For me, it's about having a goal which is concrete enough to achieve and deliver satisfaction, but unrelated to daily life enough to not be a stressor. And one major key for me is to never, ever develop a timeline.
When I was a kid/teenager, I worked on a lot of game console reverse engineering projects. As an adult, I wanted to get back into systems reverse engineering, but game consoles felt both too "useless" and too locked up. So, since I already had a major car hobby, I decided I'd learn how to calibrate OEM automotive engine control units - both the software reverse engineering and exploitation side and the actual mechanics and engine control side.
This turned out to be a great idea because everything fell into a cadence and a nice "proximal development" area - novel enough to be fun and engaging, but achievable enough to get hits of success. There was always something new to learn, but it was always something easy enough to be a week or two away. And there was absolutely no timeline besides my own, so it remained fun.
For me as an adult, the two major detriments to curiosity are a timeline (now it's work) and a lack of purpose (now it's just fiddling around). Setting a goal but not a timeline is what really gets me going. YMMV.
If I'm not feeling success, I aim at a more achievable goal, or pick up another project. If I'm bored, I aim bigger. And if I feel like I have no "free" time, I rethink priorities. Yes, sometimes work sucks, or an unexpected obligation is a drag, but by and large, as an adult with a marketable skill, I and I think most HN readers are blessed with pretty broad autonomy to decide what to do next.
For example: lately, I've left most of these projects behind in favor of day job security and preparing for a family life, but I don't feel stressed out or like I lack "time and energy" - my goals have just moved along as I have.
When I was a kid/teenager, I worked on a lot of game console reverse engineering projects. As an adult, I wanted to get back into systems reverse engineering, but game consoles felt both too "useless" and too locked up. So, since I already had a major car hobby, I decided I'd learn how to calibrate OEM automotive engine control units - both the software reverse engineering and exploitation side and the actual mechanics and engine control side.
This turned out to be a great idea because everything fell into a cadence and a nice "proximal development" area - novel enough to be fun and engaging, but achievable enough to get hits of success. There was always something new to learn, but it was always something easy enough to be a week or two away. And there was absolutely no timeline besides my own, so it remained fun.
For me as an adult, the two major detriments to curiosity are a timeline (now it's work) and a lack of purpose (now it's just fiddling around). Setting a goal but not a timeline is what really gets me going. YMMV.
If I'm not feeling success, I aim at a more achievable goal, or pick up another project. If I'm bored, I aim bigger. And if I feel like I have no "free" time, I rethink priorities. Yes, sometimes work sucks, or an unexpected obligation is a drag, but by and large, as an adult with a marketable skill, I and I think most HN readers are blessed with pretty broad autonomy to decide what to do next.
For example: lately, I've left most of these projects behind in favor of day job security and preparing for a family life, but I don't feel stressed out or like I lack "time and energy" - my goals have just moved along as I have.