Given infinite time, being able to fully satisfy one’s inner geek would be easy. But until that is possible, decisions must be made on what side interests and projects should be pursued and what knowledge should be explored. The following divides up how I have learned to scratch the geek itch given limited time to do so.

Consumption

The easiest way to consume geek news and interests is to do so during time that you already have available. This is done by listening to tech podcasts when driving, exercising, or performing any other activity that can still be performed while at least partially focusing on audio. Podcasts are a good way to learn broad knowledge about interesting or unfamiliar topics. They won’t provide in-depth knowledge, but will provide a starting point if the topic becomes relevant at work. For example, you may not know exactly how to implement a NoSQL database, but you’ll know when best to use (and avoid) them.

Consuming news and informational articles requires more active attention. But this time can be better utilized by more efficiently scheduling the reading. Instead of reading the entire day’s articles at once, use a service like Instapaper or Pocket to track and manage the list. Then, return to the list whenever downtime or availability allow. Spreading out this consumption also leaves more time to process information from each.

Production

Writing about topics that are learned through direct usage or read/researched about is a great way to organize thoughts and retain the information. Explaining the idea in the form of something like a blog post requires organizing the thoughts into a coherent and flowing form. Additionally, compiling all of the information brings to light any areas that are not fully understood or need to be reinforced.

Similar to the consumption tip, this task can effectively be broken up by writing the post in chunks during downtime or when a thought/inspiration occurs. Use a cloud-based system to store the document to allow the writing to take place at a desk or on the go with a phone.

Side Projects

Geeking out is not complete without personal/side projects. When it comes to working on them, two things are important to keep in mind: keeping the focus squarely on the project’s goal and maintaining a small feedback loop.

All side projects have a goal in mind; typically to learn or toy with a new (or existing) tool/idea. But these goals cannot happen in a bubble. They’ll require outside setup or building blocks to support it. When dealing with these external/boilerplate pieces, it can be easy to get caught up in doing them properly or setting them up to support future work. However with limited geeking time, this can quickly take over the project. This leads to loss of interest in the project or frustration since you aren’t working on the passionate/interesting area. For example, if the goal is to learn a new programming language via a small project, don’t get caught up trying to set up a build server or full tooling. Instead look for a website to try out the language or a pre-built virtual machine that has all the needed tools that you can download and run.

Working on a new side project, especially a greenfield sample application or something in completely new territory can lead to overly ambitious goals for the project. This can lead to frustration when snags are hit or progress is delayed. To mitigate this and maintain interest in the project, set smaller goals that can be completed in one or two sessions. Combining this with the above, also ensure that the first goals are easy and enjoyable: instead of starting with a custom solution to something, consider following off of a pre-built example or tutorial so that things are working from the start.

Having limited geek time doesn’t mean falling behind or missing out on new/interesting topics. It simply means requires being more deliberate in how the time is scheduled and spent.