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How to find time to learn after work (2017)

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Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#161

Post by ncruces »

BaseballPhysics wrote: post #130
supernikio2 wrote: post #127

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I agree much of this fall under "working for free" but it doesn't have to. I for instance, work as a web developer and really want to get into making games, which is a huge undertaking in itself. It requires deep, productive time of learning and experimentation, and I often find myself drained after work to tackle such activities. However, I do feel like working through projects like this and coming out the other sid…

Ah but that's a very different thing. You're treating tech as a hobby and engaging with it accordingly. This piece literally started with: > My software developer colleagues often ask me where I do get all the time for reading all the tech books or articles, watching conference talks and listening to podcasts. Immediately we, the reader, know this isn't about having fun in your spare time or learning and building pur…

Wether you consider learning a hobby, a chore, or part of the job description, is entirely up to you, regardless of how close to the topic of paid work it is.

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#162

Post by OnionBlender »

Nitant wrote: post #27
emerongi wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my most important lesson in the past few years. There is value in _not_ learning, building, doing all the time. I like to work and study, but doing either of it for more than 8hrs is not sustainable for me. I expect to be writing the modern-day equivalent of Fortran when I'm 60. All the young bucks will look down on me for not advancing in my career, but I think I'll be happy. That's all I need. Everyone has…

>Don't try to be Carmack if you're not and you can still live a fulfilling life :). Thanks, I needed this.

You might find this interesting, from a guy that worked with John Carmack.

http://bookofhook.blogspot.com/2013/03/smart-guy-productivit...

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#163

Post by tzhenghao »

Decabytes wrote: post #16

I’ve found that if I really want to learn something, I just get up an hour early, makes some coffee/tea and get to it. It’s the only thing I can control with any certainty. The quiet time while everyone is asleep provides a distraction free environment. I also like giving my most productive/energetic time to my own projects/learning, as opposed to work, but that is just me. After work time is for dinner, family, and…

Same. When I was at my first SWE job after college, I’d get up at 6am and try to beat Chicago traffic to be at my desk at 7am. That’s when I’d pull up HN or my list of technical topics I’d like to learn, then go for it until my teammates arrive. Rather shamelessly, I even had Leetcode open and went through exercises weeks before I left the job. Good reflex training having to force close it right around 8:30am though :)

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#164

Post by bcrosby95 »

teddyh wrote: post #136
stevofolife wrote: post #131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised to see that you think there is a clear dichotomy between what can only happen at school and at home when it comes to learning. You'd be even more surprised to learn that learning can happen anywhere, anytime and from anyone in any kind of form. Helping kids at home with school work as a parent is not only accessible to rich families. You should help your kids when they really need it regardless of your…

A person’s “socioeconomic background” may dictate that they don’t have time to spend many of their vanishlingly rare non-working hours on being a teacher. I'm surprised to see you assume that everyone has this kind of time. I assure you that they do not.

Not everyone does but it's not something restricted to the rich like you said in your first comment. Growing up, my wife had a lot of help at home and she came from a middle class, dual income household. I came from an upper middle class household and my parents were so busy working so they could keep up with the Joneses that I never had any help whatsoever with my homework.

I'm not going to deny that schools can probably do better, but telling people you need to be rich to help your kids with school is, in my experience, not true. I think the bigger problem for many is relationship dynamics - most parents I know lack the patience to help their kids with homework.

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#165

Post by ghaff »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #156
philote wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't. It sounds like constant stress.

I think you can only do that if you're not stressed by it and otherwise not afraid of the consequences.

Yeah. You have to make the mental tradeoff that you'll save an hour+ of more or less brainless time at an airport every time you walk through the door in exchange for having one or two additional blown-up or partially blown-up trips per year--which will happen to some degree anyway for reasons beyond your control.

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#166

Post by BaseballPhysics »

ncruces wrote: post #161
BaseballPhysics wrote: post #130

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ah but that's a very different thing. You're treating tech as a hobby and engaging with it accordingly. This piece literally started with: > My software developer colleagues often ask me where I do get all the time for reading all the tech books or articles, watching conference talks and listening to podcasts. Immediately we, the reader, know this isn't about having fun in your spare time or learning and building pur…

Wether you consider learning a hobby, a chore, or part of the job description, is entirely up to you, regardless of how close to the topic of paid work it is.

What?

The things I may want to learn or do in service of a hobby or personal interest are very different from those topics relevant to my professional life, and the motivations and the value I get from it are entirely different as well.

And this article is clearly written with a professional context in mind.

Unless you think that when he mentioned how his "software developer colleagues often ask me where I do get all the time for reading all the tech books or articles, watching conference talks and listening to podcasts," they were marveling at his woodworking hobby?

