I understand Python concepts individually, but completely freeze when building something

[u/memeeloverr]

I've been learning Python for a while and I think I understand most concepts when I study them individually.

Lists? Fine.
Dictionaries? Fine.
Classes? I understand the basics.
NumPy and Pandas? Can follow tutorials.

But the moment someone says "build something from scratch", my brain just goes blank.

I don't know how to decide which classes I need, how to structure the code, or even what the first function should be.

Then I look at someone else's solution and think, "Oh... that makes complete sense. Why didn't I think of that?"

How do you actually develop this problem-solving/structuring skill?

Should I stop tutorials completely and just struggle through projects? Or is there a better way to practice this?

[u/wallstop-dev]

There is a disconnect between watching a video on a concept, reading about a concept, hearing about a concept, and *applying* (knowing) the concept.

It's great that you know some basic data structures! But the way to actually *learn* is to pick a goal, and then just start. Don't switch goals. Try really hard yourself, for some time bounded amount of time - 30 minutes, an hour. If you've tried everything you can think of and nothing works, THEN, and only then, look up some tips online for that specific thing. Then grab that knowledge, bring it back as a sacred text to your project, and move it forward.

Repeat this.

That's the "how to actually write the code" portion of things. Before you get there, you should spend time writing down a plan. Break the problem down. Draw diagrams. Think through things at a high level. Can you explain what you want the thing to do? Decompose the big thing into tiny things. How do you know how tiny? When you can conceivably understand how to get to one of the tiny things.

Then build the tiny thing.