Self Study Traps to Avoid in 2023 (stop self-sabotaging!)

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Hi, my name is Tina and I'm a data scientist at a FAANG company. I was pre-med studying pharmacology at the University of Toronto until I finally accepted that I would make a terrible doctor. I didn't know what to do with myself so I worked for a year as a research assistant for a bioinformatics lab where I learned how to code and became interested in data science. I then did a masters in computer science (MCIT) at the University of Pennsylvania before ending up at my current job in tech :)
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[@TinaHuang1]

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[@sidrasaniajaved1828]

The trap I fall mostly into that is "setting unrealistic expectations" that was soo realtable fo me 😄 Well,Good job 👍you are doing great ❤️🌼❤️👏 I wanted to say one more thing that you understand these things really well like what schools do with our mind .. that is just nothing but a bitter fact 💯 I am happy that there are some people who believe that that's wrong..! 👍

[@Walter_Birantana]

In my experience it's better to follow a curriculum from a credible institution for broad courses i.e. Compute Science, MTCs, Data Science. Then self study on individual topics like Object Oriented Design or Introductory Stat

[@MeetJarred]

Procrastination for myself is the biggest trap, the moment my mind starts to say no is a problem for me because I'm stubborn. Hard work is required as an adult because of brain plasticity for the average person, so I have to focus and work harder. Great video!

[@justscrollthru84]

I am kinda addicted to moba games. So I play the first 2/3 of the day and turn on my laptop for 10 minutes and gradually increase the length

[@Tycy2014]

A hack for brain plasticity is the flood and low tide method. It's where you flood yourself with information in 1.5 hours then you take a nap. Then you review what you learned. When you sleep even for 30 minutes your brain starts replaying what you just did 4x speed so you get tons of repetition.

[@Tycy2014]

I need to preface this statement though, if you are autistic/ high functioning autistic this strategy can be very dangerous because it can cause you to spiral.

[@chunfengmugu]

The reasons why you procrastinate are more important to be inspected, maybe your expectation is too high or maybe you wanna get the result of success too quickly, both of which are the problems that I am facing. Hope you have got out of the traps.

[@kittykatxoxo]

I'm ruining myself through procastination I'll soon go to high school year 3 I have to get myself back 😭😭

[@Nonsense116]

Traps: 1. Falling into Depth-first learning rather than exploring Breadth-first learning (1:32) 2. Obsessing over finding the perfect learning resource (4:23) 3. Having/setting unrealistic expectations (7:52) 4. Overcompensating - when falling behind some will say "I'll just make up for lost time next week". (9:50) 5. Focusing on the wrong metric (10:49) Another trap I'd say should be added in is expecting to gain new knowledge by just listening intently or even just by taking notes. Some people have insane memory but for me and plenty others if I'm not using a new skill at least semi-regularly it will get stale and eventually be lost. Take notes but don't just organize notes based off meetings, textbook chapters, lectures, or videos. Base the note organization off concepts so they are easier to reference at a later date. My favorite tool is a vscode extension called "Dendron". It's tricky to learn at first but once you are comfortable it's really powerful (not affiliated with them at all, I just love it). This has allowed me to read documentation, watch videos, read books, capture that info, and not worry about holding it in my mind. I can then dedicate that mental focus on solving the problems at hand instead of remembering the different SQL Aggregate functions and their parameters. But I'm also not stuck referencing a massive textbook or long video to retrieve that info.

[@thesilentvoice3397]

wow I realised im doing all of this? I'm really tensed because of this, do have any advice/suggestions to overcome this. like for eg im doing my astrophysics master and im from a maths bachelors , so I keep going into the depths rabit hole in physics. Also, just curious does everyone go thru this, or if only some do, why do they this, whats the human psyche behind this.

[@lynxz9471]

What do you mean base the note organization off concepts?

