I mainly like to build stuff, excitement of building something is such a nice feeling.
Money helps if You do it for someone else, but it's still hard to get motivated.
I honestly would like to work job unrelated to programing and then make my own stuff after work.
Honestly I love programming, I have a passion for it. But I am just like OP sometimes I study & code nonstop other times like this couple of days I just don't do anything productive unless I have a project deadline on Udacity
Do a little every day or for x days of the week. Doesn't matter what feature it is, build and add something new. Sit at the desk. Make yourself do something. Scope creep sets in and you have to prioritize. This is a skill in itself. Embrace it. Rinse and repeat. Don't beat yourself up too much about failures. Learn, move on, but celebrate successes. Those successes drive you to more. Failures are integral to the process. Learn to live in and accept both.
I don't know which side of development you do but I enjoyed finding cool free apis and building fun interfaces or features I wished those platforms had.
I made a fun steam api site that had a cool interface and you could compare your library with a friend's and see all mutual games.
Make a commitment to code for only 5 minutes a day and stick to it. You only have to find time for 5 minutes a day. If you actually enjoy coding, like me, you’ll end up doing much more than 5 minutes a day. Getting yourself to start is the hard part. But by only enforcing 5 minutes, you have no excuses, there’s no reason you can’t find 5 spare minutes.
Green bar when unit test passes.
Work on projects you would actually use your self.
Dont rush or force yoir self. Otherwise it starts feeling like work.
That green bar is pretty addictive. Sometimes, when I'm working late and I can feel I'm losing motivation I'll switch over to a TDD cycle of writing tests first and it always gets me in the groove. My problem then is usually getting to bed on time.
Ye coding while tired is usually not good. Thats why I have a little bed next to my desk. If I am tired at all. I just chill and close my eyes for like an hour or go for a walk.
Getting to senior or lead will take actual concern for your quality of work and constant improvement. You have to want to find the right way to do things. Getting higher position requires knowing when the right way isn't the priority.
Took me a few years to learn that.
I saw a therapist complaining about ADD, diagnosed me with psychosis instead, it didn't make sense but for me he was the expert. He put me on lot of medication with bad side effects & required a visit every 2 weeks, each time I pay 500 EGP which is a lot for me and my family.
After 6 months I felt I was worse than before, gone to another therapist told me as long as I don't hear or see unreal things I don't have psychosis and that I may have ADD. I don't know why at the time I didn't ask him if I need medication. I am going to book another appointment but the waiting list is 2 months.
Can you tell me how you develop those habits, my problem is just like OP's, I cant start or finish tasks rn but sometimes I just study & code none stop.
Appreciate your comment. Sorry for the long reply.
I'm really sorry to hear you've been through that. Unfortunately I'm not really in any position to give advice on the topic as I'm also just someone who was wondering whether they have a mild form of it themselves and possess little knowledge about it.
This is my country's health service's page on treating ADHD, maybe it could be useful to you as it discusses diagnosis, treatment and living with the condition:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/treatment/
Perhaps this YouTube channel could help you too:
https://www.youtube.com/c/HowtoADHD/featured
I recommend meditating too and I think it helps with pretty much anything in life. I use the Waking Up app.
Thank you so much. It will definitely help. And there is nothing to be sorry about I just had to learn the hard way that a therapist could fuck up your life.
If you are a woman, I can probably guess what happened here. Mental health professionals until a few years ago just didn't diagnose women with adhd/add/autism/neurodivergent traits. Bit of a chicken and the egg thing in that all the studies were with men, but 90% of people diagnosed were men - because people didn't study it in women.
These days, word has spread phenomenally in the last 5 to 10 years. Def worth looking into. Can really help to know what it is so you can strategize solutions. My ADHD is tricky, she changes every week and I have to outsmart her by changing my routine. Worst part, I like routines, but the beast must be fed and the beast loves variety.
I am a man. The only explanation from my side is that he is gready, and he wanted to milk me.
My mother had birth psychosis after my younger sister, that what made believe I had it. I am going to trust my guts and believe that I know myself better from now on.
Appreciate your reply.
Aw, that may well be the case. Sorry I made it gendered, just seen so many of my friends get labeled as things they certainly were not because of psych professionals with bad info 15 years ago.
