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Discussion on: How Do You Balance Passion Projects & Professional Commitments?

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theaccordance profile image
Joe Mainwaring • Edited

One technique I will do when I'm trying to give the appropriate amount of time to a side project is to detail out what my weekly schedule looks like.

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I keep things fairly top-level with hour blocks of time and mark them by the most important activity during that time block (ex: feed cat). I can then evaluate which time blocks are necessary (ex: sleep, mandatory meetings, gym classes, chemo appointments, Warzone Squad Night 😎), which blocks are negotiable (mid-day nap, HBO, PBS NewsHour), and what blocks are currently free.

It's worth nothing - the goal isn't to have every moment in time completely accounted for, I purposely keep some blocks empty just to decompress, avoid burnout, and have a life outside of coding.

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Ralph Hightower

Time blocking is a great idea. I hope that you've kicked the cancer.

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Rachel Fazio

Wow so thorough! Love this.

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Dan Bailey

This is similar to how I have to do things -- between professional demands, personal projects, training for cycling, parenting, it all adds up and quickly. I generally have a similar schedule to yours because it's the only way I'll ever get everything done (I combine it with Todoist, which has been a life-saver).