This week, I was with a friend whose team had an issue with the measurement of an acoustic device, so he asked for advice from a former manager. The guy is incredible because he's old school, - low-level stuff - one of the most incredible people I've met. He understood the problem and initially thought it wasn't possible. But one day, while sailing and observing how tides work, he came up with a way to measure it.
I normally recommend that my friends learn new things, just because you can develop new ways of learning, new ways to organize, and improve other skills.
Pizza dough is one example! You start learning how to make a good pizza, and soon you realize that you need a 500-degree oven and well-proofed dough, which means you need to knead it 3 days before making a good pizza. This can help you develop patience and planning skills - something that a software developer may not typically have!
Hardware design is another example. You start a new hardware project, and you've always heard about the BOM (Bill of Materials). You begin buying things from Digikey, AliExpress, or Hobbyking, and damn! You always forget something. An iteration to the next phase means three weeks of waiting! I'm sure that after the third time, you carefully think about your requirements and read the datasheets, which develops your critical thinking when starting something and considering how you're going to debug in case of a failure.
What about growing vegetables? You start with a tiny seed, thinking it'll be easy to get some fresh veggies. The next thing you know, you're obsessing over soil pH, watering schedules, and building elaborate support structures! Growing food connects you to nature's rhythms, teaches you about local ecosystems, and gives you a new appreciation for farmers.
What about organizing meetups? You normally hear: "I have no time," "I'm not allowed," "I'm sorry, I have no spare cycles." Meetup organization was one of the best ways for me to learn how to influence people and sell a project to others like myself! When speaking with sponsors, you learn how finances work. When you start a Hackspace, you care a lot about cash flow!
In tech, there's an obsession with career paths, writing ADRs (Architecture Decision Records) for very small things, and complex process. Life is more rewarding when you think outside the box, get more things in different ways, explore, and be creative!
Improving on the tech side is necessary, and I normally do, but don't forget to acquire other knowledge. It'll allow you to develop new skills which might be difficult to cultivate otherwise!