Side projects are not mandatory, don&#x27;t feel bad about not doing any if you can&#x27;t.<p>Also, not all learning or your spare time has to be related to programming. Take a hobby that takes your mind off coding completely (I suppose your baby will take care of this :)). You know what they say: &quot;you can&#x27;t miss something if you never go away&quot;. It truly helps to disconnect now and then.