain the information?
Any help, tips, or ideas would be tremendously appreciated! Thank you.

I am pretty much in the same boat. However, when I have absolutely no clue on how to proceed, I come onto the forum to look up how to do it. And then I create my own ‘challenge’ and try and re-create the code, thereby cementing my understanding. Hope this helps!

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With regular JS challenges, post the code you’ve tried here and people can give you pointers.

With algorithm challenges, don’t be surprised (or overly upset) if some of them take you days! Some of them are really challenging but really reward a lot of thinking and trying out ideas with pen and paper.

There are some challenges that catch out most people when they first come to them, so don’t be afraid to ask for help: we’ve all needed it :slight_smile:

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Don’t be frustrated. In my opinion, FFC is made in such a way, that is it not enough to learn with just it’s material. It is sometimes good to leave for a while FCC curriculum and learn a bit elsewhere. So, pick more resources for yourself and go through them.
Some ideas:

  • read books (You Dont Know JS is a must)
  • watch some youtube videos/tutorials
  • do courses at codecademy
    -practice at codewars
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Absolutely awesome advice! Thank you so much! When i posted this last night i was feeling really discouraged. I have spent the better part of today getting my head back in the game and I’m just gonna muscle through it. Thank you for the great tips!

Excellent advice. I should have thought of that technique. I’ve heard it said that if you want to understand something fully, teach it. Creating your own test to understand the process is an excellent idea. Thank you!

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Thank you! This is my first time using forums here and everyone seems so helpful. What a far cry from the typical internet forum! I hope you are all the kind of people I will be working with when i finally get this programming stuff down!

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that is fantastic idea .

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Hi! I got majorly stuck at first on JS too, so i jumped across to code academy, did their course on JS and came back, it makes much more sense now!

There have been algorithms that took me 1-2 weeks in the basic and intermediate algorithms… I have learned to take a set back and:

1- write the problem on paper or the computer in words- what do you want to accomplish…
2- watch youtube videos, www.codeacademy.com, books (ex- http://eloquentjavascript.net) on the concepts which they recommend you use
3- I go to the chat room after I am to at least start the algorithm and I am able to formulate a question…
4- If you are really stuck - it is ok to move on and come back later…

Not helpful to everyone but this aproach always gets me through :smiley:

not for the squeemish

http://i.makeagif.com/media/9-20-2015/D87tM6.gif

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