This is not the question I expected based on the title. My answer was going to be "get elevated to management, and work on learning to delegate in a way that re

This is not the question I expected based on the title. My answer was going to be "get elevated to management, and work on learning to delegate in a way that returns maximum results with minimum input/output massaging from you" (meaning: get very good at expressing clearly and unambiguously what it is that you want.) But you want to make the most of the free time you have. This is trickier: you need to work on breaking down your desired study into snippets that can be fully and meaningfully digested in short periods of time. Context-switching bigger tasks to make way for meetings will prime you to fail. Nearly two decades ago I had a job that essentially allowed me to do whatever the fuck I wanted within the constraints of a locked-down corporate WinXP image until the headset I was wearing went "beep SERVER!" and I had to start talking to a support customer. I chose generally improving my knowledge of geography by staring at maps. Google Earth had just been released, much to my benefit.