We know that you might not want to hear this, but sometimes feeling a bit stuck is a necessary part of learning. Feeling that way does not mean that you have failed or that you are not good enough. It only means that your brain is being challenged to solve a problem, and to do that you will have to try different strategies to find the one that works. Nothing more, nothing less.
The first thing to do in this situation is to identify what your problem really is. Sometimes people say the problem with an assignment is “everything”. In our experience this is never true. So, go back to basics. Let’s say you’re looking at some lines of code, feeling a bit miserable and unsure what to do now.
Firstly: which parts of your code are you sure are okay? Probably you know that some things are just fine, because you already learned to do them, or you understood this part of the course quite well. Focus on what you can do.
Then break the problem down more. Are there some things you are a bit less secure about? Why are you less secure about this topic? Was the course content unclear or did you find it just more difficult to grasp? Can you revise that material and practice a few examples of it, to feel more secure, before going back to your problem? Look at small pieces, not the big picture.
This approach also helps our mentoring team to know more exactly what the problem is. If you tell us that you do not think you have understood the SUMIF function in Excel, and this is probably the reason your Excel project isn’t working right, we can solve it together faster than if you tell us “my Excel project isn’t working” in a general way. Take some first steps to try to identify the problem and ask for help when you need it. We are here for you!
If you have a straightforward question, the quickest way to get an answer is by asking it on Slack. Our mentors and fellow learners are there to help you. If your question is more complex and you feel it's best explained in detail, please book a one-on-one consultation with our mentors here.
We hope you have found this FAQ article useful and we encourage you to explore the rest of it. For any remaining questions or concerns, we like to refer you to our Support Center. Furthermore, we appreciate your feedback, as it helps us improve. Please take a moment to fill out this form and share your thoughts. Happy learning!