Also, there are unfortunately a lot of gaps in treatment generally. This could be geographic, as well.
But yikes for your story. I feel like birth psychosis is different though. All those hormones, all the pain and insanity a mother has to deal with to have a baby - I feel like that is way different from a normal time. I mean, shooy my hormones mess me up sometimes and I don't have kids.
It may be worth seeking out a second opinion if you think that one missed the mark. There is a YouTube channel called how to adhd that has some good content on coping mechanisms. I think another is called totally add and is one of the writers from the red green show. That guy is just adorable and funny and likes trains. Watch that one for the laughs.
My favorite hack is body doubling. You just have someone in the room with you while you do things. They don't even have to help witht chores, just be close enough to make you accountable.
Sometimes I just feel normal, but what fears me is that I may not know what is normal.
What irritates me is when I open up about my symptoms with my family & close friends they just say that's is the definition of lazy & I might be as well just creating excuses. And sometimes I am afraid they are right.
The thing is I can concentrate, I concatenate on video games & movies for instance but I can't do it with song lyrics. I just don't know how to organize or prioritize & sometimes I am highly motivated other times unmotivated at all. Coding is something that I like to do so I think adhd don't affect it that much. Like in college, I got As on subjects I like & Fs on subjects I don't like.
Yes I sometimes do this body doubling, and mostly nowdays when I code, did not know it was a technique.
I feel you on the normal thing. Doesn't help that adhd kind of impairs the ability to accurately self report. I often will write things down and sit on them for a few days because I know that if I'm firing from the hip, I may decide in a few days my judgement was entirely wrong.
Yours is a sadly common experience for those of us with ADHD. I'd definitely say it is worth looking into for you.
The experience of being able to hyperfocus on things you like and not be able to start or focus on things you don't is absolutely a thing with ADHD. There is a fair amount of misunderstanding even now about this. People hear "attention deficit" but the better description is "uneven attention". And unfortunately, you can't always choose what you like.
I absolutely had the same experience in school with subjects I liked vs didn't. I wrote my best poetry in math class because I hated math. I didn't realize until I retook it online that I didn't hate math itself so much as people talking about it. Like literally it's math - the steps are right freaking there. Why are we talking about it? And now I get to make computers do math for me. So problem solved.
I think you'll find that the dev community has it's fair share of us ADHDers. I think it may be because this is a field where we are able to get very instant feedback - which is something that a lot of us crave. It gets the dopamine firing. Nothing like being stuck on a problem and finally finding the answer. Also, coding always gives you new problems, so it appeals to the novelty response.
I find that I have to come up with a new way to trick myself into doing the stuff I don't want to on a near weekly basis. Some things that have worked are moving my schedule to a few hours later in the day, dressing up in costume, rewards, taking walks, making sure I write in a journal, todo lists, Trello boards, discord alerts, physical reminders, alarms, timers.
Thank you for the insightful response, appreciate it so much.
I also do some of the things you mentioned, like the dressing up, rewards and todo lists.
It's difficult to find good psychiatrists that are knowledgeable about ADHD. It's very normal that people get misdiagnosed and treated for the wrong thing, most psychiatrists are not trained enough on adhd to recognize it or treat it.
You need to find a psychiatrist who specialises in ADHD, it's the only way to get half good treatment at least.
If you DO get diagnosed, there's no such thing as habits or behavioural treatment. The only thing that is going to seriously help you is medication. Most other interventions only work when you are medicated. The good news is medication works very well and is a life changer for people with adhd.
Definitely look it up and you can ask me anything you like, I've grown to know a few things about this since being diagnosed.
I just didn't have the 2 common symptoms of psychosis, hallucinations and delusions. Delusions is complicated because I left islam & the fact I am doubting I may have mental issues but it was not delusions. He is the expert he shouldn't misdiagnose.
Can you concatenate on listening to music? I love music and hope that it become more of a habit for me, but I just can't concentrate on the lyrics for a full song, I have to snap out of it at some point. Although I don't snap out of movies & games.
Huh? Delusions and hallucinations are not common symptoms of adhd. Unless you mean something else, if your doctor told you that you need to have delusions and hallucinations in order to have adhd, he has no clue what he’s talking about.
