I've started having this problem lately, and I have <5 years experience in the industry. I work at a web development shop right now, and while I don't plan on l

I've started having this problem lately, and I have <5 years experience in the industry. I work at a web development shop right now, and while I don't plan on leaving soon (still some room to grow as an employee), the problems I find myself solving are largely similar. A few things that I've found helpful are: 1. Expand horizontally. I've been designing for a while, and it's always a breath of fresh air when I can go design something (in the browser of course, but front-end dev requires so little thought that I barely notice) without restraint. I also enjoy writing, when I can find the time. 2. Experiment with radically different paradigms. I've been diving into Elixir lately, which has been a lot of fun. Still looking for a nail to hit with the Erlang/Elixir hammer, but I've enjoyed building the few toy programs I've worked on to get familiar with the language. 3. Accept the Sex & Cash theory. Hugh MacLeod writes about it in this blog post: http://gapingvoid.com/2004/03/25/the-sex-cash-theory/ http://gapingvoid.com/2004/03/25/the-sex-cash-theory/ Basically, the idea is that you have to internalize that there are things you do for fun, outside of work (sex) and things you do support those things (cash). The cash doesn't have to be enjoyable. By all means, seek opportunities to have fun with the cash side of the equation, but don't get hung up on it: spend your brain cycles enjoying the sex.