Date: 2009-03-23 21:09:09 Created: 2009-03-23 15:44:14
I have, quite frequently, thought about trying the writing exercise of just getting a few pages down first thing in the morning. I did that yesterday, and today as well. I think today was pretty much the first time I did any kind of writing on the morning of a work day.
Now there's a thing you don't get around to when there's a newspaper yelling for attention ...
Anyway, either it's just a good day, or it did get me going. Because once I got to work I produced another text about equal parts lining up the day's work and general work-related ideas.
It's far from the first time I've used writing to sort through my mind, but it's nice to see that doing it as a morning routine seems workable and productive for me.
And a real bonus of morning writing is the chance to catch the edges of a few dreams before they slip away completely.
Well, it wasn't that brief. I feel like I actually had some time, for a change. Pleo writing, cola reviews, a good twelve-kilometer run, two classic movies and a dose of Lisp and general computer science education.
I keep devouring programming/development-related material, and I even bought some more today.
The main reason I say
material
is that MIT:s "Structure and interpretation of computer programs"
is available as recorded lectures, and I'm watching them.
don't know if I'll actually read the book afterwards too.
(But right now I went and read the foreword and introductions.)
But really, it might be time to take a break from plowing through new things soon and review and let things sink in a bit instead. I have touched on a lot of things in the past year or so which would probably click into place from just a brief re-read. I'm looking forward to that stage too.
... just going to finish my first read of a few more things first ...
On one hand, I know I can get much more out of all the things I've read by going more in-depth and reviewing more (and actually using the things I've read about). On the other hand, I feel that the pace itself has a value, that I keep my mind fresh by seeing new things, subjects and ideas. Also, things come back and are repeated by appearing in different contexts too.
And I have the luxury of educating myself in my own time
at my own terms
so I won't decide firmly on any particular course.
(Obvious examples of things coming back: The little schemer, Practical common Lisp and Structure and interpreation of computer programs are all about using and thinking in Lisp. Less directly, Javascript that I program so much in has a lot in common with Lisp (pretty much tracing its lineage in that direction). In all cases, I benefit. Learning is a win-win situation!)