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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)

#31

Post by cheschire »

ghaff wrote: post #10
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #3

>"For example, I’m commuting every day 2×45 minutes to my workplace and back home. I need 5 minutes to get to the train station with my bike, 10 minutes to wait for the (connecting) trains, 25 minutes actually on the trains, 5 minutes to get from the train to my working place" There's a big one right there. Time lost due to commute times are actually much longer than the door-to-door time. It's not just the 90 min th…

On the (few) occasions when I go into the city for a customer meeting, the commuter rail takes "only" something over an hour but, really, we're talking something over two hours from getting up to walking into the office when one includes driving to the station with some slack, paying for parking, and then walking to the office/taking local subway. (Just driving takes about the same 2 hours.) A colleague of mine who l…

> if you don't miss one or two flights a year you're leaving too much slack

Boy do I envy people who can live their life this way. I sure can't.

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

#32

Post by DoingIsLearning »

xattt wrote: post #23
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…

Waking up early works but only if your kids don't have a variable time range, say 5:30 - 7:00, when they get up :)

Haha First thing I thought when I read this. Waking up early to have some free focus time is what I _used_ to do. Now I can sometimes squeeze some late nights but not as productive cause I am half dead by then.

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

#33

Post by smoe »

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 have also discovered that in the morning before other duties works best for me although I have never considered myself a morning person.

At night it is much more difficult to be consistent with a habit, with things coming up spontaneously (e.g. friends wanting to go out for dinner), time for family and also tiredness after working all day varies a lot. Whereas in the morning it was much easier to just block 1-2 hours with nobody interrupting and while I might not be the most productive/energetic at that hour, it is pretty much consistently the same every morning.

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

#34

Post by Cthulhu_ »

presentinmoment wrote: post #2

I prefer to be present in the moment. I'm slowly leaving my phone behind and just trying to be present. Actually experience reality and not get my brain busy all the time. Because of that I'd say, just don't try to be productive at all times. That "downtime" you're trying to cram another podcast into is actually necessary.

Yeah there's a load of people, especiall in SF or on HN, that feel like they should be Doing Something Productive at all times. And it's companies that encourage this, e.g. old Google by offering on-site gyms, entertainment and food, or what a lot of companies everywhere do, offering after-hours "hackathons" with pizza.

But your brain needs rest as well. Stop trying to keep up in the rat race, all the things you try to cram into your brain have a short half-life and will be forgotten or archived into the "things to half-remember and you'll need to look up anyway" anyway.

I mean if you enjoy listening to podcasts while commuting, have at it, I won't judge / you're allowed to have and enjoy things. But if you feel like you HAVE to, it'll cause problems down the line.

Don't feel guilty about "wasting time" either, if you enjoy watching TV, playing video games, or sleeping instead of doing a 5 AM run, have at it. Don't deny yourself too much.

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

#35

Post by ghaff »

avocabros wrote: post #19
FirmwareBurner wrote: post #3

>"For example, I’m commuting every day 2×45 minutes to my workplace and back home. I need 5 minutes to get to the train station with my bike, 10 minutes to wait for the (connecting) trains, 25 minutes actually on the trains, 5 minutes to get from the train to my working place" There's a big one right there. Time lost due to commute times are actually much longer than the door-to-door time. It's not just the 90 min th…

WFH is one solution, but it's not free in terms of collaboration costs. There's a reason no one thinks college is better remote, for example. Sure, it's fine for some jobs but it's not super obvious that it's a net positive for output. People can also live closer to work, or use other methods (biking, running, etc.) to combine exercise + commute. Many studies have indicate that people overestimate the happiness of a…

While I don't wholly disagree, that sounds a lot like arranging your life around your work rather than the other way around. Not that I have a regular uurban office anyway (my "official" office if I went in is out in the suburbs), I'm not at all sure that would lead me to live in a city apartment/condo at this point even if I did.

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

#36

Post by tonyedgecombe »

cheschire wrote: post #31
ghaff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the (few) occasions when I go into the city for a customer meeting, the commuter rail takes "only" something over an hour but, really, we're talking something over two hours from getting up to walking into the office when one includes driving to the station with some slack, paying for parking, and then walking to the office/taking local subway. (Just driving takes about the same 2 hours.) A colleague of mine who l…

> if you don't miss one or two flights a year you're leaving too much slack Boy do I envy people who can live their life this way. I sure can't.

I was thinking that. It would send me to an early grave if I tried it.

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

#37

Post by ghaff »

cheschire wrote: post #31
ghaff wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

On the (few) occasions when I go into the city for a customer meeting, the commuter rail takes "only" something over an hour but, really, we're talking something over two hours from getting up to walking into the office when one includes driving to the station with some slack, paying for parking, and then walking to the office/taking local subway. (Just driving takes about the same 2 hours.) A colleague of mine who l…

> if you don't miss one or two flights a year you're leaving too much slack Boy do I envy people who can live their life this way. I sure can't.

Me neither.

For flying, it probably helps that--much as I hate 4am pickups--my car service won't really let me cut things close in any case. But I also figure it's painful anywat so why stack on stress associated with possibly being late.

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

#39

Post by Transpire7487 »

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 physically drained. Hopefully this all gets down by 9:30 so I can get to bed before 10 and get enough sleep to start it all over again.

Thank God I don’t commute.

If you want to work after work - don’t have kids.

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

#40

Post by brightball »

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…

Yep. Motivation will make you find time.
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