[@Nonsense116]

@@lynxz9471 So lets pretend we are studying a textbook on sql queries. The first chapter is probably going to be an intro into reading data, maybe how to display certain columns. Chapter 2 will be about creating data. That will introduce you into writing queries that add rows to the table. Later in the book say chapter 10 we start doing aggregate functions on the data we received when using the skills we learned in chapter 1. If you were to take notes based off chapter You would have notes labeled like "Chapter 1: Reading data", "Chapter 2: Creating Data", "Chapter 10: Aggregate Functions". I'm saying instead of all those notes living in their own little islands, form relationships between each other. I'd create a node in dendron labeled "reading data", one branch from that node would explain reading data while another branch within the same node explains aggregate functions. Now my notes become a graph where they share an adjacent node and creates a relationship between the two!

[@lynxz9471]

@@Nonsense116 oh thanks, that makes sense

[@myself_200]

Tqsm dear

[@mr_ambivalence]

Another problem that is very relatable for me and that has not been mentioned in this video(probably because it's not so common overall) is the struggle with picking something you want to study and sticking with it for a significant period of time. There is an enormous and diverse set of interesting topics to explore in this world, so many interesting books, articles, videos, etc. That just feels like picking a single coin from a chest filled with an abundance of various treasures. And even if I start learning something exact and find it enjoying, I am still likely to get interrupted by something else that I find worthy of attention too.

[@toriel5695]

THIS

[@kaoutarrachdi4574]

@@toriel5695 yeeeeeeees

[@qalih]

Is it not true that most people dont even do ONE THING each day? How about just doing a SINGLE THING each day for an hour and thats it. 7 hours a week, 7 more than before and 7 more than many others. Suddenly you may accomplish SOMETHING if not everything or nothing (which is where you are now).

[@sanskarsinghiit]

Try to be a satisfier, rather than being a perfectionist..

[@wholemylife7]

Yes yes yes yes yes YES

[@thomasbolsee8609]

This hit very close to home. All the traps apply to me but the depth-first trap was especially eye-opening. I've fallen into this so often and I always notice it too late, when I'm completely overwhelmed by the amount of material that I don't understand to the point that I'm completely discouraged and just stop learning altogether. I feel like I've always known what the problem was but I never thought about it in such simple terms. Will definitely make the trap easier to notice and avoid. Thank you so much for the golden content!

[@youngbahss3220]

I DEFINITELY fall into the depth first trap way too much!!! I was stuck on a section explaining what JSON objects were and just did not get it but was just so stubborn and wouldnt do it. When i switched to a breadth-first approach I came across JSON objects much more naturally and OMG it was so much easier to pick it up. GREAT TIP! Im going to focus more on this breadth-first approach because my stubbornness is still there 😆 Great video Tina thanks!

[@kidrissa]

The Depth First trap is ALWAYS catching me!😂😭 I was talking about it to someone at work yesterday. It's nice to have a name for it, so I can more easily recognize when I start to get pulled into a rabbit hole. I also like Time Input as a metric. Regardless of the specific output, if you consistently put more time in, you'll get more results. Maybe Consistency or "Streaks" would be another good metric. When I first got serious about learning to code, I saw how 5-7 days in a row of studying/practicing 30 minutes/day got me MUCH better results than trying to spend one 5-7 hour block on a Saturday or Sunday.

[@yanbarros4287]

I just met your channel today, with this video and I'm really glad to it! I started my Data Scientist career last year when I was unemployed. With a little baby who was just 1 year, I spend too much time working and studying to reach my goals. I became anxious and had some humor difficults. I've never understand before what was happening exactly, then I reached the point number #3. Thank you so much by this video, I'ts really important for those who wants to go deeper into Data Science roles!

[@trunghieunguyen1014]

These traps hit home so hard for me as an undergraduate, can't thank you enough for this video, can't wait to tackle all these traps and slay the hell out of all the subjects that I have to take on in this new semester !!!

[@diegomartinez1287]

This perfectly articulates the struggles that I’ve had with self-study. Gonna share with my self-study buddies. Thank you for this video!!!

