I have recently subscribed to the idea of utilizing small projects to force myself into learning a new technology that I will need to use to a greater extent in the future.

If not too familiar with ASP.net in C# for example, but needing to use it heavily on a project starting in a few months, why not use it for a couple smaller projects just for preparation? Projects get completed, income keeps flowing, and learning and experience building is happening all at the same time.

To take it a step further, it doesn’t hurt to ride out a few technologies that work well, in an attempt to just flat out keep things quick and effiecient. But, in the web development world there is always something new to learn, so I guess it just comes down to a good balance of both approaches.