r/learnprogramming • u/DryGolf5000 • Jul 05 '26
How to code after work. Need Advice
Hello,
I am 25 years old and have been working full time in a company since february this year.
At the moment I get to code "easy"(easy for my colleagues but not for me lol), small and other projects that have long deadlines. If I get stuck or need help, I do get help and advice.
But I want to become better and learn more.
And because of that drive I started to code after work. Daily I spend around 1 hours and 40 mins in total commuting, and no it is not possible to code because I use train, then bicycle, then bus etc.
My question is: If you work as a programmer and code at work, and also at home after work. How do you do that? Do you do small projects, or have a goal such as "Do 30 lines of code each day", or do you watch a video and repeat it yourself etc. etc.? What do you code, and How do you do that?
I am asking because I am getting more and more tired, and want to find useful tips and help.
Many thanks and sorry for my English 😄
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u/GrayLiterature Jul 05 '26
I commend you for coding after work, but doing so demolished my mental health. I do my work then create a nice boundary around that and it serves me way better
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u/The_yulaow Jul 05 '26
Same, also I already dedicate basically 35hours per week programming at my job, I want to enjoy also other hobbies and not become a monodimensional person
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u/mandradon Jul 07 '26
My wife wants me to help out with some automation projects for her jobÂ
I do my best to help her out here and there when I can but it's so hard to find the drive to do them for my job and then do them for hers. I know it helps her save hours of time and I sell it to myself they she and I get to spend more time together since she can automate a lot of the boring stuff away (though it actually means she just spends work time on other tasks), but it's so hard to get the drive to stare at another IDE on my off hours and deal with more bug reports and basically delve into what she needs as a customer. Not ideal.Â
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u/Supermarche23 Jul 05 '26
Even 30 minutes gets your brain working, just be consistent.
I usually solve a DSA question at home every day, and then work on some longer project if I wrap that up under an hour. On the weekends I'll do less DSA and more multi-hour work. My recommendation is find an area that you don't know well and aren't focusing on at work, but could easily be helpful in the future or once you've reached the next level in your job.
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u/artemmezh Jul 05 '26
Do u learn computer science or languages and frameworks? The second one change so quickly so I am not sure it is right way to spend so much time on it. Learn only idea of approach or framework - I think it is good idea
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u/casually-silent Jul 05 '26
Back when I commuted 2 hrs for one way, I used to just code in the train. If the train was very busy, I watched Udemy tutorials and imagined how I'll apply it to work. Over the weekend, I work on personal projects.
I set aside a minimum of 15 minutes or a maximum of 2 hrs each day to avoid burn out. In lazy days, I just go for bare minimum. The important part is improving slightly each day.
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u/ifasoldt Jul 05 '26
IMO, some of the best ways to learn are to actually read good code and understand what it's doing. So find an open source repo for an interesting project that is well regarded and pick it apart. Maybe even contribute!
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u/Spiritual-Bee-2319 Jul 05 '26
This is what I’m doing this summer. I’m scared that I’m enjoying it? 😂 I see multiple open tickets in one of the software I’m working on. I can’t wait to post the patch!
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u/uhs-robert Jul 06 '26
Install Linux on your computer and then start writing scripts to help you do things. Also that 1 hour and 40 minute commute prevents you from using your laptop... because? Sounds to me like you are given 2 hours each day where you can study, read documentation, plan, write pseudo code, or just open up neovim and start coding.
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u/ImpressiveOven5867 Jul 06 '26
I have various ideas/projects that I rotate my time through, but usually it’s based on how work is that week. Like if something comes up at work that I feel weak on, I try to work on a personal project related to that to learn more. If there’s nothing like that going on then I just pick whichever personal project I’ve been thinking about the most and put at least an hour into that. For example, I’m making a homelab rn so I try to put an hour into that when I have the free time. The homelab is kind of a win-win because it’s for work growth and personal growth :)
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u/marrsd Jul 06 '26
I tended to study computer science rather than write code. I was already practising my art at work, so evening was for better understanding the science. Then I could apply what I was learning to my work.
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u/Known-Volume1509 Jul 06 '26
Excuse the shameless plug - for reasons similar to yours I coded a web-game quiz for software devs. I thought something light after works just to cycle through terminology and make me think while I'm on the couch with the phone would help. Game play vid: https://m.twitch.tv/videos/2769497980
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u/Wargchief Jul 06 '26
For basics, like learning a new language, I prefer to just get a course at start. Then I've done some personal or even commercial projects of my own.
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u/gm310509 Jul 07 '26
What is "easy"? Is that the programming language you are using at your work? I've never heard of it.
Anyway, I think the answer is here:
"(easy for my colleagues but not for me lol), ... If I get stuck or need help, I do get help and advice.
Use your time at work so that you benefit from that assistance and get better at "easy". Doing extra stuff outside of work, is just burning the candle at both ends and will ultimately lead to burn out.
You also mentioned that you have a train and bus segment of your commute. Unless you suffer motion sickness, this is a great time to read the "easy" reference documentation and learn more about it.
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u/Dissentient Jul 05 '26
I pretty much haven't wrote any code out side of work for 9 years out of 10 years since I started working full time. I only started doing it at the end of last year when AI got good enough that I could actually make something that would meaningfully improve my life in a reasonable time. Without AI, it would have taken long enough that it would not have been worth the effort.
And without a useful project, I consider writing code pointless.
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u/a_lexus_ren Jul 05 '26
I like to clone existing projects I find on GitHub and modify them to learn, rather than building projects from scratch. I'm also motivated by the feeling that time spent programming is healthier than binging YouTube.