[@jennyjuhyechae3712]

Tina, thank so much for your topic today. I felt like i just had one on one counseling with you. You know all my feelings for my study. Working full time and having 11 th grade son with booth camp course for data Analytics have not planned well. I felt all of your pin point. I was so discourage many times, but then told myself finish booth camp is not a final goal. Not giving up , knowing and understanding what i have to learn for the career is most important. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge .

[@gabbyparr6099]

Being overwhelmed with choice is 100% where I have been the last few weeks. I keep telling myself the best program is whatever one I finish, but it’s hard not to look at other things that keep popping up and wondering if they would be better. It’s such a time suck.

[@lowwastehighmelanin]

There is no "better". There's ones that work for you and ones that don't.

[@simonam5492]

Thank you Tina, in the first 3 minutes of this video you've summed up my major Trap: trying to know EVERYTHING of a certain topic. I really needed this reminder for my 2023 goals!

[@user-ku3bj8fn1s]

Thank you so much for this video! Never felt so seen😭, you're literally a savior !!

[@linhtrinh2026]

What a wonderful moment at the end of the day i found myself this video. Every trap you mention in your video is what I got into and although realizing those prolems, I still can't find possible solutions and keep falling deep into the regular genre. Thank you so much for your video!

[@MamaOwlbear]

Absolutely love your videos and so helpful. Hope you have a great new years!

[@FrankD90210]

All your videos are so informative, and way more practical and actionable than any other self study KZbinrs. I watch them all multiple times to get all the info. Thank you for everything!

[@omarmuhammad8250]

I love how you keep up benefiting people with such essential experiences.

[@janemadute5114]

Hey Tina This video is very helpful for me since I've been doing self-studying for about a year now and I keep finding myself in the traps that you mentioned. I always end up burnt out and exhausted. Definitely re-watching this video again later on. Also , wishing you a happy new year.

[@murilo-tech]

Congrats for the great work you have been doing Tina! It really helps a lot of people (me included)!! I believe that recognizing that we are just starting and not finishing stuff is really hard. Specially because starting a lot of new projects brings us a sensation of "doing something". Thank You for sharing with us!

[@ahmadatef9469]

Tina thank you for highlighting these traps and how to deal with it, I was frustrated and these tips and hints give me a push to continue. Thank you again ❤

[@macoreeny]

This is exactly what I felt in the coding and trapped me in Depth-first learning part. I dug thru a rabbit hole which is overwhelming and led me to give up easily. Thank you for this video! I'll try again learning through my way.

[@sergeychernikov6595]

Thanks a million! I have fallen in almost all of the mentioned traps, and... This video helped me to calm down about it, and start doing things with a bit other approaches and more cold head.

[@rizyanaputri8670]

i have been experiencing all of these combined in the past few days especially the feeling of not making progress. im really glad that I stumbled across your video!! it helps me become more aware of what ive been thinking, feeling, and how it affects me.

[@pramitkumardatta2771]

Tina, your videos are the only place I ever bother commenting and that has got to do with your fine-line-walking between cutthecrap achievable guidance and the absolute friendly demeanor with which you present yourself. Lots of luck with your channel !

[@arnavchandure2211]

This is the video I NEEDED to watch! Big thanks for making this.

[@Rana-ke9bp]

Tina, I binge watched your videos for the past 2 days. I've never seen a more relatable KZbin channel. Keep up the good content, and happy new year!! ❤️

[@nicolegomezxoxo]

I definitely get stuck in the depth-first trap. That is probably why I always feel like I never know enough. You made a good point about learning and then implementing. By implementing you will be able to see exactly where to manoeuvre next. Even though I know this logically I still make the same mistake. I've developed a bad habit of becoming very rigid in my approach.

[@robertflores8789]

Ms. Huang, I am so very happy that I came across your channel when I did. Thank you for this channel.

[@thejomarifernandez7554]

I fell into a depth approach trap so many times. I'm thankful that you're informing me about this. Never thought of it that way.

