Have you ever wondered why some of your peers seem to have the correct answer to anything, anytime, anywhere? Studies have shown that “environment beats will”, meaning that when it comes to learning a new skill or expanding your knowledge in a certain domain, it is very much about the context that surrounds you every day rather than just your inner desire to learn. It’s more about what Youtube suggests on your feed and what conversations you naturally have with your colleagues over lunch than the struggle to find the best book on JS.

In my experience, developers commonly fail to keep up with JavaScript updates because they haven’t made it a priority yet, thinking that the effort to keep track of everything is tedious and exhausting. However, this entire process might be easier by making it fun and by integrating it into your weekly routine.

With these in mind, I would like to showcase to you some of my top strategies for keeping up to date with the JavaScript ecosystem this year.

Tip #1: Subscribe to JS Weekly

This newsletter has tons of useful articles in the JS area, along with pieces of news and upcoming projects. This Washington Post of the JavaScript ecosystem was and remains for me the most trustworthy resource for new releases in the industry, and most of the time, the best source of inspiration for new, innovative ideas for upcoming projects. For instance, I’ve read about the upcoming React 18 version last fall right after the article was posted online, as it was delivered straight to my inbox by JS Weekly.

Tip #2: Subscribe to Google Chrome Developers

You’ve probably heard of the .gzip extension and you’ve used webpack to generate .gzip files, but did you know that sometimes the compressed file can be larger than the original one? Find out how this compression process works right on Google’s official YouTube channel, where a couple of experienced developers teach you a whole lot of useful tips & tricks, including how to properly use Google’s tools, discover Chrome’s latest news, measure and optimize the performance of your apps for Core Web Vitals, and get to dive deeper into PWAs.

Tip #3: Follow Cool People 

I like to have a following, which mainly includes experts in JavaScript that have centuries of combined experience in this area. I would recommend the following: Wes Bos, Dr. Axel, Dan Abramov, Addy Osmani, and Paul Irish. Twitter can also be a great place to find knowledgeable people in Javascript.

Tip #4: Attend Conferences

With the COVID-19 restrictions and the lockdowns left behind, we developers can finally breathe some fresh new air. This means that traveling is certainly on board, and what could be better than visiting a new city while also participating in a dev conference? You should try to attend some of these conferences to meet cool, like-minded people, and to stay up to date with all JS changes in 2023:

• Front Trends: this is a cool gathering where tech entrepreneurs and front-end developers spend time together diving deeper into the latest trends.
• Front End Ops: a fancy conference you don’t want to miss
• HTML5 Dev Conf: one of the largest in the world.

Tip #5: Listen to Podcasts

Maybe you love doing two or more things at the same time. If that’s you, you should leverage podcasts and learn about JavaScript while doing menial tasks. A good example is Syntax, a world-renowned podcast about web development owned by two infamous authors (Scott Tolinksi and Web Bos). These guys successfully tackle technical themes in a relaxing atmosphere, uncovering some of the secrets they discovered during their careers.

Extra Tip: Go the Extra Mile

Finally, I want to encourage you to be extra nerdy and never give up on your learning curve. For example, WarriorJS might seem quite a bit confusing and intimidating at first, but you’ll soon discover that it’s quite easy to use. Think of yourself as a little warrior that has predefined functions – you can attack, walk, or win battles.

Final thoughts

Whether you just started your web development journey or you are a well-seasoned veteran in the field, designing an environment that allows you to be up to date with the latest trends in the industry will boost your abilities tremendously. 30 minutes of lite reading every Friday, maybe a podcast while washing the dishes after work, or a few videos about optimizing browser rendering performance before hitting the gym may not seem like much, but done consistently will turn you into THE JS GUY/GAL sooner than you think.