The 3-Step Learning Framework No One Taught You
Most people don’t actually know how to learn.
They follow tutorials, binge YouTube, copy code, and then wonder why they feel stuck the moment they have to build something original.
It’s not a lack of intelligence.
It’s a lack of system.
In a field like software development, where the tools change monthly and the fundamentals take years to master — having a learning strategy is more important than knowing a tech stack.
But most new developers don’t have one.
Instead, they default to tools like ChatGPT, Cursor, or hot takes from influencers. Bald ones at that!
This is not bad in moderation.
But if you skip the actual process of learning, struggling, debugging and building intuition then you won’t level up.
You’ll just look like you’re making progress.
I’m not against AI. I use it daily.
But if you want to get good, like really good, you need more than shortcuts.
You need a system.
Here’s the exact one I used to learn how to code at 30 and what we teach at Parsity.io.
You can steal it to learn anything.
Step 1: The Protégé effect
If you can’t explain it, you don’t know it.
I remember learning JavaScript over a decade ago. I wondered how I could memorize all these abstract concepts.
Someone would pay me for this knowledge some day, I figured.
I read books and copied the code like a good little boy.
Once I put the books away, I had no f*cking clue what to do.
A very small tweak gave me a massive results:
Write out what you think the code is doing in your own words.
I ditched the academic jargon and nerd-speak.
Instead, I wrote down how I understood what the code was doing and the output I expected in plain english, dumbed down to the point I was embarrassed that someone might read what I wrote if they looked at my cheap laptop.
Turns out, this isn’t just a learning hack. It’s science.
Psychologists call it the Protégé Effect: we learn better when we teach or explain concepts to others. Studies show that even just preparing to teach something forces you to understand it more deeply.
Before you teach others, teach yourself by making the abstract obvious.
Match foreign concepts to familiar mental models.
For example, what do you think of when you think of a JavaScript function? I think of a bomb. It’s laying dormant, waiting to be triggered and explode when invoked.
Maybe I’m just weird.
Find what makes sense to you to create sticky mental models — and maybe never share it out loud.
Step 2: You’re a human you idiot. Know Your Limits.
I remember mentoring a student at coding bootcamp in the 2010s who would always show up to class early and stay late.
He could barely write a for loop.
How was this possible?
I asked him how he was studying and he told me, confidently:
“I can’t study during the week because I work 2 jobs so I study 10 to 12 hours on Saturday and Sunday.”
My jaw nearly hit the floor. No wonder he wasn’t making any progress.
There is a limit to the return on your marathon of studying.
Scientists say that limit is, are you ready for this?
90 minutes.
At Parsity, we encourage mentees to use the Pomodoro technique to practice spaced repetition — basically, taking short breaks in between learning to do something active or rest.
Spacing out your learning forces your brain to flex its memory muscles and keep what you learned in its long term memory bank rather than the short term.
Remember, your brain is not a computer. It wasn’t that long ago that our ancestors were fighting off saber tooth tigers to get home and enjoy a brontosaurus burger.
Step 3: A cliche that is truer than you think.
Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t, you’re right.
It’s cheesy, but also scientifically accurate.
Psychologists call this self-efficacy: your belief in your ability to succeed.
Research shows that higher self-efficacy leads to greater effort, persistence, and ultimately, performance.
People who believe they can learn are more likely to keep trying when it gets hard.
So no, it’s not just woo-woo mindset talk.
Your belief about your ability directly shapes your outcomes.
Maybe you think you’re too “dumb.”
You were never good at math.
You believe “smart” people are just genetic lottery winners.
Perhaps all this is true.
Then what?
Do you simply accept that you can never learn anything new or improve your life?
Let me be honest: everyone is starting off at a different point and your learning speed will be different than someone else’s. Do your best to compare yourself to yourself instead of others.
You can control your habits and consistency when it comes to learning but not the result.
So how do you develop this kind of mindset?
Don’t worry, I won’t suggest any cringe influencer routines, just a very practical strategy to develop growth mindset:
Leave yourself proof.
- Record yourself bumbling through explanations to concepts like closure, recursion and inheritance.
- Write about your struggles in a journal.
- Keep a “brag document” where you record your victories like finishing your first LeetCode problem, getting your first interview or tackling a particularly hard bug.
When that voice in your head gets louder and pushier with doubt, telling you that you aren’t cut out for this: read your proof back to that sick bastard.
Eventually he (or she) will get quieter.
Also — audit that voice in your head. Maybe don’t make it so mean.
I may not know you, but I believe in you and I hope you found this helpful.
Parsity is a program for career changers who are serious about breaking into tech and realize the coding bootcamp model won’t work for them. Apply here.