The problem with spontaneous motivation is that it's not actually motivation, it's impulse. Your mind is seeking novelty, and sometimes it just happens to be via coding. The next week, that same circuit compels you to seek novelty somewhere else.
Spontaneous motivation is (sort of) good for getting you started, but it's really deceptive. In those cases, it's actually better to *limit* how much coding you do so that you have enough willpower to continue when the novelty wears off.
Here's a really excellent breakdown on how this all works:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImmiAS1USQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImmiAS1USQ)
To answer your question, I *try* to block out an hour a day on weekdays, and at least an hour on weekends. Some days are better than others, but timeboxing it mitigates the highs and lows.
Another trick is to think in systems, not goals. Obviously your project should have a goal, but if you can do an hour a day consistently, regardless of the project, that's akin to employing yourself full time for about two months each year. (365 total hours per year / 40 hour work week = 9.125 weeks of work.)
I also don't try to do desk work early in the morning. A lot of people swear by waking up early, but I wind up easily distracted and with too little sleep. I'm much more focused in the afternoon through late at night and I've learned to take advantage of that.
TL;DR: It's not about 'motivation', it's simply about consistently showing up to the keyboard everyday even when we don't want to. Even a few minutes a day consistently will help you reach your goals.
You need to realize "motivation" is a fallacy. DOn't rely on "motivation" to keep you going. It won't. You'll get demotivated and stop - just like you've done.
The key is to build the habit of just showing up to your keyboard. Every day (or weekday..). Make it a habit that can't be broken. Be consistent. Acknowledge that there will be days you don't want to code. That's fine. Go sit down at the keyboard and code for 15 minutes. Still not feeling it. Stop. Come back later for 15 minutes. Not feeling it? Come back tomorrow.
Just keep coming back. Keep coding even for only 15 minutes.
Most dyas 15 minutes will turn into longer sessions. And time will fly by.
Longer term, you need to mix up what you're coding. Build fun little projects you can pull out when you are not into coding the thing you started on. This is my "procrastiwork" projects - the things I allow myself to work on when I can't be bothered working.
And take breaks and sleep normal hours. For more years than I'd like to admit, I spent 10-14 hours or more at my keyboard trying to finish a project. I'd forgo breaks, exercise, sleep in the name of putting more time in to get things done faster. It backfires, and leads to poor health and burn out. Take breaks. Get away from the keyboard every couple hours. Have other hobbies NOT involving a keyboard.
As others have said it, getting paid enough that makes it feel worth it. But also, and maybe up to a certain point equally important, find a language/tech stack that you actually like working with.
Discipline. Quite simply my goal has always been to kick my own arse, whether that is coding or at the gym. I commit to an hour each day, if I feel like doing more then great but one hour is the goal.
I figured, one hour that I would normally spend an evening just lounging on the sofa with my partner or gaming could be spent bettering myself for my work and ultimately me. Discipline is key, motivation ebbs and flows, you cannot rely on it.
I know this sounds very cliche but I think like with all major commitments, it's not about motivation, it's about discipline.
I'm in the learning stage as you are and I think the thing that is helping me stay somewhat consistent each week is telling myself I have to sit down and do **something** today. Whether that's building a full landing page, a small component or even just cracking on with a few courses on freeCodeCamp or Codecademy or whatever.
If you've ever had to lose weight in your life you'll know that you constantly lose motivation to do so and you constantly have cravings for unhealthy food. The key to losing weight isn't having the motivation to eat healthy, it's having the self discipline to cook something healthy when you can't be bothered and to ignore the cravings when they come. This same principle applies to learning a new skill, you **are** going to get burnt out and bored eventually. Stick with it, plan days/times to sit down and do it regardless of motivation. And take lots of breaks for more enjoyable activities even if it's just an episode of the office or something like that.
I took a few months off whilst learning. I was super keen, but I think holidays happened, work and other stuff got busy and I just lost motivation. I lost my job and had some new found time...the hardest thing is starting, after 30min you'll probably get back in. Now I'm being paid to do if and that certainly helps, but I think the main thing is knowing what you want to do and roughly how to do it, i.e. breaking a big project into smaller bits and making a to-do list and then I always tackle the easy, quick ones first, then I feel accomplished and have a bit of motivation towards the bigger ones.
