Hello, guy!
I'm going on a long (at least) 2 months vacation. As a backpacker I couldn't, and didn't actually want to carry a laptop with me as I'd be on vacation.
In today's software world, I might actually feel outdated after I come back. Do you think there's anything I can/should do to keep up, and not get "rusty"?
Thanks in advance!
I think we all should take vacations from work now and then. It is healthy to maintain work life balance. If you feel backdated in terms of technology in any point of time then you should talk to your fellow tech geeks. One technical person can only update another technical person. Thus by sharing and distributing technical knowledge you will get highlighted. Of course blogs, tech talks are always there to keep you updated on your vacation as well. No need to worry, just enjoy your vacation :)
Make yourself a small leather / yarn / strong synthetic material bracelet or necklace with colored beads. Each color would represent a topic you don't want to become rusty on. Every morning and evening, and maybe in the middle of the day, take some time to meditate on the topic represented by one or two of the beads.
Unless The Singularity were to happen in those two months, I highly doubt it. And even if it happened, all of us would become outdated, not just you.
That aside, there isn't much that can happen that a couple of hours of reading changelogs, when you get back, won't fix. Although it might not hurt to subscribe to a few feeds and check hashnode whenever you're not having fun or relaxing.
Perhaps you could subscribe to some tech-related news feeds or email newsletters in your niche and stay on top of the news while enjoying your vacation somewhere else.
I don't think you need to worry about getting rusty, or being left out or left behind though - relax and enjoy yourself, the ever-flowing river of tech will be here for you when you return :D
2 months ? .... it took us 30 years for futures and promises .... the observer pattern is from GoF :D ... chill ... mainly these changes are hyped and not real. We still don't have AI just "supervised AI" and a lot of BS for money :)
Same as the cloud and so on, those are old concepts we just reframed so we get money for them. Reactive programming was done in the 70s, functional programming is from the 1930s (Lambda calculus).....
unless you're working bleeding edge (which you shouldn't anyway, you can read up on what you need)
if you are 2 years away, that's something different but even than it's manageable as long as your are willing to learn.
If i were you ... i would use my phone to listen to a podcast ... also you can carry with you a programming book...or you can carry it as pdf on your phone.. you can take the opportunity to learn a new technology also through your phone... there are many apps that teaches new technologies on the app stores Hope that helps my friend :)
I think it's important to enjoy your vacation, so if i were you I wouldn't really care about the industry during my time off. You can always catch up when you come back.
That being said there's no harm in checking out hashnode.com (You could use the mobile phone to check the website out) everyday for the latest updates during your breakfast (or lunch) and the community will make sure you stay updated with latest trends from the industry. :)
Andre Lewis
Javascript Full Stack Developer
Hi Yosher,
As mentioned by several great responses, I wouldn't worry about it. Two months is nothing, and while it may seem like you could miss out on something, you won't.
Software development is something you do because you are actually passionate about creating great things. Software gets BETTER with unrelated life experiences, and reflects changes in the way you think rather than the latest buzzword.
Lots of ideas only come when you are doing something completely unrelated.
Just take a few moments while traveling to see how your programming concepts are reflected in the real world, and enjoy yourself.