Here’s how to establish a self-study routine that you’ll actually stick with while learning data science.
While studying data science on your own, you’ll find yourself in one of two what-if scenarios: on an escalator or on a staircase.
Who laid the foundations by making a curriculum of everything they need to learnplace daily, weekly, monthly and yearly goals to help guide your progress, and they continued to tweak and modify their learning process to produce optimal efficiency, they will find themselves on an escalator. In other words, they’re slowly but surely accelerating toward their destination with a steady upward motion (although the escalator sometimes breaks down, it’s still guaranteed to go up instead of down).
Conversely, those who did not make a plan, did not set goals or learning objectives to guide their progress, and did not modify their learning methods, are doomed to be stuck on a ladder, where movement up or down is an option. possibility. . While there is nothing wrong with being on the stairs, you can easily give up and start going down, whereas on the escalator you can only go up.
Make sense?
But what makes the difference between being on the escalator or being on the stairs? It’s simple, really.
Your continued upward movement and success while studying data science on your own comes down to your routine.
Routine is what differentiates the disciplined few who manage to teach themselves data science and then have a career in the field, from those who thought they could just “wing it” and end up on fire from the start because they didn’t. they did it. They don’t have an ingrained routine that forces them to sit at their desk every day and study.
All it takes to establish a self-study routine is four steps. I have used these steps for the past 6 years while pursuing post-secondary education and to help me study data science and have found that these four things are all it takes to create a routine that will bring you success. These four steps are simple and unglamorous, but they are enough to create a routine that you can easily follow.
Choosing a time of day during which you will study is not only about productivity, but also about maintaining a healthy work-life balance (more on that later).
Data science and all the topics included require a decent amount of mental rigor for self-study. This is why the time of day you choose to study should always be when you have the most energy and ability to focus.
For example, I choose to do all my mentally rigorous studies (like anything calculus based) in the morning, which is when I have the most energy and focus. The afternoon is reserved for less mentally taxing study or other tasks that don’t require a lot of brain power (which for me is usually studying data visualizations, statistics, or working on my personal projects). By studying during the most productive part of my day, I have ensured that I am as effective and efficient as possible.
The time of day when you are most productive is different for everyone. Some people work better during the day, while others do better at night. The point is to choose the same time every day when you will schedule your studies. Not only that, but your brain needs to start associating a specific time of day with studying. This will help you stay focused longer and get you ready to hit the books the moment your study session begins (instead of scrolling through your phone for 10 minutes because you need to get ready to study).
As I mentioned earlier, this technique of choosing a specific time of day to study data science is also important for maintaining a healthy work-life balance. For example, today (a Friday), I finished all my calculus studying this morning, which meant I was done for the day, finished everything on my study to-do list for the week, leaving me a full half day to relax, get keep up with errands, spend time with my dog, and enjoy a bit of a long weekend.
Where you study is as much a part of your routine as studying at the same time every day.
Studies are showing that where you work can have physical and psychological impacts on your health. This relates specifically to the people who work in your BedsWhich can lead to ergonomic nightmares, as well as developing the wrong associations with your bedroom—namely, that your bed isn’t necessarily just for sleeping—which can wreak havoc on your sleep schedule and productivity.
The bottom line is that your brain is really good at associating specific locations with specific activities. This is why many college students will choose to go to campus to study, even if they could study from home. So when it comes to studying a subject on your own, it’s important to help your brain by letting it know it’s time to focus when you sit in a particular place every day.
The same philosophy should be used when choosing your place to study. Having a predetermined place to study tells your brain that every time you sit there, it’s time to work. This should be a place with great lighting, plenty of space for all your study materials, and as good an ergonomic setup as you can get.
For example, I have been studying at the same desk for over four years. Every time I sit at my desk, I know it’s time to work, whether I’m studying, writing, or doing some other kind of work. This desk is huge and has everything I need within reach, minimizing the number of times I need to leave my desk during a study session, helping me stay focused.
One of my favorite hacks for creating a great study space is to have all my data science books nearby. For some reason, having those books around me is very inspiring because I know that soon I will be able to accomplish everything in those chapters, whether it is creating images that tell a story, doing multivariable calculations, or knowing how to code in Python. can be written for a production environment.
As you read this article on developing a study routine, I’m assuming you’ve already done the hard work and created the curriculum you’ll use to self-teach data science. Perfect! This means that you have practically completed this third step.
Knowing what you are going to study before you sit down is a crucial part of maintaining a routine. Spending 10-20 minutes going through your materials and trying to find video lectures is a waste of good study time and a nuisance that can actually make your study time annoyed. Instead, take 30 minutes to an hour every Sunday night to plan exactly what you’ll study each day for the next week. This should include laying out all the topics you’ll cover in a day (be realistic and don’t get overwhelmed), as well as queuing up video conferences, resources, and the code files you’ll be working on. This is also the time to charge up your electronics, organize your study space, and maybe pack some on-the-go study snacks to keep you going.
For example, I follow this 30-minute rule every Sunday and write a big to-do list for the upcoming week. This way, on Monday at 6am, I’m not fumbling around trying to figure out what I’m working on, and instead can start working right away when coffee starts.
One great tip for you is that as soon as you have completed your study assignments for the day, stop. Stop your work right there and walk away – done for the day. Yes, you can always say just one more calculation problem or just one more Leetcode challenge. This will take you down a one way street to Burnoutville though, trust me. So, stay fresh and eager to continue your studies and quit once you have completed all your studying for the day. This is a great way to make sure you stick to the routine by not letting yourself get overworked.
I don’t know what it is, but there’s something about putting a routine on my calendar that makes it so much easier to follow. Even if I know exactly what to expect each day, the satisfaction of checking things off my list is enough to keep me in the rut.
Now that you have determined what time of day you will study, where you will study, and what you will study, you need to put it all on your calendar. Your calendar event should contain all of this information and should include a checklist of your study to-dos that can be checked off each time you complete an assignment.
Once something is on your calendar it becomes important to complete it and subconsciously you will start to prioritize your daily tasks around your study time because your study time is “king”. Even if you’re doing the exact same thing every day, your brain’s reward center needs to get the endorphin rush of checking things off your to-do list. Therefore, he does not forget to put all his studies on his calendar.
Not only is this an important tip for maintaining a habit, but keeping a calendar of your studies is a bit like keeping a journal or log book. It’s a great way to keep track of your time, see how long it takes you to study the topics, and it’s a great reminder at the end of the year of how much work you’ve put in.
