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? π€
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 Goalsπ
- Attending a Meetupπ£
- Watching a MovieπΏ
- Joining a Community of Peersπ₯
- Watching Animeπ―π΅
Reflecting on your Goals
Dreams are little nudges from your soul -- Victoria Moran
First off, everyone has a particular reason why they came into programming(and yes even those that do it for the money π). 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 π, 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)
I agree!! watching Anime can be really helpful haha
Completely agree!
I was feeling very demotivated recently but watching something silly like Shokugeki No Souma (or Food Wars) made me think:
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
I agree with the anime trick π€£
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!
Can't wait for the new season!
My man.
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 π
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.
I love music, watch anime, and sometimes movies. It's all good as long as you get to motivate yourself again to code!
Haha :D Love the anime trick the most! It motivates me to do stuff as well! :)
I'm off to watch some anime! Thanks.
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.
I have to agree on anime part, I had started seeing anime for the very same reason that they kept me going in lifeπ€©
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.
Play Chrono Trigger
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.
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"
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.
At one point Love, Death and Robots did the trick for me.