This is a new series called Arthur In My Inbox, where I share my experience from the perspective of Arthur.

Arthur is an anonymous software developer.

Dear Fee,

It was a long time ago. Before AI even existed…

I had to use Kotlin for a part-time gig.

But I'd never used the language before (I also pretty much knew nothing about Java), and had no intention of learning how it works.

I mean, I don't get paid to learn, so why would I do that?

Plus, people say you can learn stuff just by using it, right? So I didn't care.

I worked at that job for, I think, six months. Throughout the period, I had continuously used Kotlin to code.

I did successfully finished all the tasks I was assigned.

The only problem is that every time it's an uphill battle. Because I don't really know the language, I basically have to Google things and try every solution I found and pray that one of them works.

After like six months of using Kotlin, I can't even write a for loop without Google.

That was when I realized that if I don't make a conscious effort to learn, I don’t improve.

I stayed in my comfort zone using only what I knew to barely get the job done.

Nothing wrong with that. It just takes more time and is not fun at all.

I believe there’s a better way.

The next time you work on a project and need to use a technology you aren't really familiar with...

Spend just an hour or two going through the documentation,

After that, if you feel like it, maybe go through the rest of the documentation, find some books, courses, whatever it is.

Keep learning.

And you will be amazed by how much faster you can get things done when you actually understand them.

Regards,

Arthur

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