Introduction

Just a wonderful afternoon, sitting in front of my lavishing desk on a very comfortable chair, and suddenly my brain went blank, this was not the first time it happened.

I still haven’t found a way to stop getting blank but instead, I found the solution to overcome it

You can’t control the way you feel, but you can definitely control the way you respond.

I’m pretty sure, that same had happened to you too, that’s why you’re here. Well, I won’t disappoint you because I frequently get stuck while coding.

Let me drop a few quick tips that’ll eventually help you to stop wasting your days by surrendering yourself to your overwhelming feelings.

What do I do When I get stuck?

Step back and analyze the problem

Before I try to solve a problem, the most important step is to figure out what the problem is. This helps me to take action accordingly in order to solve it.

Easier said than done.

How do you figure out what the problem is?

In the context of building software, as much as you want to convince yourself that you’re having a unique problem, you ain’t. Your project might be different, and the problem might feel different, but chances are someone faced this issue before.

So, here are a couple of measures that you should consider when you are stuck.

• Google Search

“Googling” is one of the most important skills to have as a developer. Because Google has everything you are looking for.

The trick is finding exactly what you’re looking for quickly and the best way is by being concise and searching using exact keywords.

• Ask questions on StackOverflow/Reddit/quora or relevant discussion forum

Technology can never beat human connection. Posting questions will get you personalized solutions. You get to understand different perspectives about a single issue. Nothing feels greater than being supported by industry folks.

• Ask your coding buddy

For that, first, you need to make a coding buddy, go out on social media, and approach other developers who are one step ahead of you. So you’ll learn from their experience.

• Raise an issue in GitHub on relevant topics.

While you may face a little difficulty in other communities GitHub can bring you the solution specifically for your niche.

If you encounter some issue while working with a certain package or library or something that's on GitHub, there's a chance someone has already encountered that issue before and asked for help. Look for the same, and If you don't find an issue related to our problem, you can raise one and ask for help from the community!

Now that you know your problem the only thing you need to care about is the solution and here are a couple of ways that will help you to solve the problem.

• Read Documentations

Reading documentation helps you to navigate through technical jargon. and help you understand what terms should be understood differently depending on context.

If you know what you’re doing, you can read the guide non-chronologically, Ctrl+F to jump around, and still be able to get what you want out of it

• Youtube Tutorials

World's largest academy, where you’ll find each and everything without paying a single penny. You just need to dig down deeper in the rabbit hole. Search with the right keyword you’ll get the right tutorial.

• Read a blog

Try and find multiple articles that support, each other and pick whatever suits you best. You can find thousands of useful blogs on hashnode. Again you’ve to search with the right keyword.

When nothing seems to work

Take a break from your workstation.

Go for a walk!

Make a tea or coffee or your favorite beverage and come back after a while.

Communities that helped me pull through

With the advancement of technologies, it’s almost impossible to succeed in building software without having some sort of support system. With the abundance of popular languages, frameworks, tools, and libraries, having someone who can guide or mentor you will significantly help you in getting things done.

Communities help you to connect with like-minded folks who share the same experience, failures, and successes within the industry. Here is a list of some of the best online communities for software developers.

• GitHub
• StackOverflow
• Hashnode
• Twitter
• Hackernews
• Hackernoon
• freecodecamp
• Women Who Code

• Discord Servers

  • Programmer’s Hangout
  • Devcord
  • The Coding Den
  • SpeakJS
  • Nodeiflux
  • Lazy Developer
  • Programmer Humor
• Dev.to
• Indie Hackers
• Digital Ocean Community

Food For Thought

Software development is a challenging domain that requires problem-solving skills.

Like it or not, getting stuck is an almost daily occurrence for developers. It can be scary, but it is something you need to get comfortable with.

As a developer, I usually get stuck and spend days and nights solving it.

Embrace the challenge and follow the process until you get past the problem.

A problem is a chance for you to do your best. --Duke Ellington

Solving problems helps you to develop your cognitive abilities and gain experience with a certain technology.

Happy Coding 👨‍💻

Any questions in your mind? You know where to find me 🤝