How To Find Time To Learn After Work | Prime Reacts
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- Опубликовано: 8 фев 2025
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Trying to learn while multitasking caused an illusion of learning. It took me longer than I’d like to admit to realize this.
what do you mean
@@binaryum It took him a very long time to realize this (first sentence). He does not want to admit it took him so long. Just shy :)
@@binaryum they mean that multitasking made them feel that they were learning something, while in fact they did not.
@@medomohsen1283this is not the case for me whatsoever.
I think background learning is great just to get exposure as it makes it less overwhelming to do a deep dive on some topic as you already have some experience through hearing about that thing or something related
One of the advantages of C++ are the long compile times. That’s easily 2h a day for watching conference talks, read/listen to books, etc. Slow test suites oder CI pipelines are a good common alternative to C++.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.
2hrs of C++ compilation? well there's two things that might be happening here, 1st you guys have a shitty workflow build or 2nd you're working with a program that uses extensive C++ templated libraries
@@SheelByTorn That's mostly because of incompetence and extreme complexity. Those CI/CD pipelines are set once and to "cover everything" from build of the app to extensive testing and then upload to container registry and then Kubernetes so it takes ridiculous amount of time for a simple build.
I mostly work for other customers to fix, extend or replace their legacy systems. There are many reasons for slow build times, but multiple versions of Boost, template heavy architecture, slow hardware, bad anti virus solutions and old/legacy/niche compilers are not rare. I think a few years ago there was an article about development at Oracle that was quite shocking, a lot of the older industries (automotive, airlines, banks) have a lot of cruft as well.
Switch to hardware design, then you'll have over 10 hours builds and multiple days worth of tests running.
This guy is heading for burnout. I used to listen to tech podcasts on my commute until I started to not look forward to it. That was the start of my burnout. The burnout led me to meditation and mindfulness and that really helped. I also now enjoy downtime and like Prime, I’m now better at concentrating on one thing at a time whilst making time to not be thinking or just enjoying the current thing.
Man, I hate his life. It just kept getting worse and worse with every paragraph. The imminent crash will get him pretty good, but I think he'll be far better off for it.
I highly recommend listen to podcast in another language (the language you want to learn). It counts as immersion and also it’s more fun because you don’t know 100% of the words. It’s kinda like background music except it’s talking
He is going for burrnout if he tries to do them well.
I don't know about him but i have 2 friends that do similar things and they do the activities mostly to feel good they did them.. i say that because 2 days after they listened to the podcast or audio book they forget 70% or miss important points or nuances....
As such they never get tired because to them is like listening to music.. they don't really pay attention...
So i doubt they will burnout but they also don't get much more than summaries or enough words/ideas to make ir seem like they are knowledgable.
It took me a year of commuting to a shitty job to learn this
there are a lot of those kind of people these days,
imagine listening to hours of podcast everyday yet achieved nothing, retain nothing.
just a big feels good pat on the back.
let's be real, all of that is just a background noise so that you don't feel lonely,
and you don't have to deal with your own thought.
you can fool yourself into thinking that you're somewhat a competent hotshot.
100% agree about not mixing activities. I love cooking. During covid, I switched from putting on something to listen-to/watch while cooking to just living in the moment and enjoying cooking and it really increase my quality of life immensely. Cooking is very meditative to me, similar to the gym, and so I try to maximize that when I can. (I do put something on while I clean the dishes at the end because I hate that, but during cooking it's just me; my knife; my cutting board; and my pan.)
Mindfulness has entered the chat.
Cooking with music can be a vibe too but I get what you mean
At the end of your comment when you listed what you're cooking with, for a second I thought you'd throw in something unexpected like "...it's just me; my knife, my cutting board; my victim; and my pan."
Maybe I'm just messed up in the head, though.
The sounds of what you're cooking matters!
I love when I cut some fresh vegs or fruit and the smell goes all around the kitchen, then when you put the oil on the pan and start the fire, such a good feeling to see the things come together and smell nice from the beginning
"It's not about learning what you need for work in the moment, it's about learning things in the area you want to be in, the area where you want to be the expert in, where you see yourself for the next 10 years". Thanks @ThePrimeagen for this beautiful pearl.
That’s only if you have limited time. If you have time, learn everything. Learn History, Math, Science, Computers, Compilers Poker everything.
@@sangamo38The generalist succeeds in the modern world. But you can’t be an expert in everything
@@sangamo38 One can do anything in this world, but not everything.
isn't that like... obvious?
