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Tricks to get you coding πŸ‘¨β€πŸ’» again when you aren't motivated to.

Everyone has a passion for something, for some people its music, others could be playing video games and to some, it could be they love solving problems with code. Programming is hard, what makes it worthwhile is the passion we have for solving problems.

What then happens if we lose that passion? πŸ€”

A few years back, I lost sight of why I began coding and found out that I was often times forcing myself to try and code. After observing myself, I found a few methods I used to reignite my passion and get myself coding again.

Those methods are what am about to share with you right now.

My Tricks


Reflecting on your Goals

Dreams are little nudges from your soul -- Victoria Moran

Man reflecting on his goals

First off, everyone has a particular reason why they came into programming(and yes even those that do it for the money 😏). The best way to reignite your motivation and start coding once again is to simply reflect on those goals you had while venturing into programming.

It could be to start earning $250k/yr on a job, it could be solving a dying problem in your local community, it could even be working for one of the biggest tech companies out there(yeah I see you Google).

Whatever it is, reflect on it and remember why you began coding in the first place.


Attending a Meetup

Another way to motivate yourself to code again would be attending meetups. Meetups are a lovely way of re-motivating yourself as you get to meet and interact with other developers who have designed and built awesome applications. Some even go as far as giving you career advice and paths to take as a developer.

Meetup is an easy and straight forward platform to start looking for meetups to attend. Create an account on Meetup and within seconds, you are given a lot of interesting suggestions on various upcoming meetups.


Watching a Movie

Movies are a great way to pass time or relax after a long day(esp. via Netflix). So it would seem weird to think that you could actually be motivating yourself to code while watching a movie. Well, it all depends on the type of movie you watch.

There are a lot of movies that could help motivate a developer to code, Silicon Valley, Mr. Robot, just to name a few. In order to keep this article as short as possible, I wrote another article on 10 Movies to get you coding again. Any of those movies should definitely help get you motivated.


Joining a Community of Peers

A community is a simple way for you to connect with your peers or developers more experienced than you that have been in your shoes before.

Just like attending a meetup, when you find yourself in a community of experienced developers, you get to learn first-hand about some awesome technologies and projects most of them work on daily.

Reading about other people with similar experiences, who may be struggling with the same issues that you are, can be hugely encouraging and motivating.


Watching Anime

Now, this is the silliest of all and that's why I left it last. Just hear me out for a second(remember I said "tricks I use").

Seeing other's individuals achieve their goals is a sure way of getting or rekindling your motivation. Japanese anime is filled with situations like this.

You see the protagonist fighting with everything they have till their dying breath until they reach their goal. That kind of determination usually fuels my motivation and gets me remembering my goals and all I said I would achieve and those thoughts get me coding again.

I know it sounds silly πŸ˜‚, but am telling you it actually works for me.

CONCLUSION

So yeah, those were some of the tricks I use to get myself to code again.

Have something you already do, do share in the comments below. Itching to find out new tricks.

Oldest comments (27)

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pixmy profile image
Arturo Cabrera

I agree!! watching Anime can be really helpful haha

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avasconcelos114 profile image
Andre Vasconcelos

Completely agree!

I was feeling very demotivated recently but watching something silly like Shokugeki No Souma (or Food Wars) made me think:

  1. Whoa these people are really dedicated to their dreams
  2. Man I really could do better at what I do, look at these young kids being geniouses

I know the story is completely fabricated but I'll be damned if they aren't inspiring me to try and be the best I can be

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dmahely profile image
Doaa Mahely

I agree with the anime trick 🀣
I especially love hero-type anime. One of my favorites is My Hero Academia. I love the determination and self-motivation Deku (and all of his classmates) use to fight the villains. It might be cheesy but it's inspiring as hell!

Deku in full costume

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armagankuyumcu profile image
armaganKuyumcu

Can't wait for the new season!

Endeavor

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wizardrogue profile image
Joseph Angelo Barrozo

My man.

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tangweejieleslie profile image
Leslie Tang

I also agree with the anime trick!!!

In fact, one of the anime that I've watched recently inspired me to start my web development journey! It's called "Welcome to the Ballroom".

Glad to see that there are other anime fans here 😁

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sn0n profile image
Rob Foraker

Sneakers, or Anti-Trust. Aardvark'd is another, an indie film about a small software firm. I could list more, like last Mimzy, but those are some of my starters and personal favs.

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sagarmaheshwary profile image
Sagar Maheshwary

I love music, watch anime, and sometimes movies. It's all good as long as you get to motivate yourself again to code!

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jsardev profile image
Jakub Sarnowski

Haha :D Love the anime trick the most! It motivates me to do stuff as well! :)

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gavrielshaw profile image
Gavriel Shaw

I'm off to watch some anime! Thanks.

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jakenherman profile image
Jaken Herman

Good list - mine is to try a new framework. Walk through the "beginning steps" section of the documentation. It ignites something in you that reminded you why you enjoyed coding. The learning aspect of it and seeing the possibilities that this new framework or language can take on is really a great way to become motivated again.

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omkaragrawal profile image
OMKAR AGRAWAL

I have to agree on anime part, I had started seeing anime for the very same reason that they kept me going in life🀩

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evansibok profile image
Evans Ibok

I definitely do the watch a movie && watch anime trick. Although I watch more series than movies. I find it's a great way to take my mind off things and relax.

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ciel profile image
Ciel

Play Chrono Trigger

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oksanaromaniv profile image
Oksana Romaniv

Haha, almost all comments about the Amine trick :)

I've noticed that for me the best way to have the motivation to start coding on Monday morning is the fully pc/screen free weekends. Although I enjoy playing games and watching Netflix on weekends a lot, if I go out and don't turn on my pc even on Sanday only, I feel much more refreshed.

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rifaimartin profile image
Rifai Martin

I agree with Anime tricks!

the anime I like the most is black clover

"even though you were born poor, you can still achieve your dreams #asta"

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creativetransmissions profile image
CreativeTransmissions

Great suggestions!

Hackers the Movie is one of my go-to motivational movies as it makes all this computer stuff look so much fun!

Also highly recommend TV series Halt and Catch Fire - drama about the beginnins of the PC in silicon valley. Series 2 is best - it follows an early indie games dev studio working on 8-bit computer games in the 80s. It's all about the energy, pride and excitement of building games.

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charles1303 profile image
charles1303

At one point Love, Death and Robots did the trick for me.