Ironically, the best way to pay off 'hacking debt' is with 'real work'.
If you want to learn technology X, the best way to do that is to build something with it. You want to build something that is motivational in itself, something that is useful or fun. Building something useful is real work.
I've had a lot of luck discovering technologies in my off-time and then figuring out how to incorporate them into my paid work. It's really an awesome approach.
If you want to learn technology X, the best way to do that is to build something with it. You want to build something that is motivational in itself, something that is useful or fun. Building something useful is real work.