ahulak

I work at a startup in Santa Barbara and I will sometimes take an extra 30 minutes to an hour at lunch in order to make sure I get a good hour long surf session in. I would say my productivity is definitely higher both before and after the surf session. Not sure if it's to make up for lost time or I am actually getting more done because I am happier.. but it definitely doesn't hurt productivity.

I could not agree with you more.

I think it is absolutely crucial that you have a real world project to work on - something that makes you actually write some code and solve some problems in a production environment. That being said, supplemental education that focuses on fundamentals can drastically speed up the learning process.

It's almost like practicing a sport. There are drills you need to run in order to improve specific skills, but without taking those skills and applying them in a real game situation you never actually connect all the dots that lead to self improvement. On the flip side, its not enough to just play games - sometimes it helps to go the batting cages and practice on a specific skill set. I treat my learning the same way.

thank you, those all look great - looks like I have a busy weekend (or week) ahead of me!

thank you, I appreciate the input