Your Learning Stack
Even with Build First, you need resources. You need places to go when you hit walls. This is your learning stack.
What Is a Learning Stack?
Your learning stack is the collection of resources you use when you need to learn something:
- Where you search
- Who you ask
- What you reference
- How you troubleshoot
A good learning stack is curated, organized, and fast to access. A poor learning stack wastes time searching and questioning.
The Optimal Learning Stack
Here is a learning stack optimized for Build First:
Layer 1: Quick Reference (seconds)
For syntax and simple answers:
- Documentation (official docs for your tools)
- Cheat sheets you have created
- Code snippets you have saved
- AI assistants for quick questions
When to use: You know what you need, just cannot remember the exact syntax.
Layer 2: Problem Solving (minutes)
For when you are stuck:
- Stack Overflow and similar Q&A sites
- Blog posts from people who solved similar problems
- YouTube for visual walkthroughs
- AI for explaining concepts or debugging
When to use: You have a specific problem and need a specific solution.
Layer 3: Deep Understanding (hours)
For when you need to really get something:
- Full tutorials on specific topics (not general courses)
- Documentation deep dives
- Source code of libraries you use
- Technical books
When to use: Surface solutions did not work. You need to understand fundamentals.
Layer 4: Human Help (variable)
For when resources fail:
- Online communities (Discord, Reddit, forums)
- Mentors or experienced friends
- Paid help (coaches, tutors, consultants)
When to use: You have tried everything and are still stuck. Or the problem is too specific for general resources.
Curating Your Stack
Not all resources are equal. You should actively curate:
Keep: Resources that give clear, accurate, practical answers Discard: Resources that are outdated, vague, or overly theoretical
Over time, you will develop preferences:
- This documentation is great; that one is useless
- This person's blog always helps; that tutorial channel wastes time
- This community answers quickly; that forum is dead
Build your stack around what works for you.
The Search Skill
Within your learning stack, searching is a meta-skill:
Good searches: Specific, include error messages, use correct terminology Example: "TypeError: Cannot read property 'map' of undefined React"
Bad searches: Vague, use wrong terms, too broad Example: "my code doesn't work"
You will get better at searching as you learn the vocabulary of your field. Early on, you might need to refine searches multiple times. This is normal.
The AI Layer
AI assistants (ChatGPT, Claude, Copilot) have changed the learning stack:
Good for:
- Explaining concepts in plain language
- Generating starter code to modify
- Debugging by explaining error messages
- Suggesting approaches to problems
Bad for:
- Always being correct (verify important things)
- Understanding your specific context without explanation
- Replacing deep understanding
AI is now Layer 1.5 or 2 in most learning stacks—faster than searching but requiring verification.
The Note System
As you learn through building, capture what you learn:
- Solutions to problems you solved
- Explanations that finally made sense
- Patterns you noticed
- Mistakes you made
This becomes your personal knowledge base. Next time you hit a similar wall, you check your notes first.
Formats that work:
- Simple text files organized by topic
- Personal wiki or Notion pages
- Comments in your code
- A "Today I Learned" log
The format matters less than the habit.
Building Speed
The goal of your learning stack is speed: getting from "I don't know" to "I can continue" as fast as possible.
When you are fast:
- Walls do not stop you for long
- Momentum is maintained
- Projects get finished
- Building feels sustainable
Optimize your stack for speed. Bookmark useful sites. Save common snippets. Know where to look first.
The Anti-Stack
Some things should NOT be in your learning stack:
- General courses (unless for deep understanding of specific topic)
- Tutorial series you watch without building
- Content you consume but never apply
- Resources in formats you do not actually use
If it does not help you get past walls, it is not part of your learning stack. It is entertainment.
Your Stack Today
What is in your learning stack right now?
If you cannot answer that, you do not have a stack. You are winging it every time.
Take 30 minutes to:
- List resources you actually use when stuck
- Organize them by layer (quick reference, problem solving, deep understanding, human help)
- Identify gaps—are you missing something at a layer?
- Bookmark or save your key resources for fast access
This small investment pays off every time you build.
Your learning stack is the toolkit that makes Build First sustainable. Without it, every wall is a crisis. With it, every wall is routine.
Next: How to learn by building projects, not by following courses.