Ask HN: How do you choose to learn when there is so much to learn?

I keep a backlog of reading and projects. I separate it into work and personal growth. I have things that have been on the list for years, and things I'll likely never get to. That's ok! But I review the list from time to time, re-order and sort it. I keep working on the top one to three things. Right now, professionally, it is becoming proficient with distributed tracing and kubernetes while enabling others on my team and other teams to do the same. Personally, it is improving my "handiness" around the house. Plumbing, exterior wood care, property maintenance, etc.

Don't learn everything.

Learn what you need now.

1. Any project uses subset of the features from your programming language/web framework

2. Define what your app does

3. Google/Ask pros on reddit, it will give you N ways to solve this particular problem. How you can achieve X within that framework. Compare the different solutions on their strengths and weakeness. End up choosing one.

Recognize rules and their priority which are employed in solution to a particular problem.

4. Whole internet is there to cheat from. You don't need to memorize, you don't need to come up things on your own.

5. Repeat.

Overtime, you will have memorized many things even without trying.

You can solve the new problems following pattern of previous solved problems, you won't even find yourself looking up potential solutions anymore.