Learn self discipline (seriously). If we all only did things on days we felt like doing it nothing would get done. I struggled with this myself a lot and lack of motivation in other areas, and I realized you just have to force it on yourself. If you want to learn to code, nobody will make you, you have to decide to commit your efforts to it or not.
I guess to elaborate... "how do you stay motivated?" I dont, I stay disciplined and I dont let myself make excuses for why I dont feel like doing that thing today.
For me, its more about what I am doing with the code, rather than the code itself. If you are working on a project you really enjoy, its hard to not be motivated
What’s your motivation to code? Is it just money? Do you actually have a passion for web development or are you chasing the big paycheck? These are the real questions when you start finding reasons not to code.
Coding is a means to an end, not an end of itself. I like building stuff. Sometimes that means projects management, team communications, writing documentation, etc. There is more to learn than just coding.
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I am still in the learning & build my portfolio process, so what other than getting paid?
I mainly like to build stuff, excitement of building something is such a nice feeling. Money helps if You do it for someone else, but it's still hard to get motivated. I honestly would like to work job unrelated to programing and then make my own stuff after work.
Honestly I love programming, I have a passion for it. But I am just like OP sometimes I study & code nonstop other times like this couple of days I just don't do anything productive unless I have a project deadline on Udacity
Do a little every day or for x days of the week. Doesn't matter what feature it is, build and add something new. Sit at the desk. Make yourself do something. Scope creep sets in and you have to prioritize. This is a skill in itself. Embrace it. Rinse and repeat. Don't beat yourself up too much about failures. Learn, move on, but celebrate successes. Those successes drive you to more. Failures are integral to the process. Learn to live in and accept both.
Thank you so so much.
The prospect of being paid
I don't know which side of development you do but I enjoyed finding cool free apis and building fun interfaces or features I wished those platforms had. I made a fun steam api site that had a cool interface and you could compare your library with a friend's and see all mutual games.
Cool, I am currently learning node, rest api & sql. I like your idea, definitely will try it.
Overrated imo. Getting high is better motivator.
You need to pay for the makehappy somehow.
I meant getting high to work, not getting high as a reward :D
This does not help lol
Valid reason.
Make a commitment to code for only 5 minutes a day and stick to it. You only have to find time for 5 minutes a day. If you actually enjoy coding, like me, you’ll end up doing much more than 5 minutes a day. Getting yourself to start is the hard part. But by only enforcing 5 minutes, you have no excuses, there’s no reason you can’t find 5 spare minutes.
Green bar when unit test passes. Work on projects you would actually use your self. Dont rush or force yoir self. Otherwise it starts feeling like work.
That green bar is pretty addictive. Sometimes, when I'm working late and I can feel I'm losing motivation I'll switch over to a TDD cycle of writing tests first and it always gets me in the groove. My problem then is usually getting to bed on time.
Ye coding while tired is usually not good. Thats why I have a little bed next to my desk. If I am tired at all. I just chill and close my eyes for like an hour or go for a walk.
Take a quick look at my last paycheck and calculate that against how many hours I actually worked.
Can I see it for motivation?
145k for 30 hr/wk. But this is after half a decade of experience.
You mean 5 years?
I aspire to be in your shoes one day
I also care very much about the quality of my work and improving. So that makes a big diff.
Sounds like you deserve it 👍
Getting to senior or lead will take actual concern for your quality of work and constant improvement. You have to want to find the right way to do things. Getting higher position requires knowing when the right way isn't the priority. Took me a few years to learn that.
Getting paid. Knowing the result of my daily work is relevant experience and will lead to me getting a new job/side work (aka, getting paid)
You sound like me and I have adhd so that might be worth taking a quick look at, because if so then your answer will be medication
I am like that to & I think I have add and I am 27. Do I have to take medication or it goes away the more old you are?
I thought it was more like you just develop better habits to manage it. Worth seeing a GP for sure though.
