Honest Question: What do you do when you lose motivation to code?
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
Sounds to me like you are burned out. I have been burned out many times over the years. If you can afford to take 2-3 weeks vacation, then do that. Collect your thoughts and revist the issue AFTER your vacation. Ultimately, if your production is affected by your burn out, then you will either be fired or you will quit. I usually jump back into a good rhythm after some PTO.
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
All these wonderful ideas to take a break from coding - it is WORK, you probably do not have the luxury to up and take a break, you are probably dodging a deadline and have a manager in your ear to get the work done. And the wife is going "we can't afford for you not to work". Grind it out till you can get away from the desk! Eventually you can retire, look forward to that.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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If it's just a temporary thing - like writer's block is - then it's called "coder's block" and it happens to all of us, I think. Have a look here: how to handle coders block - Google Search[^] There are quite a few suggestions. Me? I go do something else (there is always something I've been putting off to do) and my subconscious gets an idea when I'm quiet and not keeping it awake ... If it's long term ... then development is the wrong career for you! :laugh:
"I have no idea what I did, but I'm taking full credit for it." - ThisOldTony "Common sense is so rare these days, it should be classified as a super power" - Random T-shirt AntiTwitter: @DalekDave is now a follower!
OriginalGriff wrote:
there is always something I've been putting off to do
This is why I can't work from home. :sigh:
Wrong is evil and must be defeated. - Jeff Ello
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
Whenever I've felt this way, it's been the environment rather than coding. The first time, I was sick of Sydney traffic and so I left and worked in Canberra. There were a number of factors (the type of work, some people, etc) for leaving Canberra after 17 years and ended with a sea change (or quite close to one) living on the northern Gold Coast (south of Brisbane). I'm not suggesting upending and moving cities, but have a look around you. Does the project interest you? Do you get on with your work mates? If not, a change of job might be a start.
// TODO: Insert something here
Top ten reasons why I'm lazy 1.
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
Don't know, but I wish I did! I started a side project (non-commercial, to support people with a particular pastime) about 15 months ago. It was initially stop-start due to (real) work getting in the way. It reached a point where I released it as beta, but with minimal advertising and virtually no-one has used it yet - partly because it's missing some central functionality. I just can't build up the enthusiasm to complete testing of the part I coded in October. There's a lot of use-cases for a particular screen, and it will involve setting up quite a lot of test accounts etc, and I just can't get enthused by it. Until it's done, though, I can't move on to the next feature - after which it will be in a state where I can begin promoting it properly. Partly I think it's fear - it has the potential to have a LOT of users and that could mean a LOT of support issues, at a time when I'm trying to wind down my coding activities. I've found an amazing ability to procrastinate over the past few weeks; now I'm thinking I need to wait till after Christmas, then after New Year is "out of the way". Just to test a single web page. And it's just the two of us at home for Christmas, not like we're busy! :laugh: :laugh:
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
first: get myself "off the hook" of feeling regret, remorse, etc. second: meditate, and try to gain insight into the context in which i experience "loss of motivation" ... third: try to accept that stress, (true for me, right now) health and age problems, may be limits it is a waste of time to try and push against. and ... do other things i enjoy, see people who nourish me, design rings, write poetry and stories. finally, i go on a diet of not reading the astute qa posts of MacCutchan, Deeming, Griff, and others ... so i stop comparing my current woeful (technical) state to their brilliance :)
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
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Don't know, but I wish I did! I started a side project (non-commercial, to support people with a particular pastime) about 15 months ago. It was initially stop-start due to (real) work getting in the way. It reached a point where I released it as beta, but with minimal advertising and virtually no-one has used it yet - partly because it's missing some central functionality. I just can't build up the enthusiasm to complete testing of the part I coded in October. There's a lot of use-cases for a particular screen, and it will involve setting up quite a lot of test accounts etc, and I just can't get enthused by it. Until it's done, though, I can't move on to the next feature - after which it will be in a state where I can begin promoting it properly. Partly I think it's fear - it has the potential to have a LOT of users and that could mean a LOT of support issues, at a time when I'm trying to wind down my coding activities. I've found an amazing ability to procrastinate over the past few weeks; now I'm thinking I need to wait till after Christmas, then after New Year is "out of the way". Just to test a single web page. And it's just the two of us at home for Christmas, not like we're busy! :laugh: :laugh:
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
Would this be the telgraph marker posts project Derek ?
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
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first: get myself "off the hook" of feeling regret, remorse, etc. second: meditate, and try to gain insight into the context in which i experience "loss of motivation" ... third: try to accept that stress, (true for me, right now) health and age problems, may be limits it is a waste of time to try and push against. and ... do other things i enjoy, see people who nourish me, design rings, write poetry and stories. finally, i go on a diet of not reading the astute qa posts of MacCutchan, Deeming, Griff, and others ... so i stop comparing my current woeful (technical) state to their brilliance :)
«The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled» Plutarch
Do you mean MacCutchan ?
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
-
This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
Take a break - whether it be an hour or a couple weeks of vacation. If the lack of motivation continues, talk to someone (preferably a friend that has some understanding tech but isn't a coworker) and try to figure out what the underlying issues are, and then what might be done to help with the problem. Sometimes the lack of coding motivation is actually a bigger "what is the meaning of my life?" question!
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
You have to be able to reward yourself. I rarely tackle anything that's "bigger" than a day. At the end of the day, I've created: a form; or a report; a file load; an extract ... something. So, each day I hit some sort of (in my mind) a (mini) "milestone" that tells me I accomplished something; something I can "point" to. So, on a "bad" day, pick a more interesting "mini" thing to work on, and save the more gruntier things for the good days. Even documentation can be fun if you make it a video project. Music helps sometimes; other times it's noise: Buddha Bar.
