Fear of Typing Code

The things which bring down your confidence as a programmer.

You look at your screen, thinking of doing something. But you’re afraid to put your hands on the keyboard. Variables are not assigned, curly braces are not put down, the code isn’t indented, and you stare at a blank screen which feels like hours, before you shut down your system and just leave for a walk.

Why?

What is the cause for this? This happens to me a lot. Granted, it used to happen when I started to code, but the fact that it still happens at all, is a cause of concern. So, what makes me feel dread in typing code?

Here are some reasons why this might happen.

Tutorial hell

Now, this hits the beginners especially hard. Go to any programming subreddit related with beginners, and you will often find people trying to get out of the tutorial hell.

In this state, while the person is able to follow the guidance provided in a tutorial (written or video) they are unable to independently utilize that knowledge.

The only way to get out of this funk is to actually find some easy exercises, and do them independently, and then increasing the difficulty. Never tackle the very difficult exercises, only those which you can manage, and which are reasonably difficult.

This happened to me at first, but I’ve largely left this behind. So, what else could it be in my case?

“I gotta create a perfect program in my first try!”

And what I get is an error filled mess. Thankfully, actually just creating a scratch pad kind of project, and running the code helps there. After all, it is nothing important. It is just throwaway code once you’re done with it.

So, that’s not the case with me either.

When a person looks over your shoulder.

Okay, I admit. This is a big weakness I have. And I suspect this is going to cause me lots of problem when I go to give an interview. (So far, all the job applications I have given did not reach the interview stage.)

Things just get worse as I hear their breathing, and small changes in it. instead of worrying about the problem I’m solving, I think about the person who is watching me.

But for now, it shouldn’t bother me. after all, I work alone mostly for now.

So, that’s not the reason… for now.

Lack of knowledge

As a guy who is largely self-taught, I admit this can, and will, happen to me often. When it happens, I often go to Google to track down some solutions. But when I see things way beyond my knowledge, my confidence takes a big hit.

At that point, I close my editor, and watch YouTube, or go for a walk.

I think we have our first reason.

Afraid to ask questions.

When you go to a subreddit thread, and you see people throwing around the knowledge which you will probably never use because you don’t use the cutting-edge stuff as them, this can be problematic. Granted, you can actually collect a lot of theoretical knowledge, and get familiar with the terms.

But it won’t do anything for your inferiority issues.

So, this is another reason. not to mention, the fear of asking a question to these people. After all, if you ask a stupid question, getting roasted by them for everyone to see would be a light punishment. The worst thing would be, it is permanently etched on the internet for everyone to see and remember.

So, this is the combination of these two factors which can bring the mood down, and make me turn away from coding. Unfortunately, I don’t seem to have any way of dealing with this problem. Some suggestions will be appreciated in the comments below. Just don’t roast me for admitting my weaknesses. I already get that from the real-life people around me. If you like to support me, then consider buying me a coffee. Also, you can read my thoughts about the father of white revolution in India, a man who changed the milk production in India.

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