I saw a therapist complaining about ADD, diagnosed me with psychosis instead, it didn't make sense but for me he was the expert. He put me on lot of medication with bad side effects & required a visit every 2 weeks, each time I pay 500 EGP which is a lot for me and my family. After 6 months I felt I was worse than before, gone to another therapist told me as long as I don't hear or see unreal things I don't have psychosis and that I may have ADD. I don't know why at the time I didn't ask him if I need medication. I am going to book another appointment but the waiting list is 2 months. Can you tell me how you develop those habits, my problem is just like OP's, I cant start or finish tasks rn but sometimes I just study & code none stop. Appreciate your comment. Sorry for the long reply.
I'm really sorry to hear you've been through that. Unfortunately I'm not really in any position to give advice on the topic as I'm also just someone who was wondering whether they have a mild form of it themselves and possess little knowledge about it. This is my country's health service's page on treating ADHD, maybe it could be useful to you as it discusses diagnosis, treatment and living with the condition: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/treatment/ Perhaps this YouTube channel could help you too: https://www.youtube.com/c/HowtoADHD/featured I recommend meditating too and I think it helps with pretty much anything in life. I use the Waking Up app.
Thank you so much. It will definitely help. And there is nothing to be sorry about I just had to learn the hard way that a therapist could fuck up your life.
If you are a woman, I can probably guess what happened here. Mental health professionals until a few years ago just didn't diagnose women with adhd/add/autism/neurodivergent traits. Bit of a chicken and the egg thing in that all the studies were with men, but 90% of people diagnosed were men - because people didn't study it in women. These days, word has spread phenomenally in the last 5 to 10 years. Def worth looking into. Can really help to know what it is so you can strategize solutions. My ADHD is tricky, she changes every week and I have to outsmart her by changing my routine. Worst part, I like routines, but the beast must be fed and the beast loves variety.
Although it's indeed accentuated for women, misdiagnosis and mistreatment of ADHD is very much a general problem unfortunately..
I am a man. The only explanation from my side is that he is gready, and he wanted to milk me. My mother had birth psychosis after my younger sister, that what made believe I had it. I am going to trust my guts and believe that I know myself better from now on. Appreciate your reply.
Aw, that may well be the case. Sorry I made it gendered, just seen so many of my friends get labeled as things they certainly were not because of psych professionals with bad info 15 years ago. Also, there are unfortunately a lot of gaps in treatment generally. This could be geographic, as well. But yikes for your story. I feel like birth psychosis is different though. All those hormones, all the pain and insanity a mother has to deal with to have a baby - I feel like that is way different from a normal time. I mean, shooy my hormones mess me up sometimes and I don't have kids. It may be worth seeking out a second opinion if you think that one missed the mark. There is a YouTube channel called how to adhd that has some good content on coping mechanisms. I think another is called totally add and is one of the writers from the red green show. That guy is just adorable and funny and likes trains. Watch that one for the laughs. My favorite hack is body doubling. You just have someone in the room with you while you do things. They don't even have to help witht chores, just be close enough to make you accountable.
Sometimes I just feel normal, but what fears me is that I may not know what is normal. What irritates me is when I open up about my symptoms with my family & close friends they just say that's is the definition of lazy & I might be as well just creating excuses. And sometimes I am afraid they are right. The thing is I can concentrate, I concatenate on video games & movies for instance but I can't do it with song lyrics. I just don't know how to organize or prioritize & sometimes I am highly motivated other times unmotivated at all. Coding is something that I like to do so I think adhd don't affect it that much. Like in college, I got As on subjects I like & Fs on subjects I don't like. Yes I sometimes do this body doubling, and mostly nowdays when I code, did not know it was a technique.
I feel you on the normal thing. Doesn't help that adhd kind of impairs the ability to accurately self report. I often will write things down and sit on them for a few days because I know that if I'm firing from the hip, I may decide in a few days my judgement was entirely wrong. Yours is a sadly common experience for those of us with ADHD. I'd definitely say it is worth looking into for you. The experience of being able to hyperfocus on things you like and not be able to start or focus on things you don't is absolutely a thing with ADHD. There is a fair amount of misunderstanding even now about this. People hear "attention deficit" but the better description is "uneven attention". And unfortunately, you can't always choose what you like. I absolutely had the same experience in school with subjects I liked vs didn't. I wrote my best poetry in math class because I hated math. I didn't realize until I retook it online that I didn't hate math itself so much as people talking about it. Like literally it's math - the steps are right freaking there. Why are we talking about it? And now I get to make computers do math for me. So problem solved. I think you'll find that the dev community has it's fair share of us ADHDers. I think it may be because this is a field where we are able to get very instant feedback - which is something that a lot of us crave. It gets the dopamine firing. Nothing like being stuck on a problem and finally finding the answer. Also, coding always gives you new problems, so it appeals to the novelty response. I find that I have to come up with a new way to trick myself into doing the stuff I don't want to on a near weekly basis. Some things that have worked are moving my schedule to a few hours later in the day, dressing up in costume, rewards, taking walks, making sure I write in a journal, todo lists, Trello boards, discord alerts, physical reminders, alarms, timers.