[@alexblair4511]

I did online school for my last semester of high school, and I can totally relate to the struggles she talked about in the beginning. 🙂

[@jonathangarciasilveira4297]

Thank you for this video. I'm trying to focus in order to get enough skills to apply for an entry-level Data science job; and sometimes, I feel overwhelmed by the number of options.

[@viridianloom]

This is gold. I've been falling into the first trap for so long and I didn't even know it was stalling me that much. I've been feeling like it takes me forever to learn something new.

[@nune6845]

This video is very important for me. You cleared up everything I started to have doubts with and said such things can be normal and how to avoid it. Thank you so much.

[@implicitthought]

I have been struggling with the things you mentioned but now I know what to do. Thank you for this informative video 😊

[@WTFKerFlims]

Thanks Tina! This was much needed! Hit a brick wall self-studying for the AP exams.... I've placed too high of a pressure on myself due to the stakes at hand... 😮‍💨

[@alycebagnath464]

Instant subscriber. I am a student advisor to college students. and I am also on my self paced learning journey, taking on IT and computer science subjects so I can learn more about something we use on a daily basis. I had to limit social media and actually block in even 2 afternoons or evenings a week for my studies so I can work, live life and focus on hobbies. By putting in these blocks, I have no choice but to spend 100% of energy towards the subject, even if it is spending the whole two hours working on a problem, i know i've made some sort of progress. thank you for this video!

[@mclovelacenoether]

Thank you for your video! I definitely fell into the Depth-first learnings far too many times. I love physics and I love to explore the topic to much deeper extend than what is usually covered in an undergraduate courses. It's time-inefficient and misleading. However I do notice that my understanding of the topics are much more thorough and it comes out much more naturally. I guess these are the perks of it.

[@kevincodes674]

Great video. Self learning is tough, which is why I started an online masters programme for the structure. On my own, I definitely fall into the first trap. I've got so many notes on things I want to look up 😅

[@poolmorosanacona1930]

Something that I've found pretty useful while learning is cheat sheets. Human memory can't hold every single fact or command, however when all these concepts and topics are condensed into cheat sheets you can see one of those and remember pretty fast what it was all about!

[@revanth2460]

Yup.! Fell into all the traps mentioned... Wish I saw these when I was about to start self-learning. Now that I already understood how that works, I can only realise, I've been working well. Thanks for making the video anyway, hoping it would go well for everybody else too. To that everybody-Wishing you all, best of luck for your self-learning journey.

[@ZihanZhou-yf8hq]

happy new year Tina! rly happy to have discovered this channel last year 🙃

[@jouleSansLoi]

This is a relevant topic to me. I thank you for your various self study tips and wish you a very happy New Year!

[@mAaalaa9]

These are the problems I faced while studying, I thought I was the only one who felt this way thank you for addressing them.

[@elkaa-va9195]

I just want to say thank you for this video. I’m Data Science student & and the biggest procsinator in the world probably. Thank you to show us this is normal and how we can solve this issues :) You’re the best ❤

[@liztomqniia]

Thanks for the videos ! I was actually going through all of this!

[@justscrollthru84]

Thank you so much, Tina! I am getting started on UX/ UI and foreign languages. This is really helpful!

[@ehteshamalikhan3559]

I was struck in that trap miserably, Thankyou so much tina🥰

[@KaylaCoils]

2:32 … totally mee because I definitely will keep hoping around until I get it then after while Im lost .. ughhh gotta get better. This video is helping me understand why I do things for perfection

[@cigdemturkmen]

Thank you! It helps me a lot! Have a good year :)

[@JuniorEVasquez]

I love this! They're great advices and I've suffered some things that you mentioned.

[@sarathr.g7988]

Thanks for pointing out the traps I always fall into.

[@scholas_creative_space]

Thanks for this video. It was very helpful 🙌🏾 and accurate

[@Galacticgospel.]

