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Ask HN: How can I get excited about coding again?
Posting with a throwaway.
I'm almost 24 years old and have been coding 'full-time' since I was 19 (when I left high school). Originally I developed my own iOS apps but as I got my own place and needed a higher income I began freelancing. I've done that ever since. My income has never been great - really just enough to get by - but I value my free time and have some hobbies I really enjoy. My goal isn't to make a load of money (not yet anyway).
So. When I get started coding full time I loved it. I spent sunny days inside and when my friends were partying over the summer I was coding a new app. I really, really enjoyed what I was doing. Over the last year or so though my enthusiasm has completely gone. It's happened gradually but now I really have to force myself to code. It's even got to the point where I'm not making enough money and jobs that should take 1-2 weeks are taking over a month as I can't bring myself to work on them. It's very unprofessional and I hate it but it's got to the point where getting myself to code is a huge chore.
I've actually started looking for coding jobs at companies in the hope that a change of pace (working on a long-term project) will help. I'm worried though that I'll take the job and things won't change and I'll hate getting out of bed in the morning.
What can I do? How can I get enthused about coding again. I really did love doing it but the enthusiasm I had has completely disappeared.
- thallukrish 12y agoIt happens with everything you are deeply into. I feel you need to allow it to happen without worrying about it. You can do few things like Taking up a project that you personally like happening and putting an effort into it. If it is not with coding it is still fine, but it will bring back some energy into you.
- T-A 12y agoPeople are different, so it's not obvious that what applies to me applies to you. I can tell you what I know kills my enthusiasm for pretty much anything, though: no learning. To just keep applying something I've mastered, over and over again, like a language and a framework (let's say Objective C and Cocoa) will wear me down fast after a few iterations. Mastery is boring. The only solution that works for me is to become a noob again by switching to something else. An obvious option which you may already have tried could be Swift. But maybe you need a more radical change of scenery, one which does not center on coding at all. It could still involve coding in a supporting role (playing to your strengths does not hurt) but be primarily about something else, like machine learning or virtual reality. Or it could be something else entirely. The world won't go under, and your life won't end, if you decide that you want to do something else entirely for a few years or decades.
- boredcoder 12y agoI think you may have nailed it. I don't consider myself a master of objective-c but most of the projects I work on require the same level of knowledge. There is very little challenge to it. I'm definitely looking in to Swift and it's getting me a little motivated. Going further a field though is a good idea. Thanks.