I keep forgetting syntax — does this happen to everyone or is it just me?
Genuinely asking this because it is starting to mess with my confidence and I want to know if this is a normal part of the process or a sign that something is wrong with how I am studying.
I have been learning Python for about five months now. I feel like I understand the logic behind most of what I have covered. I get why loops work the way they do, I understand how functions are structured, I follow the reasoning behind object oriented programming even though it took me a while to click. The concepts are not the problem. The problem is that I will walk away from a session feeling solid and then come back two days later and forget whether it is a colon or a parenthesis, blank on the exact syntax for a list comprehension, or second guess myself on something as simple as how to open and read a file properly.
It is not like I forget everything. It is more like the details get fuzzy and I end up checking my own notes or going back to documentation constantly even for things I have written out ten times before. That part bothers me because it makes me feel like nothing is actually sticking long term.
What I have tried is writing things out by hand, keeping a personal notes document, and building small projects to practice what I learn. It helps while I am in the middle of it but the retention between sessions is still inconsistent.
My question is whether this is something that just fades naturally the more you code or whether there is a specific way people actually train themselves to remember syntax without having to look it up every single time. And for working developers out there, how often are you still referencing documentation on the job even for languages you have been using for years.
Honest answers only, I can take it.