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#167

Post by DrThunder »

hk__2 wrote: post #107
DrThunder wrote: post #78

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Homework shouldn't exist anyway. Maybe, for higher level high school classes it makes sense. There's no reason to be giving homework to elementary and middle school kids. They get them for 8 hours a day, they don't need to be spending more time on school stuff after school.

> Homework shouldn't exist anyway. Maybe, for higher level high school classes it makes sense. There's no reason to be giving homework to elementary and middle school kids. They get them for 8 hours a day, they don't need to be spending more time on school stuff after school. Yes, also because it creates inequalities very early between children with parents who can afford spending time helping them (or paying someone…

I didn't think of that one but that is a consideration as well. Children don't have the attention span to be working on school work for 8+ hours a a day anyway. Additionally, they should be developing through play/socializing just as much, if not more, as in-classroom and paperwork time.

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#168

Post by yurishimo »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #154
Decabytes wrote: post #16

I’ve found that if I really want to learn something, I just get up an hour early, makes some coffee/tea and get to it. It’s the only thing I can control with any certainty. The quiet time while everyone is asleep provides a distraction free environment. I also like giving my most productive/energetic time to my own projects/learning, as opposed to work, but that is just me. After work time is for dinner, family, and…

I envy those who can wake up on schedule. In my natural state, I wake up randomly between 09:00 to 12:00; the only way I can wake up earlier, or at specific time, is if someone else forces me out of bed, and makes sure I don't fall back asleep within the next 15 minutes. I've been like this for as long as I remember. So even without kids and their adjustable schedules (ready to get up as early as 04:00, but waiting f…

I want to say thank you for sharing your experience. As someone who also feels forced to function due to outside pressure, it's interesting to hear others talk about their experiences.

One thing I've naively assumed, is that having kids will awaken some instinctual facet of my psyche to respond to the stimuli inherit in having young children. Maybe that is still _likely_ true, but your experience was that nothing about your internal clock fundamentally changed?

Today is a perfect example. It's 10pm currently and I need to wake up in 9 hours and be walking out the door in 9.5 to make it to the office in time. On the 3 days I do not go to the office, I don't roll out of bed until maybe 15 minutes before our daily stand up at 9:30am. Even then, I might just get up with enough time to go to the bathroom and unlock my laptop. I should be getting into bed now, but I still need to take a shower and wind down. I'll be lucky if I'm asleep by midnight.

One thing that has changed since I was a kid, is that I can fall asleep in just a few minutes if I make a conscious effort. Unfortunately, that doesn't translate into better sleep quality as a whole, but it certainly takes one piece off of the table that many struggle with.

This ended up being ramble-y, but again, thank you!

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#169

Post by Transpire7487 »

pizzafeelsright wrote: post #108
Transpire7487 wrote: post #39

Get up at 6am. Get kids ready for school. Help my wife with any chores around the house for a bit. Start working. Lift on my lunch break in my home gym. Back to work. Kids come home. Feed them. Help with homework. Do something with them outside weather permitting. Put them to bed, read to/with them. Get lunches ready for tomorrow. Load the dishwasher. Load the laundry. My turn to walk the dog. Be mentally and physica…

Working in the office or home my daily schedule was: Wake 4:45am Breakfast Work Play with kids while (slowly) teaching, working side projects. Eat and Post dinner tasks (bedtime stuff) Learn/Build for 15-60 minutes during wind down. Bed at 10pm Learning is done while at work, during naps, weekends. Working after work is possible. Having kids brings clarity to our priorities. Mine at the moment is to maximize peace an…

How can you work on side projects while playing with your kids? My kids get 100% of my attention because otherwise it ends up more like being 0%. I can’t learn the next whiz-bang framework while inventing storylines for plying with Batman figures or playing hide and seek.

Re: How to find time to learn after work (2017)

#170

Post by unshavedyak »

badpun wrote: post #159
unshavedyak wrote: post #116

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not sure what your point is? Ignore the child because Badpun was fine? It honestly sounds like you're arguing against "Interact with your child, help them if you think they need it", which seems.. odd. You could perhaps be arguing that parents are wrong usually, and should go against their intuition on helping the child - but that's also a mixed bag.

I'm arguing that school's difficult level is set up for children to manage on their own just fine. Also, managing on their own means learning grit, figuring out what to do when you're stuck, learning how to find information etc. If a parent is hand-holding their child through their school experience, they may be taking away a chance to develop these skills in their kid.

Agreed, but who else can make that judgement? Certainly you can't accurately make blanket decisions for all children, right? Who is the last in line, the final judgement, then?

No one is saying parents should hand-hold and hurt their children by way of robbing them of essential experiences. What i am saying, though, is that parents are the last-mile. The only ones who are ultimately responsible.

It sounds like you're ignoring a very wide gulf between doing nothing and doing the homework for children. Kinda sounds like you advocate sink or swim style learning. Which works great for those who swim, perhaps. Less so for those who sink.

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