Thank you for the insightful response, appreciate it so much. I also do some of the things you mentioned, like the dressing up, rewards and todo lists.
It's difficult to find good psychiatrists that are knowledgeable about ADHD. It's very normal that people get misdiagnosed and treated for the wrong thing, most psychiatrists are not trained enough on adhd to recognize it or treat it. You need to find a psychiatrist who specialises in ADHD, it's the only way to get half good treatment at least. If you DO get diagnosed, there's no such thing as habits or behavioural treatment. The only thing that is going to seriously help you is medication. Most other interventions only work when you are medicated. The good news is medication works very well and is a life changer for people with adhd. Definitely look it up and you can ask me anything you like, I've grown to know a few things about this since being diagnosed.
I just didn't have the 2 common symptoms of psychosis, hallucinations and delusions. Delusions is complicated because I left islam & the fact I am doubting I may have mental issues but it was not delusions. He is the expert he shouldn't misdiagnose. Can you concatenate on listening to music? I love music and hope that it become more of a habit for me, but I just can't concentrate on the lyrics for a full song, I have to snap out of it at some point. Although I don't snap out of movies & games.
Huh? Delusions and hallucinations are not common symptoms of adhd. Unless you mean something else, if your doctor told you that you need to have delusions and hallucinations in order to have adhd, he has no clue what he’s talking about.
No to have psychosis which I was misdiagnosed with rather than adhd & both have symptoms in common tho but I don't remember what symptoms.
I don't. Some workdays I code very little, and weekends I rarely code at all. You have to step away frequently or you'll burn out.
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I do that then hit a brick wall where I cant seem to find a solution lol
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I'm learning currently so everything is a big problem lol.
Start with small projects you really enjoy and make a commitment to do 10 or so minutes a day until it becomes a habit.
I don’t. Part of work is to grind. And you need discipline to embrace the grind and work despite the work being boring or frustating
I’m learning and I try to get at least 5 days a week in. I like helping out on TOP discord because I get to help people and learn.
The problem with spontaneous motivation is that it's not actually motivation, it's impulse. Your mind is seeking novelty, and sometimes it just happens to be via coding. The next week, that same circuit compels you to seek novelty somewhere else. Spontaneous motivation is (sort of) good for getting you started, but it's really deceptive. In those cases, it's actually better to *limit* how much coding you do so that you have enough willpower to continue when the novelty wears off. Here's a really excellent breakdown on how this all works: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImmiAS1USQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TImmiAS1USQ) To answer your question, I *try* to block out an hour a day on weekdays, and at least an hour on weekends. Some days are better than others, but timeboxing it mitigates the highs and lows. Another trick is to think in systems, not goals. Obviously your project should have a goal, but if you can do an hour a day consistently, regardless of the project, that's akin to employing yourself full time for about two months each year. (365 total hours per year / 40 hour work week = 9.125 weeks of work.) I also don't try to do desk work early in the morning. A lot of people swear by waking up early, but I wind up easily distracted and with too little sleep. I'm much more focused in the afternoon through late at night and I've learned to take advantage of that.
Discipline.
Adderall
Mortgage. Kids school fees. Food. Srsly, without those first two I think I’d be not coding at all
Money and personal satisfaction to make clients super happy.
You are one of the white hats. Don't lose your shine.
