---
layout:     post
title:      "The bare minimum II"
date:       2015-01-04 16:16:00
categories: general
---
In my [previous post]({% post_url 2014-12-14-the-bare-minimum %}), I talked about the minimum workout I practise during
 those periods when my schedule is tight. In this one, I'm going to talk about the minimum practices
 I follow to keep my technical skills sharp.

I've divided my technical practices into two blocks.

Passive practices
----------------
Here I include practices related with consuming resources, when I don't have to write or think
in an active way.

* **Read articles/blogs:** Once per day I have a look at [Hacker News][hackernews] and my RSS feed.
I usually do this during/after lunch for half an hour to one hour.

* **Listen to a podcast:** If I'm working, I use the commuting time for this. Otherwise, I listen to a podcast while I go for a run.
 These days I'm mainly listening to [Ruby Rogues][rubyrogues]

* **Watch a screencast:** I'm currently watching one [Ruby Tapa][rubytapas] per working day and
a [Let's code javascript][letscode] episode twice per week.
This changes depending on the languages I'm working on/learning

* **Big events:** I go to a big conference/event at least twice per year.

* **Read a book:** Bedtime is my perfec time to read for half an hour.

Active practices
-----------------
This section includes practices like writing code or adding a blog post.

* **Code katas or similar:** Three/four slots of one hour per week to write a code kata or
 solve small problems. Two resources I love are: [Exercism][exercism] and [Codewars][codewars]

* **Blog post:** One article per week. As you can tell, this practice is very new for me.
 I'm still trying to create the habit.

* **Contribute to an open source project:** Here, my target is at least one commit per week.

* **Community events:** At least one event (talk, hands-on session, etc.) every two weeks.

[hackernews]: https://news.ycombinator.com
[rubyrogues]: http://devchat.tv/ruby-rogues
[rubytapas]: http://www.rubytapas.com
[letscode]: http://www.letscodejavascript.com
[exercism]: http://exercism.io
[codewars]: http://www.codewars.com/about

Add post The Bare Minimum II
Add post The Bare Minimum II
