invertedlambda

You guys are lame - you obviously haven't seen: http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6995033/

MongoDB is web scale.

Coding, watching movies, going for a hike, exercising, playing music, learning to skateboard.

A few ideas: - Meditate - Exercise (running, weights, etc) - Yoga

Do something that's totally unproductive that's pure fun. This might sound silly, but finger painting or something similar.

Relaxing is all about feeling like there's nothing you NEED to to be doing right now. You're just in your own space, enjoying your own company.

Maybe there's something you've always wanted to do but haven't for whatever reason. Conquer your fears! Go take that mambo class. Attend that french pastry chef course.

You know? Mix it up, have some fun. : )

Correct, but maybe not in the sense that you are implying.

You'll know you're an expert when you don't care about being labeled as such. You know your stuff really well, so well that it's a matter of intuition. If you care about being an expert, you're not one.

'Some of the best advice I ever got was from a prolific artist friend of mine who claimed, "I paint every day." So I started coding every day. But that wasn't enough. Now I make progress every day.'

Agree. While he's not everyone's favorite, I enjoy Stephen King's books very much. His recipe for success?

King's formula for learning to write well is: "Read and write four to six hours a day. If you cannot find the time for that, you can't expect to become a good writer." He sets out each day with a quota of 2000 words and will not stop writing until it is met. He also has a simple definition for talent in writing: "If you wrote something for which someone sent you a check, if you cashed the check and it didn't bounce, and if you then paid the light bill with the money, I consider you talented." (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King#Writing_style)

Notice how he says both reading and writing are keys to success. :)