If you're anything like me then you know how hard it can be to find time to study and learn web development in the time you've got left between working full-time and trying to bring up kids. I've put together a short list of techniques I've discovered through the years which have helped me get the most out of my limited time. Let me know in the comments if you have any useful tips of your own!
Study when you have the energy
I've tried (and continue to try) to squeeze in study time in the evenings after the kids are finally in bed and we've had something to eat. The problem with this is that after a long day, I'm mentally exhausted. Every word I read or minute of video I watch is a slog to take in. Are there some nights the gods of energy smile upon me and bestow me with limitless energy to study into the night? Sure. But this is no way to build a consistent study schedule.
I've realised that getting up early, before I'd normally get up for work, and squeezing in an hour of study works wonders. I'm mentally sharper, and it has the added benefit of taking the stress out of worrying if I'll get a chance to fit some time in on that day. I also take my laptop into work every day and fit in some time on my breaks. Again, this is a great way to fit in study time when my brain has the room and energy to take in what I'm learning.
Accept that some days will be bad days
With kids you just never know what's round the corner. I've recently had both kids suffer from flu for a week each across a fortnight. They'll hit the hay and be back up in 30 mins with coughs and or runny noses. And on the third week, guess who gets the flu next? That's right.
The stress that frustration of not getting anything done for a day or in my case recently 3 weeks can be terrible. The only thing you can do to save yourself from further pain and suffering is to forget about your goals and focus on getting things back to normal. Take your foot off the pedal for however long it takes and know you can pick up where you were as soon as you can.
Squeeze in bite size lessons whenever you can
I have a 6 month old baby. Getting up at 3am for a bottle feed will give me 30 mins to listen to a podcast about the pitfalls of imposter syndrome, or to watch a video on how to create a shopify clone in 7 hours (I wish I had that much time!). The idea here is to fit in what you can when you can. Diversify your resources. Find videos, podcasts, short articles, books, tutorial sites etc. and go to them when you have the time. If I only have 30 mins I won't bother trying to tackle a large project tutorial or waste my time trying to wrap my head around a difficult topic. I'll just switch focus for a while to something shorter and easier to learn. There's so much out there that you'll never struggle. As long as you're learning you're not wasting your time.
Don't be hard on yourself.
Go slow. Take your time. You'll get there.
When you're finally there you can pat yourself on the back and say "I did it. I actually made it whilst raising a kid/kids and working full-time. I am a legend. A hero."
If anyone out there is struggling with this stuff whilst working and raising a family then please reach out. If not to me, then someone. Talk about it. I know how hard it can be to not be where you want to be and to feel like you'll never make it. Let's get there together.
Kev
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