@@binaryum I don't even think it is obvious what you are referring to as being obvious 🤣
Hey man, I just wanted to say I think you're really good at this shit. You're able to ride this line of being entertaining, sharing knowledge, and then imparting the wisdom you have learned from that knowledge very well. This is a gift, especially on a topic that can be as dry as programming/development. I admire that, and appreciate it, keep it up dude, thank you
Prime this is your most important video. Your philosophy here is spot on and desperately needed
:)
@@ThePrimeTimeagen simmer down kiddo
I think the discipline is understanding that you need to control where you get your dopamine hits. Listening to music/side-video/scrolling content/etc are 'easy' dopamine hits that can lead us to avoiding the harder-to-obtain, more satisfying hits. I've certainly been guilty of this (even now) so it's great to have a reminder.
I spent so much time learning outside of work. I would speed read through books, listen to audio, and listen to podcasts. I got so burnt out that I stopped studying for the last 5 months and began focusing on rest. I realized I still have my job and I’m getting my stuff done at work. I recently began going through 1 book at snail pace but it’s better than piling everything on. I’m not passively reading the book either, I’m doing exercises and plan to do a project when I complete the book. Overall, I’m spending between 15-30min per study sesh every other day. It’s because I spent over 9 years (5 years of school, 4 years of work) grinding and not really enjoying life as much. I had a coworker who had his masters in computer science and at age 27 he was diagnosed with cancer and at 28 he died. I’ve had several friends from college pass before they hit 30 years old, my best friend at 22. Just take some time in your life and do something for yourself that nourishes your soul. Balance it with studying and focus on quality of study instead of passively inhaling content. And I recommended take a break from studying for long periods of time.
Damn, that sucks. Not the fact that you eventually die. But the fact you can die suddenly, completely unprep😮
I’m not speaking against making a living or doing things to make life easier. I’m pointing out one day, take some time for yourself. I know people come from different socioeconomic backgrounds; I came from one where I had to go to school for a better life. I was taught by my family education is the way to a better life and my mentors told me always study to be on top of it and it will help you in your career. But take care of yourself and do things for yourself. Treat yo self, if you will.
im sorry for your loss
I don't know if it was an intention to create a connection between the overworking and the sickness of your friend, but I think the connection is there. Sickness like cancer can have different (even random) causes, but the exhaustion and stress contributes to many sicknesses including cancer if not directly, then indirectly through lack of sleep => compromised immunity and organ function and neglecting other basic needs like proper nutrition and exercise which is especially important for sedentary lifestyle of programmers. I feel really emotional reading your comment, because I just recovered from some kind of exhaustion when I got terrible migraines at some point of day for every day during the past month to the point, I was thinking, whether I don't have some bad illness, however after the Christmas holiday during which I worked much less, it just went away. I think it is really important to enjoy the stuff you learn. It is a free time, so you should at least slightly enjoy it or not do it. Then it gives you energy, not burning you out.
Don't have friends or family or kids.
it's sad but true. Which is why if you're young, you should invest as much time as possible into learning while you have the spare time. Learn an instrument, a language, whatever. Chances are you won't be able to later
or any other interests or hobbies...
@@aaronhamburg4428 Why would you even want other interests or hobbies?
@@moonasha A lesson I learnt too late in life.
@@moonashai am young, i have time. I am trying to do this to the best of my ability, but damn it's hard. There is absolutely no motivation and I am always distracted by anime and RUclips. I only wish i could hear my future self, he would for sure tell me how much he regrets my decisions 🥲
Totally agree with you on this. With our mindlessly consuming and multitasking nature we are not focusing on things. Lately I've realized that most of the time I'm constantly engaged in something. But when I look back at my day, I realize that most of the time had been spent in context switching between tasks
I don't understand this comment, this video, or all the other comments here. The author is explaining how they maximize time, they specifically say they won't remember everything but instead note key highlights *in a notebook*. This is definitely not "mindless" consumption as you say. They're filling a space that would be otherwise wasted with something less efficient than dedicated study, but the whole point of the post is how to FIT stuff into a busy day. Most people DON'T have time for an hour of dedicated learning each day.
Honestly it seems like this guy might have cultivated a bit of a spiteful cult, finding ways to demonize others who are working harder.
Also the YTer misread the line where they said they listen to stuff WHILE cleaning up (dishes and stuff). I got no impression that they weren't being present and enjoying the act of cooking. It seems like he was intentionally misreading to fit his narrative.
Maybe that kind of time usage doesn't work for you, but that doesn't mean it's objectively wrong. I have learned to prioritize mindfulness and quite time (mostly now when exercising, or sometimes other stuff), but you can get a lot out of filling busy time.
