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I have this problem, too: I get excited by new ideas and the early stages of implementing them are pure joy. Then, invariably, some of the details create unexp

I have this problem, too: I get excited by new ideas and the early stages of implementing them are pure joy. Then, invariably, some of the details create unexpected problems, and I feel like I'm stuck on some tangential issue, far from the original concept. What works for me is to focus on one small, specific aspect of your code: it could be a function or feature, but forget about everything else and get it done. Do the same same for the next logical piece, and before long, you've gotten out of the rut. Good luck.

igravious 16y ago
> some of the details create unexpected problems I get stumped on issues that crop up along the way, can't figure them out, don't no how to ask for help. I think that my projects are too special to reveal details about even though I eventually would release the code for every single one of them. I get disheartened far too easily, put the task down saying that I'll come back to it and then six months goes by and I've forgotten the details and it takes me ages to get back up to speed.
- dpapathanasiou 16y ago
  There are always places you can get help online: comp.lang.* is still pretty good (depending on the specific language), and sites like StackOverflow usually have good advice.
- 8ren 16y ago
  1. Try to express the problem as a question (sometimes that's enough to reveal the solution) 2. Google the question exactly as is (surprisingly often this works) 3. Ask your question at http://stackoverflow.com http://stackoverflow.com (actually, open an account right now, so it's ready for when you need it).
ben1040 16y ago
Same here, and another good motivator for me was also to be very, very sure to commit your changes very often. Sometimes when I get really overpowered by one of these problems I tend to throw that out the window and it adds to my frustration in the end. It's hard to tell yourself you didn't accomplish anything, when over the course of the evening you've got a couple dozen commits to show for it. Also it reduces any trepidation you have about getting in there and making a change, because you can easily roll back to where you were 5 or 10 minutes ago.

igravious 16y ago

> some of the details create unexpected problems I get stumped on issues that crop up along the way, can't figure them out, don't no how to ask for help. I think that my projects are too special to reveal details about even though I eventually would release the code for every single one of them. I get disheartened far too easily, put the task down saying that I'll come back to it and then six months goes by and I've forgotten the details and it takes me ages to get back up to speed.

dpapathanasiou 16y ago
There are always places you can get help online: comp.lang.* is still pretty good (depending on the specific language), and sites like StackOverflow usually have good advice.
8ren 16y ago
1. Try to express the problem as a question (sometimes that's enough to reveal the solution) 2. Google the question exactly as is (surprisingly often this works) 3. Ask your question at http://stackoverflow.com http://stackoverflow.com (actually, open an account right now, so it's ready for when you need it).

ben1040 16y ago

Same here, and another good motivator for me was also to be very, very sure to commit your changes very often. Sometimes when I get really overpowered by one of these problems I tend to throw that out the window and it adds to my frustration in the end. It's hard to tell yourself you didn't accomplish anything, when over the course of the evening you've got a couple dozen commits to show for it. Also it reduces any trepidation you have about getting in there and making a change, because you can easily roll back to where you were 5 or 10 minutes ago.