I see others asking for advice. I am skeptical and embarassed to ask here, but I feel like many like-minded lurkers are here. So I think this follow-up on M4v

I see others asking for advice. I am skeptical and embarassed to ask here, but I feel like many like-minded lurkers are here. So I think this follow-up on M4v3R's inquiry is worth a shot. I have multiple study interests. Many of them are beyond my comfort zone, by design and with intent, and I have no way of knowing when or if I can absorb them with a timetable. How do you schedule? I am currently enrolled in a few Coursera courses: Algorithms Crypto I Scala They all have deadlines. I am 1-3 weeks behind in each, respectively. I have been an off and on again convert to programming and open source. I desire to really get back to computing, after a kind of numbing support career. I love the machines, but I cannot force their theory to love me. I can watch lectures over and over and take notes. This takes time. But when it comes to assignments, I cannot connect the dots. Solutions: - Review the material AGAIN - Switch up assignments to reduce load; all of them are equally rigorous, so this backfires, it still takes time - I try reading supporting material (the Crypto101 book for Crytpo I for example, and it might be helping as of this week), but this takes time, and my choices can be invested wisely or unsound This is not to mention wanting to study for more infosec certs, building a lab to strengthen that effort, and move to working on personal projects in a more focused way by building VM and containers using all the cool kid tools, boosting career prospects and increasing discipline. I lost a lot of weight, and maintain with exercise (sometimes twice a day now) to stave off depression. I have lot of very dramatic personal drama with a relationship that consumes my spare cycles. Someone, give me advice! I burn out frequently, watching TV streaming when I can, and reading sites like this. This would not bother me so bad if NOT for HN. I procrastinate with you all, for sure, but this website exposes me to a very unique subset of computing culture and counterpoints I need as I live abroad with limited community engagement. You all fill me with rage and jealousy, as there are so many brilliant programmers exposing me to great people pushing the bounds of their curiosity. What if HN backfires? It pushes on me, but without that push, where the hell does the inspiration come from?