Motivation is the secret engine that keeps us going every day. While it's hard to stay motivated all the time, it's important to know a few things that should be avoided, to preserve it.
What I try to avoid:
Surrounding yourself with negativity
This can happen more often that you can imagine, as some programmers always like to brag or criticize something - the tech stack is old, the code is bad, the milestones are not set right, the deadlines are not ok and so on...
The Solution, even if it's easier said than done - be the one that has the positive attitude. And try to be the one that comes up with solutions. Help people see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel 💡.
Ex: Code is bad - come up with a strategy for the team to also create & implement refactoring tasks. Every time you see a code smell that you can not fix right away - create a refactoring task.
The code narcissist
This is a special type of creature that you need to avoid. You also need to be aware you don't become this beast. This is that type of developer that thinks everyone is below him. He writes the best code ever, has the best solutions and only he can find the answer to some problems.
This is a motivational killer because the code narcissist feeds his ego with letting other people from the team down.
The micromanager
What is the current status of X?
...A few hours later ⌛ ...
What is the current status of X?
This kind of de-motivator is one that really kills your productivity but also your self-esteem. It's a big question of why the micro-manager is asking the annoying question so often. Is it a trust issue that you won't work as hard if he doesn't put so much pressure on?
Overtime
It's no secret, overtime will lead to burnout. It might be tempting to think you can put through the extra hours 🕒... But, you need to keep in mind you are most productive when you are well rested and have a clear mind 🧠.
Social media
This is a big motivational killer because one of the motivation fundamentals is that you get things done ✅. And you get things done if you avoid distractions. Spending a lot of your day in social media does exactly the opposite, and will of course kill your motivation.
Solution - turn of your phones internet connection & hide it from sight. Have a web blocker for certain social media websites during your workday.
Comparing yourself to others
Of course it demotivates us because we are not others. We were not born with the same native talents, didn't live the same past & experiences. So it's useless to compare ourself to others. Yeah it might be a cool idea to see what cool stuff others people achieved & try to also pursue some of the things they did... but ... we need to measure those results in in relation our own past success 📏.
We should take pride in our results based on the fact that we achieved things that we did not have before! 🙌
👇 Comment below 👇
What are the things that de-motivate you?
If you like this article, chances are you will also enjoy what I post on Twitter.
Top comments (20)
I get caught up on things and can't let go. It's frustrating to go in loops - I should just move to something else and come back, but there's something in me that feels that's cheating. I do try to tell myself "it all needs to be done" and sometimes that gets me out of the cycle.
Having to context switch a lot is really hard.
Twitter.
That site drains so much out of me. I get distracted, anxious, and in general takes a toll on my mental health. I'm considering in leaving it all over. It's not that it is terrible, it's just that it doesn't allow me to be greater.
I know it's not the case for everyone. Just my 2c.
But I like your tweets! 😊 You share interesting things!
Thanks for the support mate! :D
Not doing the things you like for an extended period of time. We often have to do things we don't like, it's a part of our job. But for example, as a developer, not having the opportunity to actually develop (spending you're whole time in meetings, reviews, deployments ...) is a huge motivation killer.
Yeah, there needs to be a sweet spot between coding and doing those support kind of tasks.
We also need to understand that some of these support tasks are probably the ones that are required by the business. So doing that you might be providing more business value than just developing.
for sure !
I just lived a bad example of this, where I had to spend my whole time doing deployments, troubleshooting and such, and not actually develop anything for several months, and it really did kill my motivation 😅
The thing that de-motivates me the most is the lack of communication within the team and the feeling that you are the only one working on a project at any given time.
I had a bad experience a couple of weeks back with this, but talking with the team about the issue and giving some solutions made them realize that part could be improved and how to do so. Now we have more meetings, and we communicate more than ever.
Not having a clear path and plans about the project kills motivation quite a bit, this is something I'm trying to improve at our company.
Worth pointing out that working on an excessive amount of projects can de-motivate as well, currently I'm working on about 4 projects, but a couple of months back it was up to 10, ranging from an Angular Dashboard to a Flutter app, passing through a Symphony API. This was quite tough, changing context so many times was a killer.
You are doing awesome work raising awerness on communication issues. I have also experienced this, maybe now more since everyone is WFH.
One thing that de-motivates me is when people don't involve you in project communication and decisions are made in an non transparent way.
Totaly, that was part of the issue I had. If they don't involve you in the project, you can end up feeling like you are just a tool, and that can have harmful effects from my experience.
Even though I've just completed my graduation in Computer Science Engineering and learning Web Development right now , I still agree with everything mentioned here .
I compare myself a lot with other people and it's very overwhelming. Sometimes I feel that all this effort I'm putting in is of no use , I'll never be a pro because others are already so good at it .
I have improper sleeping patterns because I just stay up and keep studying or overthink if I'll gt there
Also the social media thing, it's a big time waste on top of that it makes me anxious, idk why but it does.
Maybe it's time to act upon these motivation killers
I'm glad you wrote this :')
Glad to hear you want to take action! Cheers to that!
Well said 👍. A small trick for number 3 is to under promise and over deliver. It's not a silver bullet for all circumstances, but in many of them it works!
Agreed! 😁
reading news, social media
It's so easy to surround ourselves with negativity! This is a productivity killer that is often unnoticed. Great post!
Thanks!