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Most of the advice about maintaining your technical edge as an engineering manager (EM) is a lengthy checklist of things to do, such as:

  • Tackling side projects
  • Allocating 20% of your time to technical tasks
  • Attending tech talks and conferences
  • Developing proof of concept work (PoC)
  • Participating in hackathons

But for many like me, this just isn’t practical.

EMs have busy schedules, so adding even more to your workload isn’t helpful. In fact, such advice can end up doing more harm than good to you, your mental state, and your career.

Generic advice like the above reminds me of social media, where people can and do showcase idealized versions of life:

  • Influencers are always vacationing in spectacular places
  • Everyone looks perfect
  • Their kids are always clean and well-behaved
  • And their houses are immaculate

These realities don’t exist. But presenting them as such makes you feel inadequate.

So, while the above suggestions might work for some EMs (depending on their personal circumstances), they’re unrealistic for most of us. Thankfully, there are realistic alternatives to help you maintain your technical edge as an EM. And the first step to making use of them is knowing and accepting what your reality is.

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