Multitasking is scam. You just think you are doing multiple things but in reality your brain just switches between tasks rapidly. In effect you are doing two things at 40% instead on one thing at 100%
Yeh , exactly
I believe there are 10xer out there who can really pull these off.
The issue is that everyone think they can be 'that' person and thinking they need a hack to become 'that' guy. The reality is... they aren't. I accepted that a long time ago and decided that one good task done is better than half-assed 4 task.
I think it's level effort that other things require but being single tasked is more time efficient
It works if one of those tasks is something you could be doing in your sleep. Unless I mentally drift away, I can follow my audiobook perfectly fine throughout my daily routine of shaving and preparing breakfast. I'm committed to it pretty much 100%, the rest is all muscle memory (barring the occasional split-second decision of what to put on my sandwich).
Try reading or listening to hyperfocus book by Chris Bailey
In the past, I used to spend 4~5 hours per day to go and come back to work... this is one of the worst things that I did. Work from home helps a lot to learning new things and JUST DO IT!!! X
just do the thing
pro tip: learn at work
(let's be real none of us *really* work 8 hours lmao)
@@DMSBrian24 Last time i was actually doing something for my job was like 10 days ago.
@@dmitriyrasskazov8858 god i love programming
spittin
Pssst… 😃
I totally agree with you regarding the constant reliance on consumption being a concerning factor. I used to listen to podcasts, youtube streams, twist streams, music in the background while I was doing menial tasks or even sometimes when I was doing something repetitive but I slowly developed habit of constantly consuming something at any point and I just didn't like how that made me feel. Now I don't listen to anything, and give my head some time to cool off or I listen to my own thoughts. I feel like giving yourself some silence time (no consuming anything) to just listen to your own thoughts is a great way to come up with good ideas and important decisions
I totally agree with you on that Prime... The whole text gave me some sort of a sensation of despair mixed with anxiety (weird isn't?). I also agree 100% with you on the "avoid multitasking complex stuff to be able to enjoy the moment" and this also connects perfectly with focusing into something and getting the most out of it. Imagine listening to a podcast while watching your kids in the park or doing some sort of a special thing, for me that's so sad. I LOVE learning new stuff and getting up to something, to be the best programmer in my team or things like that but I also LOVE having my time to breath, to do something funny with my friends, waste time discussing about nonsense with them or something like that, it makes me feel good :)
It feels good because positive human connection is one of the most powerful ways to improve your cognition. Having human connection improves your ability to focus and think clearly about the engineering problems of your day job
What Prime said just to be in silence, is so important! I walk an hour a day (or try to and after my heart is fixed from fibrilating, I go and row and weight lift or swim again for an hour) and that hour has no music, it's just me alone and it's bliss. I used to be a professional musician when I was in high-school especially college and during my first job. And you are around music 2-4 hours a day and it's just nice to hear nothing (except for the tinnitus of being in recording and life sessions for a third of my life :D)
@@kidmosey it takes practice for sure! I know what you mean. But trust me when you do finally surrender to the moment and the things around you, it’s the most zen and infuriating experience. Something I had had since the early 90s anymore. And the greatest thing is, things get very clear and easy to unravel too. It’s like your mind went on a break and is hyper energized.
"except for the tinnitus of being in recording and life sessions for a third of my life :D" Now that one is entirely your fault.
Use (hearing) protection everyone!
@@iFireender what did you SAY?!?! 🤣😆🤪
I love that at tne end you called out that half your audience is likely distracted working etc. while watching this, while you're telling us the opposite. I do really think you hit on a profound point though and is a helpful reminder for me to work on my mindfulness.
Step 1: Do not have two little kids under three years old.
This is the only valid point made in the history of RUclips.
True, you should definitely wait till you're atleast 3 to have kids.
Or you can, just be unemployed!!!
In my opinion, being in a constant flow state, where you have deeply focused mind - is working only for 4-6 hours (at least for me) - after that, you're starting to get some foggyness, and you still lose some information that you consume.
But as addition to the video, IMO, what we can also grow in ourselves - it's curiosity. When we were a childs - we wanted to be involved in anything, and we can match it on coding itself. So eventually, you spend any minute of your precious free time with learning/trying new things, but painlessly.
Getting into hand tool woodworking made me stop multitasking like I used to. So much more enjoyable.
Love your comments on being engaged! A very good friend of mine told me that "attention is love" and what an awesome perspective. I agree, multi-tasking is for computers. :)
I actually listened to this video while I was in the shower, since I have a Bluetooth speaker in there.
