I am 35, I have been coding for 15 years and i am finding it boring now. How do you get past these slumps? Are slumps becoming more common? Please share your thoughts.
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Top comments (16)
I'm 37 - coding for 17, just two years ahead of you!
Not sure what all you get up to with the coding skills you've accumulated over the years, but for me the greatest interest is in finding out to what degree can I affect change in the orgs and businesses I work in.
If I'm a code jockey, it's not a good place for me. Boring. Too one-dimensional. Medium size businesses and up aren't fun to me because their internal hierarchy is rigid and people must fit the role they've been hired for.. and no more.
I thrive in startups and small businesses because I can be cross functional, get exposed to new and interesting problems with within and outside the software engineering domain. I get to bring an engineering & systems design perspective to solving problems in HR and Marketing (for instance) and have a massive impact.
It's super fun because I get to find new ways to suck at new things! Then I can improve and find ways to come at problems from new angles. I can speak marketing with the marketing folks. I can speak HR with the HR folks. I can speak finance with the finance folks.
My personal enjoyment skyrockets when I'm learning something new at work. Which makes me want to keep learning new things at home and bring that with me to work.
When I find ways to synergize the joy from my discretionary effort and my compulsory effort it's just :chef's kiss:
Feel free to reach out on twitter (x?) or email ivan@ivannovak.com - happy to continue the conversation.
This is so me. I moved into contracting and have been contracting for businesses remotely. I guess that’s where my slump comes from is that I work in isolation most of the time (from home). I miss the joy of working with others and all of us getting excited for solutions and that in person communication.
If I was contracting and I went to clients offices then that would be great but most of my clients are international so it’s not so easy.
This has given me something to think about! Thanks :)
Obviously this can be contingent based upon whether or not your work situation permits, but have you considered finding some kind of hobby-level project that you could contribute to, or even something that would be along the lines of a side gig/passion project that you can work on (preferably something collaborative, as it might scratch that itch you mention - it did for me, anyway) together with other people?
I personally have a similar experience to what Ivan described in his excellent answer above: I'm at my best when I'm able to work in a team environment, one that allows me to determine when/where/how the varied skills I have can be applied to the larger goal that the team is collectively striving towards.
The problem I have is that I have had 2 side hustle / hobby projects that I thought would take off - i fell in love with them and I believe in them. Coding them was tough but doable - it turns out the business side of things is where I failed. I thought it would be easy to get people/businesses to see my vision and want to use my software and that coding would be the hard part... boy was i wrong. Business has so many hurdles, human and time consuming elements that it ended up burning a hole through my pocket. I guess this is what has gotten me down, I believe in my vision but its hard to bring it to life especially when you are trying to do everything yourself. So i guess now is the time for me to take a step back and reasses how I approach these things and use these failures as a blueprint to do better next time.
You may like the book “the cold start”. It seems it talks about what you’re experiencing. Cheers!
Yes. I don't know if it's burnout or just complete boredom.
I've experienced it a couple of times and I'm 2 years below you.
I've shared some of my experience getting back to it.
Hope it's useful for you.
I read your article and its a must read for developers. Its nice to read that others have been through the same burnouts and challenges. I guess we all get so excited about tech and its possibilities and endless learnings that sometimes we get absorbed into it and then get a little hurt because we end up tired and miserable.
Thanks for the kind words.
I believe we have that tendency of getting blindsided by all the cool possibilities of tech and ignoring the harsh realities about the industry and the world in general.
But I also think it comes down to what we really, really want and not what others have said we "should" do.
36 of age, 20 in web dev. Sometimes it got me, that’s why i have my hobby is DJing and collecting vinyl records, which is the way to get out of burnouts and boredoms. Travels within country, new meetings and parties help me a lot and charge batteries to get back to coding
I also was a DJ and music producer! We are twins. It really does help. I find making music and playing guitar and having something outside of coding or opposite of is a nice way to stay fresh. Especially the socializing aspect because as we know coding can be very antisocial and focused.
Thanks for mentioning “socialiazing aspect” that’s how it works!
So after everyone's helpful comments and inputs I feel invigorated again - thank you!
Here are some things that I have done
1.
I have setup a new schedule/routine for myself so I don't sit and code at my computer all day and burn out.
2.
I have been hitting the gym hard and doing more exercise classes which has helped with feeling good, better sleep, confidence and socializing. Back ache and posture!
3.
I took two weeks off coding to refocus and think about what I want.
4.
I made better eating habits and eat correctly throughout the day. I got some sunshine on my skin!
5.
I sat and re-envisioned my goals which has helped me be excited for the future and wake up with vigor - it was tough but worth it.
6.
I forgave myself for getting into this situation and understand that it happens and decided to relax more. I was so hyped on coding the next best thing, writing the best code, figuring out the best coding concepts that I ended up chasing my tail.
7.
I socialize more and make time to see friends and family but I dont force it. Im kinder to people. Patient. Enjoy my hobbies and make time for them.
8.
I dont know everything and thats okay - i dont have to kill myself over it. I do know I am a good coder, I care and I can learn anything I need to, i always have been able to and I always will - if i care enough to know it. I must be patient and know that learning new things takes time and not get huffed up when I dont know something in 5 minutes.
9.
Lastly... these answers were inside of me all this time, I was too focused on work to listen to myself or got so used to not listening to myself. Taking a step back, writing my goals and thinking about what I want and putting those things first helped me be excited again. I love coding and it is a big part of my life but it must be a treat to do just as it is to do the things i do outside of it. Balance.
Of course slumps are common, we all experience this from time to time :)
It depends what is causing it though:
You could be burned out on the tech stack
If this is the case, you should explore different tech stacks, or even try a different language. It will force you to think differently about problems, and make things interesting again.
You could be burned out on the people/environment/project
It could be that you don't see how your work fits into the bigger picture, and as a result it could feel meaningless. If this is the case, you should discuss with your peers to figure out where exactly your work fits with theirs.
You could be just generally burned out/tired
Sometimes you just need to take a break for a few days, to re-align with what's important. Work is important, but it's not the most important thing in the world. Sometimes it feels like that, because it consumes a lot of our day-to-day, so taking a break can help reset you.
These are just some possibilities off the top of my head, but maybe it could help if we knew why you feel like you're in a slump?
These are great suggestions and all of them apply to me.
I guess I feel like I’m not progressing anymore and I have plateaued - I’m kinda bored with the way front end is progressing - in one aspect it’s exciting and in others it lame and feels like coding is tedious.
I can’t wait for AI to catch up so I can code my projects quicker. I feel like l want to code projects faster and it should be easier.
So maybe I should try other languages and disciplines and try find projects that are more meaningful to me.
I am past building software for a pay check, I want to be inspired by the software that I build.
Sounds like you're probably more interested in what you are building then how you're building it. That's perfectly valid. Maybe you should try starting your own project/product?
I am the other way around - I just really like playing with tools and seeing how things work, or what I can do with them. But I know how you feel. It sucks feeling stuck and uninspired.
I was like you when i had a full time job and i was being paid to play with tools and learn for work. Now that I am a contractor I need to bring certainty to the projects and do the job I have been brought in to do. Its not as relaxing or as much fun.
So I setup 2 side hustles which I thought would be great for the economy and for myself - i thought they would take off and make me money so I could use that money to focus on bigger and better things including community work. I spent all my savings, got so close and now they are just 2 folders in my dev folder like all the other projects... so I guess im a little wounded :(