Find a project you are passionate about that you can pursue on the side. It can be both your portfolio and motivate you to keep pushing the envelop. I do thes

Find a project you are passionate about that you can pursue on the side. It can be both your portfolio and motivate you to keep pushing the envelop. I do these short little exercises in programming to explore different concepts. Usually make a rough POC for an idea or some kind of interface.