I used to go through one or two Coursera courses at a time. Just whatever seemed useful and/or interesting at the time. I had my employer pay for their certific

I used to go through one or two Coursera courses at a time. Just whatever seemed useful and/or interesting at the time. I had my employer pay for their certificate program on one course (the first part of the Nand to Tetris course, which might be my favorite course on there). Now I have them paying for an online MS and I have no time for any other projects, as much as I'd like to. Something I found when I did have time for side projects (and which I now employ for some schoolwork), is that it was immensely helpful to have milestones. I do this when I'm programming an intimidating program, too. I start by taking a tiny piece that can technically run on its own. Then I write and debug until that piece works and I can add on another piece. By seeing the thing actually working as I go, it keeps me motivated and focused on the next small step rather than getting overwhelmed by the overall project. Debugging as I go also keeps the defects at any given time at a manageable number, which probably has applications in other places as well (such as regularly practicing a language to weed out bad pronunciation habits early or what-have-you).