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Ask HN: What skill should I learn over Christmas/winter vacation?

32 points by snazz ↗ HN
Can be tech-related or non-tech-related.

27 comments

[ 4.9 ms ] story [ 59.1 ms ] thread
nykolasz
Whatever skill you want to learn and will have fun learning. I am trying to learn more about kernel-level programming, because that's something I was always curious about. So that's what I am doing now.

Find your passion.

jokh
Any projects you're working on?
quickthrower2
The skill of relaxing and enjoying time off.
matt_the_bass
And learning something new about a loved one by talking to them.
world32
100x this.
ultrasounder
I basically upvoted all of the above comments. Right now in a Workacation with my family doing a 80/20 vacation/work split and totally enjoying it.
quickthrower2
80/20 sounds good as long as the 20 is 'get in the flow' kind of work rather than stressful work.
gvand
The same reasoning behind taking some time off once in a while for those doing weight training applies here too.

You'll come back to it with renewed enthusiasm and new ideas to try out.

tmaly
Learn better listening and conversation skills
karmakaze
If you're into mobile dev, try Flutter it recently went GA with v1.0.

If you're into webdev and want to try something a bit different see Elixr/Phoenix and the Way it can do dynamically updated server-side rendering.

weishigoname
learn how to manage the relationship you have with your family and friends, that is very important part of our lives.
ecesena
How about skiing, snowboarding or ice skating?
konaraddio
Learn to memorize the order of a shuffled deck of cards
ajspencer
As others as alluded to, long term success requires more than deep technical excellence. Winter break could be a great time to learn about another field, get experience talking to others (volunteering maybe), broaden your horizon of thought with books you may not normally read, or, if your passion truly is technology, work on a higher risk project that will likely fail but you could learn a lot from.
qorrect
I’m studying Fourier stuffs, for vacations i prefer more general learning nothing specific or work related. Happy holidays.
adamnemecek
Anything in particular about Fourier?
qorrect
No not yet, it's a hole in my knowledge that I'd like to fix, got any suggestions ?
richev
Learn how to bake a really good cake. Work colleagues and your extended family will live you for it!
robodale
What exactly is a winter/Xmas vacation ?
askari01
spending quality times with loved ones,
kibibu
Learn to juggle. It's something you can learn to do in a weekend, and be pretty good at after a couple of weeks.
andrewdubinsky
Learn how to have a conversation with someone you just met.