Welcome to programming.

·         Programming is really hard. No matter how good you get at programming, the only thing which slows you down is your ability to learn & solve problems. This seems to become more true as you get better at it. This is a fantastic trait - you will never be bored programming. If you are, you're doing it wrong and you should abstract over the set of code you're rewriting.

·         No matter how frustrating your problems are, there is almost certainly a solution out there. As you get better at programming, you'll get better & more confident at getting unstuck yourself. This makes the sense of frustration get better, and will push you to solve ever harder problems. (They're no fun if they're easy!)

·         When we were kids, we were bad at everything but we didn't notice. As adults, we have very few opportunities to be bad at something. Embrace the feeling - it is totally normal, and you're doing something not everyone is capable of doing.

·         Use the internet. Every problem you have in the first year you learn to program is a problem 100 other people have had before you. And all the answers are recorded online. The sooner you become effective at googling for programming help, the happier you'll be. Don't ever take any code snippets you find online if you don't understand how they work.

·         The best way to get better at programming is to write lots of code, read lots of code. Just keep making stuff.

·         There's lots of programmers who are more clever than both of us. They've written lots of code already that you can read if you want. It's probably on github.

·         There is no 'best language'. Some languages & tools are better at solving some problems than others. As you learn different languages, don't try and port your old thinking to the new system. Instead learn how to program idiomatically in the new language.

·         Be playful. Be silly. Because geniuses always can’t find solutions. Being silly will always give you solution but you should pick the right solution. Programming is a giant lego set full of fun problems waiting to be solved. Spend time making toy programs just for the hell of it. It's much more fun than whatever assignments you're given.

·         When you're stuck, write your program on paper. I'm serious. It's magic. This is standard practice in programming competitions. (I think it works because when you don't have to think about syntax you have more brain to solve the actual problem).

Credits: Joseph Gentle