I would caution people against taking the advice in this article.
My experience is that I’ve the last few years I have increasingly been multi tasking audio books, podcasts, etc., primarily for learning type content. It got to the point at one stage where I was doing 40-50 hours a week of this kind of thing, during any possible gap in time or when doing things like getting ready for work, commuting, cooking , cleaning, gardening, etc.
I start pretty much immediately after waking and go until the moment before I go to sleep.
I have come to the conclusion that I have not been getting value for this time in terms of learning and that a few fully focused hours would be preferable.
I have also experienced a scary amount of mental decline from this behaviour, e.g. I have a lot more brain fog and mental fatigue, and I find it harder to focus.
At this point it’s obviously an addiction (I have a very addictive personality) that will be hard for me to break but I am starting to try to always only do one thing at a time, and to not fill in empty time waiting with a thing.
I think, and hope, that it will be a great improvement for me.
I like to keep lists of topics and concepts I know I need to fill the gaps in. The current list is linear algebra, FPGA, microelectronics, and Docker. Just finished RTOS, which was awesome.
I love that I can find a book and free online resources for literally anything.
I would love to dive into FPGA but there's no application for me really so I am not spending my time on VHDL or Verilog only when I have a need for it I will look into it. Although my favorite gadget is the MiSTer which is an FPGA of course.
I am not with you on the algebra thing tough :D
@@CallousCoderyea same with me. I have no application for Fpga as much as it interest me. It serves no purpose for me
Very much agree. Try to focus on one thing 100% and allow yourself to not do anything for periods of time. The brain also needs time to reset and establish neural networks from new information. Too much stimulation isn't better.
I wasn't expecting someone to think so similar to me in that regard. "Multi tasking is bad for your soul" is such an on point statement. Couldn't have said it better. I was like the author of this article at once, at least about speeding up everything to consume more. Then I realized people feels slow and I cannot properly sit and talk with people. I couldn't stand listening that slow talking. Thankfully I realized this fast and purposefully forced myself to go back to normal speed and consume less in general. Engage in what you do :)
Also I am glad I continued watching your videos, my initial impression was much different.
12:36 the question of "rust or c++" syncs perfectly, do c++ first, get distracted, get over loaded with it, make crap, malloc your stuff up and do >mem leakeages< then go rust, and focus on doing the things right. kekw
Underrated concept. Focused effort on one thing. Our brains were designed to focus on one thing at a time. The only time I really multitask is if I’m doing dishes, I can listen to a podcast while while I’m doing dishes.
100% agree with this, I actually think that multitasking is making us dumber and impede us from getting really engaged and concentrated in a task.
I constantly get distracted by notifications or just the urge to get back to my phone asap.
this
🥲 I can't believe we live in a generation where people make videos with a game in the background because some people can't just focus on something for 60 seconds
What you're describing isn't *AT ALL* what the author is describing though. They aren't getting distracted by random notifications and obsessively filling time just because. They don't need cat videos in the corner to keep them watching a boring video, the evidence points to exactly the opposite, as they can sit through 50 minute dry conference speeches and focus enough to learn from it.
Nowhere are they saying they sacrifice quality time spent doing things they like. They said they find about ONE HOUR a day this way, which means it's not cutting into ANY of their free time. This person is still enjoying their life and being present for their free time.
ThePrimeTimeagen misread that they split time between cooking and learning, but they specifically say CLEANUP. 40 min is high, but sometimes you get unlucky and your apartment doesn't have a dishwasher (especially if you're in a big city older/cheaper apartment).
I don't know how prime spun such a disingenuous picture and the entire sub base believed it when all the evidence from the post points in the opposite direction. There are plenty of people finding an hour of "duty" time to multi-task with at least a semi-educational podcast or video. If someone is watching THIS video on a commute or while cooking/exercising it's functionally the same. So why does it seem like this channel has an axe to grind and is looking down on the author?
I'm hoping that if I watch enough Primeagen I'll just eventually transform into a senior developer
Amen
Usually I designate 2 hours every morning before the work for some learning activities while I'm fresh and can handle really brain intensive tasks. This should make it enough to learn X at a slow pace even for something you are not really enjoy (e.g. solving leetcode).
Another thing to keep focus: I try not to set too many goals for mid-term (3-4 months). Usually 2-3 things at a time is enough.
My main takeway is: life needs contrast. You can only think and elaborate your thoughts on silence. You need to consume, but you also need to work the knowledge from within. New ideas, comprehension and breakthroughs only happen wh you are in the present, actively working out what you know.
finding time isn't the problem, its having the energy to do anything after 8-10hr day.