Happy new year and thank you so much for your videos

[@yahayaoyinkansola8258]

I have definitely being a victim to depth-first learning approach time and time again 😂, it is always so deceiving and easy to fall into this trap, some time ago I was learning Laravel (a PHP framework) and got stuck at a concept called dependency injection, I went into a rabbit hole with trying to dive deep to understand this concept and it stunted my progress, the breadth first approach is really just better. Thank you Tina!

[@zhumingiphone4]

Thank you for the video. OMG I didn’t noticed that I fell into the first trap until you mentioned in this video.

[@imcyrahalasan]

Thank you for this ☺️✨

[@PlayAiko]

Thank you very much, because I exactly realise where I am in my self studying.

[@nabilayumna6329]

Oh my your videos are the best😭💜 thank you so much 🙏

[@daphnesawyer8555]

I love that guideline for coding you gave, breadth mindset is so brilliant

[@nepnep2360]

im currently have toned down my self study with music theory because i realised that i have fallen into the trap of trying to understand everything to its core and yes, the text book im having did a great job at providing ALL the info i need but it is simply too detailed and not necessarily required for my level of musicianship (beginner) . my teacher also said that whatever i learn in theory must be immediately apply/use in my playing or else i'll forget because it is simply too much to remember and that's why my teacher only teaches me some theory every time i made it to the next grade in the syllabus (grade 3) like major and minor scales/chords, diminished and augmented and heir formulas in 30 minutes...whereas when i tried to study that topic by myself it took me 3 hours just to be summed up perfectly by my teacher in 30 minutes including exercises for me to play around with...its great to have a teacher to guide you on what to learn because whatever i want to learn, i ask him and he will tell me what its for and does it related to my original goal/style (classical, romantic) which allow me to determine whether or not i want to dig deep into that concept to understabd it and further improve the main skills (sight-readings, finger positions, relations of notes) or not or just deep enough so i know what it is and be able to provide an accurate yet not so complicated answer it if one of my students ever asked.

[@user-qi7oc7rm9m]

Yes to number 1! I've made all of these mistakes, but number one is the one that I tend to repeat the most. Good suggestions for avoiding these traps!

[@thazinag]

this is the video i never knew i needed.Thanks a lot for ur advices . Now i know why i am not improving after 2 months of self-studying. All the traps that u mentioned are exactly what i was falling into. After today i will rearrange everything things to continue self-studying.

[@gettinfloppy]

That was one of the most helpful video I have watched. I have been stuck for a couple of months in just about everything you mentioned here. Thank you so much for making this video and helping me.

[@TAD.Animation]

Great video! Gonna try and internalize these tips in 2023 🙏

[@g_18_sanathmeshram42]

Yes i have been through all the traps but i manage to get rid of them over the time. I thought that i am the only one who was facing these problems . You did an amazing job btw

[@tineha]

This showed up at an extremely particular time 👁👁 !! Thank you so much I needed this so bad

[@zerow945]

You are living in my 🧠! How do you know I need this video!

[@shreyansh4089]

as soon as you explained over compensating it was a mirror and I understood the root cause of my failures I related so much I will make sure I wont fall into this trap again

[@maithriashokan]

I have the frost problem. Until I saw your video, I didn’t realise that I had actually given up on a lot of study goals because of this habit. And being a new mom has taught me to take things slowly and just trust the process. I have commitment issues as well, because the minute I disagree with some material, I ditch the whole course. I guess I’ll have to give it another shot and then looks for newer material. Thanks!

[@bin4ry_d3struct0r]

I've definitely fallen into the depth-first learning trap. This can happen easily even when you try a breadth-first approach (e.g., by taking a Foundations of ... course) because the more you learn, the more you realize just how much you still have to learn. I think the best way to avoid this trap is something both you and Ken Jee have recommended: learn just enough to do a project and then go from there. The perfect-resource trap is another one that gets me. To that, I say there is no one-size-fits-all source; the best source is the one you stick with. That said, I think the user rating system on sites like Udemy are generally reliable.

