RPG games have always been a favorite past-time of mine. I love the idea of partaking in a new adventure from start to finish and I have no qualms as to what kind of adventure it is, as long as it's enjoyable!
Within these games, there are usually checkpoints of no returns where after a certain point of progression, you cannot go back or revisit previous areas of interest. This often scares me more than usual so what I would usually do is revisit every previous area possible and made sure my current skills and gear are up to speed.
Keeping yourself up to speed
The reason why I started this post about my interest in playing RPGs is because in the development field (or any field really!), keeping your craft up to date is one of the best ways to improve yourself and tackle future challenges that you may encounter along the way, similar to how it is within a game!
We (the main character) seek to create a new story for ourselves and in order to do that, we need to acquire skills and build upon those skills in order to make the world around us better! It's like leveling up skills within a skill tree really!
Depending on your use case and where you are applying your craft, your method of keeping up to date can differ and how much research you put into it. But for me? Newsletters are amazing
For this post, I'll briefly mention what newsletters I follow to keep up to date when it comes to web development as a whole!
Newsletters
One of the best ways that I personally keep up to date is to subscribe to newsletters. Newsletters are what I would define as managable info chunks that are not too long but at the same time, shorten into a disgestable amount that won't tire your brain — only focused on the details that really matter.
Just like any other blog post or article, newsletters are dependent on how well-written and collected it is (and whether or not they're a waste of your time)! It can be frustrating sometimes when you come across a very detailed title or description to a related topic, only to immediately get the dreaded notice of a paid subscription to read me.
Here are a couple of really good ones that I do follow and read up upon!
Astro Weekly
For Astro, I usually follow Astro Weekly by Nathan Lawson, who curates not just roadmaps and features of the Astro framework, but also share news of anything amazing within the Astro community as well! Nothing says better learning than learning what your peers have been doing as well, am I right? 😁
Kevin Powell
Oh boy, CSS..
As a web developer, it's either you come to love or hate CSS and personally, I am quite fond of CSS and the magic you can create with it (although I do know of some folks who detest it). Nothing says easier learning than learning from a master of CSS, Kevin Powell's Newsletter.
Although there isn't any design-worthy when it comes to his newsletters, the amount of content (and even tips and tricks) that appears within my email is top-quality. He definitely helped me improve my CSS skills ever since I have started and even till this day, I cannot thank him enough for the quality of work he put in to helping others within the community.
This Week In React
React, why must you evolve so fast!?
On a serious note, React is one of my stronger suites in development and just like the landscape around it, it can be quite difficult to keep up with such a quickly evolving library. Enter This Week In React by Sébastien Lorber
Simply put, it pretty much has everything you really ever need when it comes to staying up-to-date on the React landscape. From new toolings, features, and even projects and features built for React, there is always something new to be learnt when it comes to this newsletters. If you're a React developer and you have not subscribed to this one, you won't miss out!
Conclusion
Well there you have it, the secret sauce that I have found useful to traverse in an era filled with all sorts of information. For you, your method might be different and that is just fine!
Similar to an RPG, your weapon of choice to tackle down a final boss most likely differs to someone elses! It all boils down to how well you utilize it and how much you like the feel of it within your hands. There is no right or wrong answer; as long as it works, then to you it becomes the best answer.
Newsletters are my focus but perhaps YouTube content creators might be better, or the tried and true blog articles (😅) but regardless, whatever you use to keep yourself up-to-date and sharp within your field, keep at it and it'll definitely pay off over time.