While I absolutely love the work I do, one major downside is I don’t really get any time to experiment anymore or even read up on what others are building. 

Trying to set aside and commit to a minimum of 2 hours a day for it. Any other advice on how to stay up-to-date?

rather than spending two hours a day (which is a lot!), maybe try setting aside mornings on Sundays. It’s easier to get work done in a big chunk of time and you won’t beat yourself up if you happen to have a busy day @ work and miss your quota