The irony of me listening to this video while I get ready for my day because my brain hates quiet… 😅
I wholeheartedly agree, i have spent years watching educational RUclips videos for fun thinking I will get smarter doing so and it works, to a point... You end up being aware of a lot but able to explain or put into practice very little. Any time I've sat down and focussed on the learning I remember those things 100x better.
Videos, podcasts and other passive forms of learning can and should be used while doing other tasks so long as youre enjoying it (or just watch/listen to it) but really what you get out of it is exposure to context and seeds for real actual focussed learning. If you're not enjoying the podcasts/video/etc then just don't bother - study things instead
8:22 "life gluttony" is an interesting point.
I think with age this is something I'm learning to step back from. It's one of those things where "less is more" can be meaningful.
I'm really interested with how Prime manages to get focused time in his life. It's annoyingly difficult to cut out distractions and use time in a focused manner between people just being around and bugging me to things that just pop up last minute that have to be done.
If you don't consider the time for study nonnegotiable it will inevitably evaporate.
I think my attention deficit mindset will definitely benefit from the approach Prime suggested at the end of the video. Will try to do things like that from tomorrow onwards. Because I constantly find myself going from one activity to another while waiting for the current task to be over (build times, deployment CI, etc.). This creates a vicious loop of always wanting to do something with the time, and dividing the focus so much that the quality of my work gets impacted a lot. People constantly tell me that I should've paid more attention in the requirements phase or development phase, to avoid minor issues that would've otherwise made the current task a smooth sailing.
Even as I'm writing this comment, I am having a discord conversation with someone. So, even when I'm actively doing something, I'm always bombarded with notifications and distractions, always snatching my attention. Idk how my mind has become so weak, attention-wise.But yeah, I definitely need to take this approach of "do one thing very well, and commit to it"
Hey hows it going rn, I totally relate with your circumstances.
You can listen to twice as much of the music you enjoy at 2X. What a great tip!
All joking aside (I too think this guy is full of shit btw), 1.5x and 2x are a legitimate time saver when it comes to some 90% of RUclipsrs out there. It's rare for me to listen to anybody on the original speed these days, maybe except those who speak with a heavy accent and/or like they're on LSD.
This advice is really good. I feel like my mind is much more focused and clear after I stopped having youtube videos in the background for when I work/program.
Nice to get your view about this and especially about being okay with silence.
Everybody seems to be listening something all the time. I also tried to keep up all the podcasts I want to follow by trying to fit listening them in every daily activity. I even considered to start listening audiobooks while going to walk but then stopped to think why I go to the nature in first place.
Silence. Time for the brain to wander of into any direction without external stimuli.
I have been sleeping better since deciding to cut down my listening time.
Totally agree! I used to try to listen to something while exercising, but lately, I take bike rides in total silence. Personally, I think too much consumption reduces our capability to think deeply.
7:17 bone conduction rattles your skull with your tunes (side note, it’s really cool tech that we figured out. Especially for those hard of hearing)
No multitasking is a truly based way to live. Once I realized the value "boredom" has, I got way more productive than trying to do 5 things at once.
Really focusing on thing you do right now and sometimes even embracing the boredom helps me to have better concentration, ability to work longer and productively, also removes the brain fog. Generally speaking being bored is pretty rewarding thing to do :D
Relax stage after a solid yoga session is also absolutely mind-blowing: feels like I got some energy cabel connected to my brain, while body is relaxed.
I also don't do anything fancy really, just something that keeps my spine from breaking up
I agree with a lot of what you’re said. Always consuming is taking over things, and focus time is very important, but hard to get ahold of.
Oh man I agree with so much of this, almost entirely all of it. I love the idea of multitasking but i think single tasking enhances my memorization and brainstorming around said topic.
I live in Dubai now. Majority of people commute for at least 1h one way. It’s madness but housing around business zones is too expensive to afford it. Gladly I work from home.
This was a good topic. I wake up early to do all my focused learning in the morning before work, and watch a RUclips video like this during breakfast and lunch. Then I have focused time with my wife in the evening. And then I read a bit before bed as well. I'll usually do a podcast while exercising. It's sort of a constant consumption of information, and my brain does feel busy all the time.
I watch yt videos/listen to music while washing up and I listen to podcasts when I'm vacuuming/ironing. It takes me around 20 minutes to get to my work place so I can do something during that time. I quit playing games, I make new projects as a hobby. I'm a teacher in technical school and I teach programming so my life is consuming content and doing things that are valuable for my students. It's a hard work but I love it.
