[truxten]

I struggled with this too, and the conclusion I've more or less come to is that you can't. In the end, you have to figure out what is worth prioritizing and what you are okay with letting fall to wayside. The one practical thing that I've found to be useful is to try to think in terms of what I don't want to spend my time doing - and then actively trying to avoid doing those things - rather than trying to think of all the things that I want to do.

[apohn]

Another thing to keep in mind is that every couple of years, an internal or external shift is going to change what you think is important and what's not worth the effort.

Maybe today you want to focus your time on learning different things and don't want to focus on your job. But then you turn 30 and you realize you want to focus on your career and spend less time learning random stuff. Just make the best decision you can at that moment with the feelings and data you have.