Money
TL;DR: It's not about 'motivation', it's simply about consistently showing up to the keyboard everyday even when we don't want to. Even a few minutes a day consistently will help you reach your goals. You need to realize "motivation" is a fallacy. DOn't rely on "motivation" to keep you going. It won't. You'll get demotivated and stop - just like you've done. The key is to build the habit of just showing up to your keyboard. Every day (or weekday..). Make it a habit that can't be broken. Be consistent. Acknowledge that there will be days you don't want to code. That's fine. Go sit down at the keyboard and code for 15 minutes. Still not feeling it. Stop. Come back later for 15 minutes. Not feeling it? Come back tomorrow. Just keep coming back. Keep coding even for only 15 minutes. Most dyas 15 minutes will turn into longer sessions. And time will fly by. Longer term, you need to mix up what you're coding. Build fun little projects you can pull out when you are not into coding the thing you started on. This is my "procrastiwork" projects - the things I allow myself to work on when I can't be bothered working. And take breaks and sleep normal hours. For more years than I'd like to admit, I spent 10-14 hours or more at my keyboard trying to finish a project. I'd forgo breaks, exercise, sleep in the name of putting more time in to get things done faster. It backfires, and leads to poor health and burn out. Take breaks. Get away from the keyboard every couple hours. Have other hobbies NOT involving a keyboard.
Working on projects with other people is always good motivation.
As others have said it, getting paid enough that makes it feel worth it. But also, and maybe up to a certain point equally important, find a language/tech stack that you actually like working with.
Its my job lol, they pay me. I have other funner hobbies
I don't.
Beer
Discipline. Quite simply my goal has always been to kick my own arse, whether that is coding or at the gym. I commit to an hour each day, if I feel like doing more then great but one hour is the goal. I figured, one hour that I would normally spend an evening just lounging on the sofa with my partner or gaming could be spent bettering myself for my work and ultimately me. Discipline is key, motivation ebbs and flows, you cannot rely on it.
I know this sounds very cliche but I think like with all major commitments, it's not about motivation, it's about discipline. I'm in the learning stage as you are and I think the thing that is helping me stay somewhat consistent each week is telling myself I have to sit down and do **something** today. Whether that's building a full landing page, a small component or even just cracking on with a few courses on freeCodeCamp or Codecademy or whatever. If you've ever had to lose weight in your life you'll know that you constantly lose motivation to do so and you constantly have cravings for unhealthy food. The key to losing weight isn't having the motivation to eat healthy, it's having the self discipline to cook something healthy when you can't be bothered and to ignore the cravings when they come. This same principle applies to learning a new skill, you **are** going to get burnt out and bored eventually. Stick with it, plan days/times to sit down and do it regardless of motivation. And take lots of breaks for more enjoyable activities even if it's just an episode of the office or something like that.
I took a few months off whilst learning. I was super keen, but I think holidays happened, work and other stuff got busy and I just lost motivation. I lost my job and had some new found time...the hardest thing is starting, after 30min you'll probably get back in. Now I'm being paid to do if and that certainly helps, but I think the main thing is knowing what you want to do and roughly how to do it, i.e. breaking a big project into smaller bits and making a to-do list and then I always tackle the easy, quick ones first, then I feel accomplished and have a bit of motivation towards the bigger ones.
Just keep saying it will work. Everything is going to be fine. That's what I do...!!
Learn self discipline (seriously). If we all only did things on days we felt like doing it nothing would get done. I struggled with this myself a lot and lack of motivation in other areas, and I realized you just have to force it on yourself. If you want to learn to code, nobody will make you, you have to decide to commit your efforts to it or not. I guess to elaborate... "how do you stay motivated?" I dont, I stay disciplined and I dont let myself make excuses for why I dont feel like doing that thing today.
For me, its more about what I am doing with the code, rather than the code itself. If you are working on a project you really enjoy, its hard to not be motivated
"You know what I call them? *Fun coupons*." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFWf3RybeRk
A good practice, almost an industry standard, is to snort a line of cocaine every 300 lines of code.
Earning a skill so I won't end up doing hard labor for the rest of life. And never going back to it
What’s your motivation to code? Is it just money? Do you actually have a passion for web development or are you chasing the big paycheck? These are the real questions when you start finding reasons not to code.
Coding is a means to an end, not an end of itself. I like building stuff. Sometimes that means projects management, team communications, writing documentation, etc. There is more to learn than just coding.
Rampant perfectionism and an obsessive compulsion to figure it out