"Before entering on an understanding, I have meditated for a long time, and have foreseen what might happen. It is not genius which reveals to me suddenly, secretly, what I have to say or to do in a circumstance unexpected by other people; it is reflection, it is meditation." - Napoleon I
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All these wonderful ideas to take a break from coding - it is WORK, you probably do not have the luxury to up and take a break, you are probably dodging a deadline and have a manager in your ear to get the work done. And the wife is going "we can't afford for you not to work". Grind it out till you can get away from the desk! Eventually you can retire, look forward to that.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
Mycroft Holmes wrote:
Grind it out till you can get away from the desk
If you're working somewhere that this is the expectation, it's time to work somewhere else.
Software Zen:
delete this; -
Would this be the telgraph marker posts project Derek ?
Life should not be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside in a cloud of smoke, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming “Wow! What a Ride!" - Hunter S Thompson - RIP
No - that's all complete. (Always tweaks and stuff to add, but it's live and well!)
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
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This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
I wish I had a good answer. After decades, it just comes and goes. If I get excited about the project I find myself motivated. But, if I get a hint of silliness, BS, etc. about the project, all that motivation goes out the window. They say the only way to get over writers block is to just start writing. Even if it's crap because you don't feel like doing it. Just start doing it. Eventually you'll get back into it. Probably works the same with code. But, all I know for me, is that with code... the industry is the same old thing. Nothing changes. So, bye bye novelty. Which is like the death of creativity. Not sure if that was a useful reply or not...
Jeremy Falcon
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All these wonderful ideas to take a break from coding - it is WORK, you probably do not have the luxury to up and take a break, you are probably dodging a deadline and have a manager in your ear to get the work done. And the wife is going "we can't afford for you not to work". Grind it out till you can get away from the desk! Eventually you can retire, look forward to that.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
Too bad you can't retire from the wife. :-\
Jeremy Falcon
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Don't know, but I wish I did! I started a side project (non-commercial, to support people with a particular pastime) about 15 months ago. It was initially stop-start due to (real) work getting in the way. It reached a point where I released it as beta, but with minimal advertising and virtually no-one has used it yet - partly because it's missing some central functionality. I just can't build up the enthusiasm to complete testing of the part I coded in October. There's a lot of use-cases for a particular screen, and it will involve setting up quite a lot of test accounts etc, and I just can't get enthused by it. Until it's done, though, I can't move on to the next feature - after which it will be in a state where I can begin promoting it properly. Partly I think it's fear - it has the potential to have a LOT of users and that could mean a LOT of support issues, at a time when I'm trying to wind down my coding activities. I've found an amazing ability to procrastinate over the past few weeks; now I'm thinking I need to wait till after Christmas, then after New Year is "out of the way". Just to test a single web page. And it's just the two of us at home for Christmas, not like we're busy! :laugh: :laugh:
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
DerekT-P wrote:
it has the potential to have a LOT of users and that could mean a LOT of support issues, at a time when I'm trying to wind down my coding activities.
If you don't want to support it, you can always open source it and offer it for free. Let the community support it.
Jeremy Falcon
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DerekT-P wrote:
it has the potential to have a LOT of users and that could mean a LOT of support issues, at a time when I'm trying to wind down my coding activities.
If you don't want to support it, you can always open source it and offer it for free. Let the community support it.
Jeremy Falcon
For sure, once it has some momentum I'm hoping we will have volunteers come forward to support (initially as admins but later as developers too), with the long term plan that it's supported from within the community.
Telegraph marker posts ... nothing to do with IT Phasmid email discussion group ... also nothing to do with IT Beekeeping and honey site ... still nothing to do with IT
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Mycroft Holmes wrote:
Grind it out till you can get away from the desk
If you're working somewhere that this is the expectation, it's time to work somewhere else.
Software Zen:
delete this;My innate desire to NOT to look for work made the job search one of my most disliked activities. It also helped that they paid well above the odds so there was fairly strong incentive to stay with the pressure. Retirement was the goal and it is wonderful, I haven't coded in 3 years now and don't regret it.
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
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Too bad you can't retire from the wife. :-\
Jeremy Falcon
After 45 years of marriage I have grown comfortable with the lifestyle!
Never underestimate the power of human stupidity - RAH I'm old. I know stuff - JSOP
-
This is one of the least talked about topic. Believe it or not but programming is hard and creating a mind-blowing software (or even going about changing/fixing an existing one) is a creative task about as difficult as creating a best selling novel or story. Irrespective of whether or not you believe software development is creative (yeah, some folks like to think of it as a purely logical "hard science" which is full of rules and no creativity), you can't deny that there are times when you feel low motivation. Even the most experienced of coders face this sometimes. A problem here is that you can't ask this on any forum because the most usual reply you get is, "Programming isn't for you dude, just choose any other field"! This, I think is both uncalled for and inhumane. If you have nothing positive to offer, at least don't demoralize further an already troubled soul. Well, coming back to the title, what do you do to motivate yourself when there is a project ahead but you just don't feel like working or you sit on the desk and start typing but nothing gets typed there, almost like a "Writer's Block"!
Stop thinking of it as a creative process. Much of the time, thank goodness, it's turning a series of logical process into usable code for a job/task/etc. It's that motivation to create the code not creativeness. The creativeness comes when it needs to come. It's not on a demand basis. Most times, necessity makes it needed, other times, efficiency and/or clarity makes it happen. Does this help? Been creating/writing/fixing code for almost 50 years.
"A little time, a little trouble, your better day" Badfinger
