Ask HN: Shipping code vs learning new tech??

I'm sure there are others who face the same delima; so for those currently managing tech teams or those working in them, what are some good practices / schedules set up for keeping yourself / your team up to date with newer tech vs shipping code?

I just spent the past week learning and building out an admin process for our sales/business team in Backbone and I know I could've taken half the time; if not less to build it out if using the tools I already know. So what are some good practices / habits to setup / fall into now while the company is still new and we're still finding our feet to keep everyone's skill set high but still ship features at a good pace.