John Wakahiu

In our quest to achieve success, we end up wasting much time doing things that do not contribute to our success.

When we want to learn something new, oftentimes, we rush to books and videos.

Books and videos that are never related to the field we are aiming to learn. Other times you are watching videos that motivate you to get started.

We always do this not knowing we are on the wrong path. Watching these videos is not bad as a beginner but there is so much to gain when you dive into the exact intent.

Here are five simple tips for starting any project.

1. Identify Your Goal

The only sure way that I have found to work is actually to go straight to the goal you need to achieve.

What is your goal and what do you aim to achieve in the future. Have a picture of the kind of work you will be doing 5 years from today.

Say you want to start a software company. Research on things that go into building a successful software company.

Now that you have an idea of what you aim to achieve, let us now get those skills that make us stand.

2. Identify Your Skills

Do you have the skills to work as a software engineer? What languages do you need to create products for your clients?

Identify what languages you need to learn. To start selling your services as a professional, you have to learn those languages well.

Say you settle for a front-end developer, you will need to learn HTML, CSS, and JavaScript.

Here is where a surprising number of people make mistakes.

Searching for motivation.

People want proof that things have worked for other people. And what do they do? They dive into endless tutorials on the subject matter.

A little start to get you started might not hurt but it will if you end up moving from one HTML course to another.

3. Start by Doing

Watching YouTube tutorials might seem like your best way to get started. But it might lead you into an endless tutorial hell.

The best bet would be to make sure you have all the tools you need to get started. Computer or a laptop, IDE, and language documentation.

That’s all you need actually.

Start writing your code on day one. You will have moved from a “one day I will…” person to a “today was my day one to…” person.

Start and see how much you achieve on your first day. If you are stuck, search for solutions on the internet and fix them. There is a high chance that another person faced a similar issue before you.

This would save you time by checking the available solutions.

4. Blog Your Problems

If you encounter an issue that you cannot find online, find a way to get a solution on your own.

This may take you time but it is the best way to remember things you learn.

Document your solution on a blog since it helps you to remember and luckily help another person too.

5. Build a Project

Use your skills to build a project. The first project may not look great but it will give you satisfaction.

This way you will be confident of your skills and you will be more marketable. From this, you can keep improving and getting better.

Then you can create more projects and contribute to open-source projects.

Wrapping Up

Remember, people are looking for solutions. Offer solutions instead.

No one will ever ask you how motivated you feel after reading the famous fancy guys' books you see on media.

Stop wasting time reading their books and attending every other webinar. Get better by doing. Done is always better at the end of the day.

And while at it, make sure you enjoy the process.