Feeling Overwhelmed While Learning? Here's What Actually Works

Author

Karina Samsonova
November 22, 2024

You open your browser. Twenty tabs about Python. Thirty bookmarked courses. Fifteen saved LinkedIn posts about "must-know" skills. Sound familiar?

I've been there. When I decided to learn machine learning, I felt like I was drowning in an ocean of information. Everyone seemed to have a different opinion about what to learn first, and my "to-learn" list kept growing faster than my actual learning.

Here's the truth: feeling overwhelmed isn't a sign that you're doing something wrong—it's a sign that you're pushing yourself to grow.

Let me share what I learned the hard way (so you don't have to).

The "Shiny Object Syndrome" Trap

I used to jump frantically between ML concepts, never mastering any. One day I'd be diving into linear regression, the next day switching to neural networks because someone posted that "deep learning is the future." Weeks in, I had surface-level knowledge of twenty algorithms but couldn't build a single working model. Sound familiar?

Here's what finally worked for me:

1. The "One Course Rule"

Pick ONE main resource and stick to it. Yes, just one. When I finally committed to a single Python course and ignored everything else, I made more progress in two weeks than I had in the previous two months.

2. The "15-Minute Promise"

Instead of promising yourself to study for hours, commit to just 15 minutes. That's it. What I discovered was fascinating: once I started, I usually wanted to continue. The hardest part isn't learning—it's opening that laptop and beginning.

The Mental Game: Dealing with the Overwhelm

* Delete those "100 Things You Must Learn" posts

They're causing more harm than good. Focus on what you need RIGHT NOW.

* Create a "Not Now" list

When you find something interesting but not immediately relevant, add it to your "Not Now" list. It's not a "no"—it's a "not yet."

* Celebrate the small wins

Understood a basic for-loop? Celebrate it. Wrote your first function? That's worth a treat. These small celebrations build momentum.

My Personal "Overwhelm Emergency Kit"

When I feel the overwhelm creeping in, here's what I do:

1. Close all tabs except one

2. Write down exactly ONE thing I want to learn today

3. Set a timer for 15 minutes

4. Start typing/coding/learning

5. If I'm still overwhelmed after 15 minutes, I take a break and try again

Remember: You don't need to learn everything. You just need to learn the next thing.

The tech world will always feel overwhelming. There will always be new frameworks, new languages, new "must-know" skills. But success doesn't come from knowing everything—it comes from consistently learning one small thing at a time.

Keep pushing 💪

Karina

5 GitHub repositories useful for data people

Python Tips

How to fill missing values 

# Fill missing values
df.fillna(0)                   # Fill with constant value
df.fillna(method='ffill')      # Forward fill
df.fillna(method='bfill')      # Backward fill
df.fillna(df.mean())           # Fill with mean (for numeric columns)

I've compiled my favourite pandas shortcuts, functions, and "why didn't I know this earlier?" moments into a handy cheat sheet. It's the resource I wish I had when I started.

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Data Playbook (CV template, Books on Data Analytics and Data Science, Examples of portfolio projects)

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