That blank stare

I recently made a commitment to learn Python. Why Python? I thought it would make a good addition to my skills. I also like what I am seeing in the land of AI and Python. In addition, I work with Linux and already do Bash scripting in my everyday work; looking to switch my automation scripts to Python.

Things have been going on smoothly so far. I had my first major (beginners major, not experts major) assessment the other day and aced it. There was one problem that almost threw me; the FizzBuzz test. I had the logic, but failed where I found most beginners fail - I won't spoil it by telling you.

Anyway, over the weekend I decided to take a break. You know, pump the breaks. Have a breather. Bad move! Or maybe I just need to work out how long a break is good for me. :(

I went back to studying today - my break continued through to Monday. I was in the middle of another assessment and wanted to see how much I would retain if I jumped right back in from there. It didn't go well.

I found myself stuck on a particular function problem that almost had me depressed. I unpacked the issue; wrote the code outside of a function and it appeared to work. And then I remembered I had to find even numbers. As soon as I add the bit that should do that "num % 2 == 0", everything falls apart. I have tried multiple things, but I keep getting the same error message. I now have that blank stare.

My current solution is to go back a few lessons and work my way forward again. The second solution is to plan better, which is where I turn to you.

How many hours in a day is a good balance for studying; especially if you are past 30yrs of age? Or does age not even matter?

Secondly, how many days off is sufficient to get back and pick up where you left off?

ps. Future posts will have code snippets. This is my first post :)