This question is off-topic according to the site's help pages. But you get productive by setting goals and getting them done, then improving on them. Toy compilers - nope. Podcasts, no idea, kinda a time-sink, I'd rather read, it's faster and more skimable. Hangout? Chat and IRC, probably. Mentor? Meetups or clubs maybe? I just had a productive week that was net fewer lines of code than when I started. Personal time? I'd say I have a lot of personal time, but I spend a lot of it at programming meetups helping others learn, so I keep growing too. —
Aaron Hall 1 min ago