Gold. you always give great wisdom and great view for things. Thanks man
Watched to this while in the shower 😂
I found I’m consuming too much and have started to try and structure my day for more productive time. This might be implementing what I’ve learnt or even journaling my thoughts on what I’ve consumed.
Just consuming seems to only give high level knowledge but not deeper understanding where you can actually apply it.
Thanks prime for raising this as it’s an easy trap to fall into.
Shower is crazy
something that really helped me is meditating, i really recommend it to anyone that absolutely cannot stop thinking constantly. take some time and meditate using a guided meditation video for like, 5-10 mins. it's short but it already helps
just don't get too attached to guided meditations, they're training wheels. you need to be totally alone in your own head for the full hit.
@@xXx_Regulus_xXx truer words have never been spoken. but my comment was mainly for beginners. also read the dhamma and the atthaka if you haven't already
Oh wow, reading to your kids is awesome. My father used to read to me when I was little, really happy memories and something I'll forever remember him by. Also, the series is picking up speed at book four and things are getting quite interesting. That said, I'm on 9 at the moment and just trudging through to get to Sanderson's part.
I agree completely with not minmaxing every moment but rather be focused on individual tasks
I hope it's not just me, when I hear "my precious time" I'm tempted to say "is it precious though?"
One thing about this article is that it says yes, it's precious.
I don't know. It doesn't feel right. But I appreciate the rest of the point.
interesting
time in some sense is the truest resource
its the only one we cannot control how much we get other than some % increase via healthy living and even then it can be taken
is it precious? in some sense, it depends on what you get to spend your time on perhaps that makes it precious
@@ThePrimeTimeagen I have to agree.
What I'm tempted to say is "well do you actually appreciate your time that much that you call it precious".
But they probably look at time with despair because it's precious indeed. I don't know how they actually use it.
3:50 bro I lived in Berkeley commuting into the SF financial district and had about 35 minute commute if all went well. It was fast than everyone in my office and many of those people lived on the peninsula. The bay is the worst for commute haha.
You're giving tremendous life advice on focus and consumption of media. Strange paradox that devoting time to one task instead of many liberates more time than it consumes.
What you said about the shower is SO TRUE. You never really consume in the shower. So your brain turns on. So many times I’ve felt like writing notes in the shower. I think the same can be said about when you’re lying awake at night.. the amount of times I’ve strongly considered getting out of bed and turning my pc on to get my ideas typed up before I forget it in my sleep
Great content, I have three sons and yes, finding free time to learn is always difficult but not imposible. Currently I am studying 1-3 hours per day. I need to download the twitch application and start to watch the Prime channel.
Your name is awesome.
Totally agree-learning is where you want to be. If you do it just for work, it's going to be hard to find motivation.
Totally agree with you!
Why we need to do all those things so fast? In the of our lifes, the much content we consumed or things we achieved won't make any difference. So it's better to enjoy the things we like with the time it requires to.
I've had jobs offer 1-2 hours of learning time per week, when our schedule allowed. I think combining this with sharing what everyone on the team learned would be awesome.
If the hour a day you're spending on learning isn't buying you back more than an hour a day in productivity, you aren't doing it right.
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.”
"Multitasking is taxing on the soul!"
>me grinding engineering mats while watching "uhhhhhhhhh"
I like your stuff brotha, keep it up! You have some good humor
It's very important to allow yourself to get bored. What's actually good to do, is spend focused time on the daily highlight you set for yourself that's connected to your goal, but when there's time you actually are bored and don't have to focus or think a lot, that's the time your brain is able to process learnt information.
"how do you keep up with the tech world?"
"I listen to prime read tech articles at 1.5 speed"
I agree with you 100%. Focus is important and sometimes focusing on nothing at all (like in shower) is even more important
An odd thing I keep finding myself in is when I'm focused. In a very focused state I don't care or worry about time, I know the time but I don't get that anxious feeling.
I'm far more productive in this state, but it's a bit paradoxical in the way I'm doing far more / minute not thinking about it compared to if I was.
In a way it feels like when I or others try to prioritize and manage time is when it's the most exhausting and least productive.
In a time management state I might be like "ok, this task will take me an hour, I got to get it done in an hour" but takes more than an hour. Compared to a "I'm just going to do this with no time frame" and then I'm like "wtf, it's only be 25 minutes, I'm already done?"
I have never been more happy in life than when I had dumb phones, overstimulation really drains you
The fact that this video isn't one second longer is absolutely outrageous.
