Throughout 2020 I’ve aimed to keep up with current events in front end development as much as possible. It’s essential for my work and completely fascinating looking at the innovation happening across the industry. Blogs and newsletter have always been a good staple for this – and will continue to be so.
However one of my goals this year was to reduce my screen time. Between coding, taking online courses, and the odd computer games my eyes were going to be feeling the strain. This is where podcasts have really come into their own for me. I can pop them on when I’m doing bits around the house, going for a walk with the dog, or generally just relaxing. They’re an excellent and fairly passive way to digest the current industry news, learn something, and in a lot of cases their great entertainment too.
This approach to listening also means I’m not going to get distracted whilst working. Focus is important and podcast conversation can be a bit distracting so I tend to stick to more ambient music choices when coding.
I’ve tried to sample as many as I can this year and there’s some amazing content out there. Yet I have settled on a fairly small group which I listen to regularly. I think the reasons for this are consistency of quality content, entertainment value, relatable subject matter (kind of obvious I know). I also found that by following a smaller group regularly I wasn’t getting different shows repeating the same content too frequently. Variety of opinions and angles on news and content is important, but sometimes this can get repetitive with multiple shows covering the same thing.
I’m well aware that I can pick and choose what I listen to, but I do quite like to work through shows consecutively.
These are my Podcast choices of 2020
- Shop Talk Show – A podcast about front end web design and UX.
- Matt Report – A podcast for the digital business builder focused around WordPress
- The ReWork Podcast – A podcast about a better way to work and run your business.
- Smashing Podcast – Drew McLellan talks to design and development experts about their work on the web.
- Front End Happy Hour – A podcast featuring a panel of Software Engineers from Netflix, Twitch, & Atlassian talking over drinks about all things Front End development.
- That’s my JamStack – A Podcast examining the best of the JAMstack community
Bonus Choices
My favourite thing to do when I’m not coding is riding around in the muddy woodlands of the UK on my mountain bike. So here’s a couple of MTB related podcasts I have enjoyed this year.
- Downtime Podcast – The MTB podcast that goes deeper into the world of mountain biking, to meet the characters involved, hear their stories, and find some insight to help us all get faster on our bikes.
- The HKT Podcast – Get insider info on all things mountain biking with your favourite MTB podcast.
So what were your favourites of 2020? Feel free to let me know on Twitter.