I like to know what I'm doing actually matters I wish I could give you ten upvotes. I get a lot out of interacting with the people that actually use my softwar

I like to know what I'm doing actually matters I wish I could give you ten upvotes. I get a lot out of interacting with the people that actually use my software. It makes things more personal and that makes me more motivated to work on a project. And the feedback helps to make what they actually want instead of having to second-guess, or build to some abstract specs. That the project is technically interesting/challenging also goes a long way, of course, but that's not everything. Worst would be a project that is boring and you don't know whether anyone, including yourself, is ever going to use it.