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>"Or have you had any success setting aside set time to work on side projects or just to learn something?" Yes. Several months ago I decided to get serious ab

>"Or have you had any success setting aside set time to work on side projects or just to learn something?" Yes. Several months ago I decided to get serious about re-aligning my career and the pursuit of a degree. Creating a structured plan with a schedule and specific goals has been the most important part. Setting aside time is part of that. I think treating my development more formally has been a huge help.

dominotw 13y ago
I recently enrolled in a local Uni as a freshman. You are right about treating development more formally, you just have to switch 'development' brain off. I was curious what kind of structured plan you have, is it just you daily schedule or something more long term?
- incision 13y ago
  >"I recently enrolled in a local Uni as a freshman." Same here. >"I was curious what kind of structured plan you have, is it just you daily schedule or something more long term?" It's mostly longer term on a scale of months to one year or several in the case of the degree. For example, one goal is working through the entirety of Introduction to Algorithms [0]. I've set out dates by section for reading, completing problem sets and reviews. I've written these dates out along with my reasons for pursuing the goal and how I believe I will benefit from achieving it. That might sound simple, but taking the time think these things through, and articulate them into something concrete was certainly useful to me. This isn't the kind of thing I'd have done historically, but I've been trying to stay very open-minded to anything that might help me reach the goals I've set. I follow the same process for any significant new goal. I make a point to take (hand written) notes on everything I work on. At least once a week, I whiteboard what I've been reading or working on. There are going to gaps or things I completely blank on which become items for further review in the coming week. I have yet to settle with a calendar or to-do app which I really like, for the moment, all these dates and tasks are either in a notebook I use daily or on my whiteboard for emphasis. As much as possible, I try to create "artifacts" from the way I'm spending time. This can be notes, a quick summary of what I got from reading a chapter or article or an attempt at implementing something I read about. I have a solid routine for my days made pretty necessary between my job and small child, but each day isn't entirely planned. I keep a shortlist of things that I work on in the same set of windows (early morning, commute, at work in the gaps, before bed) each day. I've cut out most anything that isn't family, work or study. One thing I aim to stay strictly consistent about is waking (5:00). This gives me a little "extra" time before I wake my child up. 0: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262033844/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262033844/
  - dominotw 13y ago
    >> I make a point to take (hand written) notes on everything I work on. I was not doing this intially thinking I dont have write down stuff if I understand it, Only to be completely lost and having to read and understand it all over again. Now I write everything down too. I wish you all the best.

dominotw 13y ago

I recently enrolled in a local Uni as a freshman. You are right about treating development more formally, you just have to switch 'development' brain off. I was curious what kind of structured plan you have, is it just you daily schedule or something more long term?

incision 13y ago
>"I recently enrolled in a local Uni as a freshman." Same here. >"I was curious what kind of structured plan you have, is it just you daily schedule or something more long term?" It's mostly longer term on a scale of months to one year or several in the case of the degree. For example, one goal is working through the entirety of Introduction to Algorithms [0]. I've set out dates by section for reading, completing problem sets and reviews. I've written these dates out along with my reasons for pursuing the goal and how I believe I will benefit from achieving it. That might sound simple, but taking the time think these things through, and articulate them into something concrete was certainly useful to me. This isn't the kind of thing I'd have done historically, but I've been trying to stay very open-minded to anything that might help me reach the goals I've set. I follow the same process for any significant new goal. I make a point to take (hand written) notes on everything I work on. At least once a week, I whiteboard what I've been reading or working on. There are going to gaps or things I completely blank on which become items for further review in the coming week. I have yet to settle with a calendar or to-do app which I really like, for the moment, all these dates and tasks are either in a notebook I use daily or on my whiteboard for emphasis. As much as possible, I try to create "artifacts" from the way I'm spending time. This can be notes, a quick summary of what I got from reading a chapter or article or an attempt at implementing something I read about. I have a solid routine for my days made pretty necessary between my job and small child, but each day isn't entirely planned. I keep a shortlist of things that I work on in the same set of windows (early morning, commute, at work in the gaps, before bed) each day. I've cut out most anything that isn't family, work or study. One thing I aim to stay strictly consistent about is waking (5:00). This gives me a little "extra" time before I wake my child up. 0: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262033844/ http://www.amazon.com/dp/0262033844/
- dominotw 13y ago
  >> I make a point to take (hand written) notes on everything I work on. I was not doing this intially thinking I dont have write down stuff if I understand it, Only to be completely lost and having to read and understand it all over again. Now I write everything down too. I wish you all the best.