[anonfunction]

Write more code. Scratch your own itches. Make small projects that you throw-away or rewrite every so often just for fun. When you get stuck, really try learn why that stack overflow answer works instead of just copy pasting it in. Experiment with different languages and approaches to solving problems.

[vitaminbandit]

I disagree. Writing more code without direction is like exercising with bad form - it only further reinforces bad form.

My advice: pick up a design patterns book and work your way through it. Pick a problem (i.e. how to design Slack) and go through the various design approaches and identify the pros and cons of each.