In this past year I’ve noticed how my motivation to do certain tasks has ebb and flowed. Sometimes I feel like reading a book on networking and developing small apps to practice. Other times I don’t feel like doing anything.
The common thread so far has been reading a blog or listening to a podcast that inspires me to learn more about the subject.
Once I pull an initial thread, then many more concepts start showing up. As I pull each of these concepts I find myself diving into more books, articles, and projects in this area.
I’ve found useful compiling some of these resources to remind me what are these initial threads I pulled that got me in.
There are also some videos or articles that catalyze my motivation and can get me going for a few weeks on a subject. The most recent one was The Small Web is Beautiful.
Once I pull a thread I notice there are common links across all of these deep dives. Knowing about networking can help if you’re trying to build a small website. Or knowing about compilers can inform why some languages are faster and use less memory.
It’s been also helpful to take some time off from pulling these threads. I notice when I step off from a subject and come back to it; I often find renewed energy and a different angle of thinking.
I’ve also found helpful to not only read books on computer science but also explore areas that I’m using computer science for. Right now I’ve been enjoying reading The New Map by Daniel Yirgin and How The World Really Works by Vaclav Smil.