I imagine so, not there yet. To me, it's certainly not just about programming but the project / product in particular as well as how much ownership / leadership

I imagine so, not there yet. To me, it's certainly not just about programming but the project / product in particular as well as how much ownership / leadership over the thing I would have. If it feels like it's a part of the bigger picture and I get to develop skills I want to develop, that could be quite fun, even if I was doing it for someone else. My experience to date with other people's projects was not that exciting though but I liked it because I had the time to work on my own thing alongside. I remember working 2 months on a client's project exclusively while not having any time for mine, I was approaching 50h/week just for that project. I liked it on average but I remember the last week was tough, I really felt like I had enough and just thinking through some ideas about a potential future product / project felt like gasping for air while being underwater for too long. I think that's the general theme of this. So long as a significant chunk of the work (i.e. 1/3) is genuinely enjoyable just for what it is, the other, more boring work is also more pleasant because: 1) - it feels like a part of the bigger picture that you like (i.e. whether you are doing something really boring or maybe earning money to buy yourself more time) and 2 - just conditioning, getting good emotions from one part of the work is partially transferred to the boring stuff and it needs to happen on an ongoing basis. The fact that there are boring parts to it (which one can still learn to appreciate) provides the contrast and makes the highs much higher. However, there's also something I did not mention initially. I'm spending considerable time on appreciating the now, I would set aside 40 min every day to do Zen meditation and it really does help with the discipline / will power but perhaps most importantly - appreciating work that's boring - if I can get myself to enjoy sitting still or walking circles around the room, I can treat boring work not unlike extra Zen practice that sharpens me further. It does not have to be Zen practice but just ensuring that you are spending some time enjoying the now basically every day is critical when you you are often trying to make predictions about the future which is stress and anxiety inducing.