Development as a Hobby
So what does hobbyist tinkerer mean? Or development as a hobby?
This article is intended for folks who intend to approach development (or learning how to) with a small portion of their time - similar to what you'd be able to get from other hobbies. Likewise, the focus is not always to turn it into a side-gig.
I like to think of it as solving puzzles - almost like a big book of suduko or crosswords. But instead, I am even more ill-equipped and the books are even bigger! But really - I just like building things. It's a creative outlet being able to take an idea forward. The struggle that goes along with that can be really satisfying. And, I like to share what's built and the challenges with others.
I am super fortunate to have a career that allows me to have time for hobbies. And, as with other hobbies, I'm not so sure if development was my career I would also do it as a hobby. It's rare that I can commit regular time to a hobby as well. I may go months without being able to dive back in to code.
Keeping up with all the changes to technology (especially in front-end dev) can be tricky, but here are some ways that I use to try to help. I like to think of it along the lines of Tim Ferris's "Minimum Effective Dose" - what's the minimum we can do to try to stay up-to-date.
- Note Taking
Keeping track of ideas, topics to research, framework updates to check into, etc can be challenging. I leverage my safari reading list and notes app quite a bit to rank items. - Github Mobile
Starring favorite repos and checking in every so often can help with seeing enhancements made. You can subscribe to discussions or issues as well. - Social
Many frameworks, their authors, dev rel folks, etc have feeds. As an example, you can checkout who I follow. These allow you to get bite-sized updates. I also really like LearnVue and the LearnVue YouTube channel - Interest
I hope this comes across in a humble way - but development as a hobby comes with being able to choose what you work on. You're your own client/product manager. But - you do need to build the things that make you happy - because that is what a generative hobby is all about. In learning, they talk about the goldilocks principle. Take on a project that is just difficult enough keep interested, but not so easy that it becomes boring. - Exercise
You might not be able to get a long uninterrupted coding block in every day. In your notes, try to pick out some small items/enhancements. It might be just updating some dependencies to see if anything breaks. Or - writing a small test. Further - it might not even be coding. It could be a new budget spreadsheet or notion table relation - anything that helps exercise problem solving. - Teach / Relate
There are lots of opportunities to share what you know and that can also be fulfilling. It could be someone in your life who has a knack for technology, a kid/niece/nephew with interest, or even a community group. Sharing your hobby with others in a generative way can provide similar and even better satisfaction than seeing your own projects come to life.
Over time - I intend to write more about hobbies, but would love to connect with people find tinkering/development rewarding - please hit the contact page.