There's learning and then there's focused, active learning. I pretty much agree with Prime's take here, but would also like to add that sometimes learning involves practice as well so that the mind-muscle connections related to the given info become formed.
Yeah language learning is one of the only things where it’s also beneficial to do passively. I can even listen to adverts because everything counts.
Your take on this was really helpful for me to hear ❤️
Lol got me so good with the closing comments- Prime in the background, code on one screen, tests failing on the other meanwhile it's 8pm at night and I should definitely not be using my own time to do work for the fat cats BOOM FOCUS
A good alternative for me is white noice (noice ;)) audio. Pure monotonous sound of rain is pure gold when focusing. Sometimes I can work for 3 hours straight without even noticing and also forgetting my coffee.
Thanks!
I remember asking that same question, like how I'm already exhausted after daily work and my boss was like: "what do you do in Saturdays and Sundays?"
Oh, I agree so much on the danger of multitasking part. I used to try to multi task as much as I could and I rather ended up drained and not having done anything meaningfull.
I think a really underlooked thing is overall health and staying healthy
Agree, staying healthy is a must if you want to do anything else efficiently
Thanks Prime! I'd also love to hear your take on how consistently you revisit the same authors, content creators, etc. when consuming content. I constantly bounce between both your and the OP's philosophies, although I tend to agree more with your take. However, I do tend to check out primarily (>90%) get my consumed content from a few authors, creators, places, etc. and focus on their content. It kinda seems like the OP browses a lot of content from a lot of different creators each month. While there's a lot of great stuff out there, it seems to me that if I'm always trying to find the next best creator or the next great nugget of information, I'm going to have to drink the ocean.
Primeagen is completely right.
Getting distracted is never worth it. Get the work done faster and better and then you'll objectively have more time
100% agree on 1-thing-at-a-time policy. I think though that meditation is more like “0-things-at-a-time”, meaning it’s not deeply focuing on one thing, but like experiencing life as it comes with no thinking (even though 0 is impossible)
A game changer for me was watching RUclips dev tutorials and things like CPPCon videos while on an exercise bike at home (running at a steady rate for weight control rather than spin bike cardio madness, means I can concentrate on the video). That's usually a minimum of 2 hours a week learning, which is effective because if the content is good enough, I mainly forget I'm exercising too. Otherwise I'd rarely find a time window to watch a CPPCon video, as I could be doing something more fun instead
Yeah. Context switching is even harder for the brain than it is for the CPU. :)
I recently figured out an approach that makes my multi-tasking better. When I'm starting some background task that I expect to take more than a minute or two I set a timer which will notify me when it's done (or expected to be done). Just a little bash script that plays a beep sound and sends a GNOME notification with a short text (like "build complete" etc.). I either add it just after the long-running command so that the notification is sent right after it's finished, or I run it separately with a specific delay of N minutes that I expect the operation to take. And then I go and start doing something else.
I also recently started using the "time" util (which measures a command's duration) so that I can build a better intuition about how long different operations usually take.
I'm still tuning this approach but I already found it makes me much more effective.
Part of the reason you need to break up your time into discrete chunks in order for your brain to solidify whatever it is you're learning. If you are constantly learning and doing other things you're going to learn slower than people who set aside time for learning, time for practice, time for her hobbies, etc. You'll also end up feeling more drained and have a much higher chance of burning out.
I agree on monotasking, but with music and background noise it depends on your natural level of distractibility. John Von Neumann famously did his best work with lots of background noise intentionally. Some people are the opposite and need total quiet, and many people are somewhere in between. If you can't get into flow you might need to modulate the background noise up or down.
I can do 1.5 things at any given time. How much of a thing a thing is depends on the day and the thing. Most of the time, driving a car is half a thing, actively listening (a video or audiobook, say) is a whole thing, passively listening (songs) is half a thing, what I do at work fluctuates between half a thing and a whole thing, eating food is half a thing, commenting on videos is a whole thing, and coding or reading is a whole thing at minimum, often a thing and a half, and sometimes two whole things when I'm trying to read someone else's awful naming conventions while figuring out what this C code does. So sure, I can do "two" things at once and "multitask," but one of those things is always going to be a background task that eats into the main task and I have to recognize that or get extremely frustrated at myself.