[@minh3760]

I resonate with every single point that you’ve pointed out 😂 actually I’m starting my data analysis learning process this year, and it took so much to plan on which course to take and put that into action. Also the plan never goes as you planned lol. My passion towards learning fired up at the very beginning of the journey but as my expectation of daily commitment grows more and more once I fail to achieve it starts to bother me and overcompensate myself. Anyway thank you so much for sharing such realistic advice.

[@egorgavriushkin9230]

that was extremely helpfull. Especially the reason number one) Thanks you so much for your videos, they made a huge impact on my learning experience

[@venkateshn4030]

Much needed thank you

[@GarenRay]

I am in this trap now! Thanks to your advice I'll get myself out of it. Thank you!

[@swati_sonal]

So well put together! Exactly the things i wanted to hear right now! 👌

[@sdnisansala]

Thank you Tina, this video helped me a lot.

[@etienenovais5408]

What a great video! Just mind-blowing It helped a lot!

[@frankcristopheraguilarrier9384]

Hi tina, I really liked your video, i have some problems to organize my studies, I'll trying to make many courses but i feel a little burnout, Your tips help me to focus on those things that will bring faster performance and results, I stopped side some courses and I hope to resume them as soon as I finish. Thank you for your dedication

[@erik1432]

Once again a very helpful video, thanks Tina!

[@trappart9209]

Thank you, it was helpful 🙏🏻

[@caetano.santana]

My god I'm always getting caught up in those traps and wasn't even acknowledging it! Thank you for the content, very helpful!

[@xXCHAxMIXx]

I definitely fall into all of these categories. I need to stop letting myself do that in order to succeed

[@patrickkassis7387]

Thanks for the video

[@darrenty6025]

Thank you for this amazing video. It helps me a lot on my road of self-studying. I have stepped on all those traps stated in the video before. As a perfectionist, I always force myself to do my best in any aspects such as I must find the most perfect resources, and if I do not know some concepts, I will force myself to learn it in-depth which causes wasting of time on the knowledge which actually 'useless' for what I am studying. I have only realised all these mistakes after watching this video. 😀

[@huongduonghoa3594]

this is really really really helpful!!! Thank you so much!!!!

[@chopsischopping3604]

thank you for the pep talk my braincells really needed the encouragement ❤ Putting in the effort for understanding concepts and stuff is really hard~

[@KittyOzzyZiggy3895]

Thanks for this

[@msjbelle4328]

I am so happy I came across this.

[@Priyanshu.Rathore]

hi I am i pg stud and try to self study thx for helping ... this video clear many thinks and i know better ways .

[@biblisabatti10]

Ooh seriously. I fall in those traps before, but no more now. Thanks for your video

[@uminhtetoo]

Thank you so much for sharing.

[@Jessica-pq1rc]

This was incredible!!! I just graduated but I still want to keep learning and improving skills on my own. The things you brought up are exactly what I do to myself every time I try to start my own projects/challenges. I didn't even know they were common pit falls - the breadth vs depth issue is one I always fall for. And I waste so much time and get overwhelmed looking for the best resources. This was the perfect thing for me to watch. Thank you so much!!!

[@taehyunggtae]

Me too . I've spent hours finding the best lecture to study a chapter which can be dono in 2hrs or so ..this is insane

[@girl4632]

How so clearly you know every thing about me. I thought it was just my problem and I am the only one in rabbit hole everyone else know how to do and what

[@imcyrahalasan]

Great content ✨👏🏼

[@michaelsong8978]

Happy New Year Tina!

[@kamalelrefaey]

i love how the things you say matches my case love you tiiinnaa

[@whatever6185]

The fact that I can relate to every point is not even surprising me... I still need to practice how to not run after every concept coz they will eventually make sense later, when I get the bigger picture.

[@udaramanula915]

You are so true ....I have the same experiences .....😇 "Go wisely and slowly , those who rush stumble and fall" "If we stress by doing something, that means we don't know how to do it or it is not a suitable work for us.....so we should find ways to work joyfully"

[@TomarBoroDada]

thanks for making this awesome video