Is the Stanford Algorithms course a good or equal substitute? I started the Princeton one, but the homework was... just not what I would have expected or often threw me for a loop.
I have come across cases like this in a couple interviews. What I did was do both. In those cases I often got an either an onsite and/or offer immediately.
After full time at work, gym, any real life tasks I need to attend (groceries, eating, bills, cleaning, etc...) it can be rather difficult and feels like starting a large project (or any) is hopeless (relatively for a single person in their spare time) or maybe intimidating.
Could you perhaps share some of your tips and wisdom as you are now older on how and when you started habitually doing this and how you keep up the energy and motivation? I'm surely not the only one interested in anything you can inspire with.
I have many ideas I want to start and I am excited about. Often I just do not know where to even start. Especially with limited time.
For me, the big thing is securing long chunks of thinking time. Thinking time is the most important time, hands down. When you think (away from a computer), you can't start on anything, so you have to go through it in your head. This makes me more creative because I don't end up spin-writing (writing code with no solid plan in place). You need at least half an hour to think, but an hour is better. I do all my design work like this, and by the time I'm at a computer my hands are just itching to write down what I've thought up. I used to do a lot of thinking during commutes, but now I work remote so it doesn't apply. But there are other ways to use time that would otherwise be lost. I'll sometimes do it during a run, or in the shower, or during some mundane chore.
You also need to set aside some down time, where you literally make a point of not doing anything useful for awhile.
I made a habit of optimizing my chores to give more opportunities to think. Sometimes the solution was to devise a better process. Sometimes it was batching many things together. Sometimes I'd need to invest in some gadgetry. Think of chores as unoptimized code.
For example, I bought a deep freeze and a vacuum sealer so that I could buy in bulk, and also prepare meals in bulk, then keep them in the deep freeze. Vacuum sealed (in a vacuum chamber based sealer), they last up to 2 years. I lived in a very rural location for a few years, so I got good at keeping track of what staples and foods to buy when. Frozen vegetables are usually fresher than "fresh" in the store. I also made my own bread in a bread maker. It's a lot of up-front setup, but once you're in the swing of it, it's basically max 2h per week of preparation for a whole lot of convenience. I'd also bake up a good selection of meals in bulk that I'd keep in the freezer and heat up in a sous vide cooker (for days when I was feeling lazy).
Eating right is essential. Poor diet ruins your thinking ability. Processed carbs are the worst.
I do my workout at home. That's not for everyone, because often you want the camaraderie. I prefer to be focused when doing a workout, so doing it at home works well. My workout is mostly body weight based. I used to box, so I stuck to the most efficient methods to maintain a boxing physique. My equipment is a chair, a floor mat, a walker, free weights from 1lb to 5lb, a pull up bar, a heavy bag, and good running shoes. Each day I do a 1h workout for a particular group (legs, core, arms, cardio, yoga, shadow boxing) which works out to once a week for each type.
When you say write down, do you mean design/list of tasks or literal code?
I live in a major metro area, so working out in my condo isn't an option and I do like getting out since I live alone (I go every day). I pick up what I need at the store when I walk home from the gym. It's an extra 10 minutes maybe. I keep my diet simple, meat, veggies, eggs, not much more and I don't eat any processed foods. My only chores are keeping my condo picked up instead of a mess of a bachelor pad, which it is in right now (har har).
Right now I'm trying to plan out my first side project in a while since job interviewing/preparation really burnt me out.
Car free in downtown Minneapolis for a while now and lease out my parking spot for $200/month.
Don't see how it could be any more convenient, easy, affordable and stress free of owning a car. Winter is easy with the Skyway [0].
I've seen people go get Starbucks in their pajama's, I can go to the gym, work, grocery store, Target, and more all through the Skyway when weather is bad.
The two light rails are only a block away and go from downtown to Mall of America and University of Minnesota. I have multiples of bus stops right outside my condo.
I usually just fill up a GoToCard with $20 when needed and go when ever and wherever I please without issues. Which gets me access to any bus or light rails.
The only downside I have so far is that I haven't found a good stop off the bus or light rails where I can conveniently and quickly get to play outdoor pick up hockey.
I miss Perl. I love Perl still and would reach for it for any project I could. That said, I switched to Python because going into recent interviews and doing the white board or online assessment, Perl isn't necessarily an option. At least it's not a popular option. I do miss Perl and will happily without shame admit it.
I feel like I might be in the minority opinion on this, but I don't enjoy any of the Netflix originals they keep pumping out. At least not enough to spend time on them. I don't like the Marvel shows, Stranger Things was okay I guess maybe, but I don't enjoy them enough like for example Game of Thrones or The Fabulous Miss Maisel or some of the others from HBO, Showtime or surprisingly Amazon. Most if not all the Netflix original content is B quality to me at best. Low production, not interesting, bad dialogue, bad stories, etc...
I have limited time. I try to spend it wisely. I'd rather use my wasted time on something far more enjoyable, like playing my NES or reading a book or movie, or even watch something of higher quality and production value (HBO is pretty reliable for that or a movie on my backlog). Or even just get out and go somewhere to see and meet people.
Right now my only subscription service is Funimation ($5/month). I like watching dubbed anime late at night too chill out before bed. Currently (re)watching Black Lagoon (it's so great!) and the Mix Simuldub. With a side of computer science books on my backlog with some related videos or courses as well as a good book which right now is Snow Crash (embarrassingly I have not read this yet).
[0] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1075952727