Currently I am studying game dev, which involves learning programming, art, writing, organization, and productivity. On top of this I am learning Japanese. I agree with the statement "learn something you want to do for 10 years". Wish I had learned how to learn 15 years ago, but life is what it is. I spend about 2-3 hours a day on study work. at least 1 hour focused on Japanese and 1 hour focused on game development. I spent many years studying art and writing so most of my game dev study is learning programming and the ins and outs of the engine I'm using. I also edit do video editing so I try to set aside time to work on that or learn more on improving that workflow, though i can admit I have mostly put this to the side.
If I were to write out a day it would be: wake up 2 hours before work, 1.5 hrs wake up routine with about 15min of gaming for fun. 30min commute to work followed by 6hrs work shift, i had a second job, but not currently, so now 1hr for errands and returning home. At home after work routine, shower/food; while eating i often watch relaxing/junk videos to take my mind off work. Then 1hr game dev studies, watching videos and taking notes or doing tutorials. 1hr japanese study. Then before sleep I will watch a movie or some other concise entertainment to stretch my writing critique muscles and learn more about storytelling in that medium. Any extra time I have is used playing games, organizing, doing some planner setup or filling out applications.
One piece of advice I learned and I personally enjoy is I don't combine learning mediums. If I want to engage my mind I will not do 2 mental exercises as the same time, listening to an informative podcast while trying to write code. But I do like a physical exercise that I can do while engaging my mind. Of course always give yourself free time to be alone with thoughts.
Totally true.
Some people just focus too much on the big number of podcasts, audiobooks, articles, etc they have read or listened to. But it's really no use if they don't "engage" to get everything out of it. Out brain is a CPU, not a memory card. Its job is to handle information, not storage everything. That process takes time and effort
Instead of getting 30% "information" of 100 articles, I definitely choose to focus on 1 thing at a time and get only 60% of 30 ones.
Quality > Quantity
I'm from Brazil and I used to commute 2x3 hours every day haha It's insane that here all the good job opportunities are concentrated in the noble area. I can't even imagine a life where commuting would take only 45 minutes, it's like a very distant utopia
this seems exhausting and then i realized im doing the same, i wake up watching videos sleep watching videos even if they are educative its too much, thanks prime.
Had no commute for 6 years but was renting a condo near work. Finally buying a house and its going to be 45min-65min one way to work but its where I wanted to live and nicer house than I could afford near work. Hope I don’t end up regretting this decision.
Such a good take!
I think our wiring isn't really optimized for scaling attention horizontally. You can go really in depth with it and achieve a good state of mind (and results), but you can't really scatter it to many places at the same time to similarly positive results.
Focusing takes more initial effort, though. Maybe that's why we lean more towards that scattered approach, at least initially.
Until it bites you in the ass.
I starting listening to podcasts during commute a couple years ago and got hit by a bus, thank you multitasking
Having a regular 8h software engineer job and a family - pretty hard to find time.
If the project is stressful it’s hard to switch your focus on new things you wanna learn.
if you wanna spend quality time with your family it’s hard to do it after 6pm.
Ideal scenario would be that the company you’re working for encourages you to spend a few hours per week for learning and experimenting new things. This, in the end might be a win-win.
For multitasking, I think it matters more about what you're doing. Sticking to the cooking example, I put on high level tech videos or podcasts while cooking (or painting or folding laundry or whatever). I also will jot down things when I'm doing that for later investigation. But sometimes I let my mind wander and "garbage collect" during those same activities. For me, it's about being in tune with my mental state and what I can and am able to get done on a given day.
But if I'm reading a textbook and taking notes (yes, I still do that well into my 30s) then the music is off, the book is full screen, and I have paper and pen to actually write.
The one thing I really liked from the article was breaking it down to an hour per day. 1 hour might not be the right fit for a single person forever, but I have found much more success battling with new-to-me technical stuff by sitting with it for more-but-shorter-periods then trying to slam my head against the wall for an 8 hour block 1x / week. But once I understand and just need to execute - more or less? Then longer blocks actually benefit me.
Agreed. Also I find podcasts on different topics than tech to be fun. But the ultimate best podcasts are podcasts in another language because it’s essentially like background noise and you understand 0% then 10% and so on. It counts as passive immersion. I can even listen to adverts and I won’t be annoyed because it’s new content
As someone who learnt go from scratch while working WFO 5-days a week(was java-micronaut dev), married, going to gym, the best advice i would give to devs upskilling is to learn as much as possible while you're unmarried and in your early 20s. I used to wake up 5 in the morning, go to gym for 1 hr, so self-study for another 1-2 hr, go to office at 9 AM and return at 7 PM, spend time with wife(she is dot net dev) or game if she's still working. Tough times.
I did the folly of wasting away my early 20s being complacent and it hurt me a lot.
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