ZOD: If you're not building, you're not learning
ZOD: If you're not building, you're not learning
Zen of Data Science #12
The Big Idea
You have to build projects.
There’s no way around it. If you want to learn, you must build projects. They don’t need to be big, elaborate projects, but they need to reinforce the skills you’re currently learning.
If you’re learning subqueries, get some sample data and practice writing subqueries on it.
If you’re learning data viz in Python, then practice visualizing your bank transactions or something like that.
The learning you get from a course or book is nothing compared to the learning you get by being down in the trenches, actually writing code or working with the software.
I can’t emphasize this enough.
I wasted so much time watching course after course, when I should’ve just learned the basics, and then started building.
Don’t make the same mistake.
Learn the basics, and then go build something with it.
You will get stuck, so learn to Google things and read documentation.
Once you’re done building that mini project, THEN (and only then) should you go back to tutorials, courses, books, etc., and start learning the next thing.
Follow this path, and you’ll make double or even triple the progress you would’ve otherwise.
Focus on building (active learning), over courses (passive learning).
What I’m Learning
I’m learning Tableau this week.
I’ve built projects in Tableau before, but they weren’t very good. I’m focusing on doing higher quality projects, learning the skills, and then building another project right after (not following a tutorial or anything like that).
You can check out the first dashboard I’ve built on Tableau public. I’ll be adding more over the coming weeks, and I’ll share them in case anyone wants some inspiration on what to build.
Quote of the Week
“There is a time and place for diversion and amusements, but you should never allow them to override your true purposes.”
— Epictetus
I’m making an effort to spend more time doing the things I love, the things that I feel are my purpose, and less time with mindless distraction.
I talk a lot about distraction, tv, social media, etc., but I’m not inherently against these things. I’m only against using them mindlessly. It’s ok to have fun and waste time, but make sure you’re doing it intentionally, and not so much that it overshadows what truly matters.
Something Interesting
Check out this video from Mo Chen on YouTube. He has a ton of great videos on data analysis, and different project walkthroughs (he’s where I found the dashboard I shared above).
Highly recommend his channel.
Feel-Good Finds
Yeah… let’s slow down with the AI stuff alright? 😆
Thanks for reading, and have a great week!
– Josh