When I was new to the world of programming, I was very eager to learn a lot about various technologies and languages which were available. So, I took the help of various tutorials which were already available on the Internet.

After exploring various resources and completing several projects, I was on cloud nine where I was a master of a few programming languages and thought that I would be able to create my personal project with a bit of help.

Tutorials can be a good learning tool, but you have to go about it the right way or you can become addicted to them and not learn to code yourself.

But, when I tried my hands on a personal project, I knew nothing about any language in general.

Because I was in the tutorial hell...

Following tutorials is the first step in learning a programming language.

Once you got the basic knowledge of languages and technologies, it's time to start a project so that you get real-time coding experience and also how to approach a problem. If you keep on pursuing tutorial after tutorial, you're in tutorial hell. And to learn something or become a great programmer, you need to avoid this.

What is the right way to learn?

• Pause to consider the framework you're about to build. It would be beneficial to list the project's basic components in writing.

• Try building some of it on your own. Making mistakes is completely OK because it is a necessary component of learning.

• As you watch the video, take breaks to analyze the content and raise questions. Keep in mind that Google is your friend.

• Break down the completed project. Error messages contain an abundant amount of information.

• Restart the project from scratch but in your own style. This will determine whether or not you truly understood the tutorial's contents.

How one should avoid “Tutorial Hell”?

Have a project in mind:- The best way to learn web development is by building something from scratch. Before you start learning a new technology or framework, have a project in mind that you want to create. This will give you a clear goal and motivation to learn.

Break down the project into smaller tasks:- Once you have a project in mind, break it down into smaller tasks. For example, if you want to build a blog, break it down into tasks like designing the homepage, creating a blog post template, and adding a commenting system. This will make the project more manageable and less overwhelming.

Learn by doing:- Instead of just following tutorials, try to implement what you've learned on your own. Use the tutorials as a guide, but don't copy and paste the code. Type it out yourself and try to understand what each line does. Experiment with different variations and see how they affect the output.

Join a community:- Joining a community of web developers can be incredibly helpful. You can ask for help, get feedback on your projects, and learn from others. There are many online communities such as Reddit, Discord, and Stack Overflow where you can connect with other developers.

Take breaks:- It's easy to get burnt out when you're learning a new skill. Take breaks when you need to and don't feel guilty about it. Taking a break can help you recharge and come back to the project with a fresh perspective

Conclusions

Tutorials are a great source for starting, but not more than that as tutorials are not real life and they have a predefined path to follow for learning the basics. They will not let you explore various technologies, or extensions related to that topic. You will just keep on following the path without your doubts being cleared.

I hope that you find it useful and the steps let you improve as a developer.