How do developers remember all that programming stuff?

Hey there,

Back when I was just getting started with programming, I couldn't fathom how professional developers were able to keep all of the relevant information in their heads while coding.

Programming is a "fractal" topic—you can keep drilling down deeper and deeper only to discover more and more complexity lurking under the surface.

It's hard to tell what's important and what isn't.

And things can start to feel overwhelming pretty fast...

It sounds like newsletter member Jon is feeling that same pressure right now.

He writes:

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My biggest challenge is remembering all that I've learned (in terms of code). Do you keep notes of all the code bits/tricks that you learn? something to look back on?

P.S. I'm pretty much the person mentioned on your website, an intermediate Python programmer that isn't sure how to push to the next level. It seems like a lot of resources out there are dedicated to the absolute beginner.

Love your website!

~~~

I've been pondering this question for a while.

And what it comes down to is two "coping strategies" that I've developed over the years:

I found that *writing publicly* about programming topics really helps solidify my knowledge.

Writing a tutorial or a short article about some topic forces me to structure my thinking and ingrains the key points so that they're easier to remember.

So many times I've gone back to tutorials I wrote on my website to refresh my memory.

And frankly, fear of embarrassment is a large part of why this technique works so well...

I still get a little tinge of fear in the back of my head every time I post a new article or YouTube video:

"What if I didn't get this 100% right? What if someone calls me out on it? What if I'm not as smart as I like to think?" etc.

This is all "lizard brain" type stuff that I know doesn't matter when I think about it rationally—but I think it helps me keep my edge and it helps me remember things.

The other thing that I do is I keep "shorthand" notes on my computer. I'm using an app/service called SimpleNote for that because it synchronizes with my phone, too.

But you could use a service like EverNote or your phone's note taking app for the same purpose.

All you need is plain-text and good and fast full-text search for your notes.

I found that that's the best way to locate information quickly.

Sometimes I'll just copy and paste a code snippet and throw some "keywords" around it so I can find it again later.

Or I'll put some links to relevant articles in there.

It's a very free-form technique and I don't invest a lot of time into taking these notes.

But I found they're still very effective.

I think some people call this a "personal wiki." But to me that would mean imposing a little more structure and taking the time to create proper hierarchies.

For my "shorthand" note taking system I like to keep it fast and lose and to rely on full-text search.

And it's worked out well so far.

Happy Pythoning!

— Dan Bader