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? 🤔
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🏅
- Attending a Meetup🗣
- Watching a Movie🍿
- Joining a Community of Peers👥
- Watching Anime🇯🇵
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 😏). 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 😂, 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.
Top comments (27)
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!
Can't wait for the new season!
My man.
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 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 😁
One simple trick that works for me, is watching a live streaming video about coding. Simply by watching other people working on code, makes me motivated to start coding as well. I play a youtube video in my side monitor, so I can code and watch the video at the same time. After some 10 or 20 minutes I close the video, I don't need it to keep coding once I'm motivated.
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
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.
My trick was to figure out the environment in which I love to work and then emulate it.
I love coding in coffee shops where there are a bunch of little things that can push or pull you away from yourself; like the background noise of the people around you, the typical bustle of the caffeine business, and the aroma of coffee. There is a certain flow that I seem to get into that, while not completely disruptive to my focus, allows me to feel the motions of my thoughts while otherwise allowing myself to get distracted every now and then to give my mind some space to "compile." It is random and it is addictive.
Unfortunately, recent changes in my career have prevented me from going to coffee shops to work. I now work at an office with closed cubicles wherein the design aesthetic is bent towards the functional rather than the arresting. So I made do with what I could. I bought a coffee machine that I use every now and then in the mornings to "set the scene." I have a tumbler named Kevin with a sunflower sticker on it, assuring me that I am in fact a sunflower. And best of all, I've discovered lo-fi hip-hop to drown out the harsh echoes of someone's speaker blaring out anime music with the softer tunes of rain, chatter, and some jazzy piano (I have nothing against anime music but I really just can't listen to it being boomed allover the place eight hours a day).
So yeah, my suggestion is figure out what sets you on the mood. It doesn't have to be the sugar-fueled, caffeine-injected adrenaline rush you feel after drinking 8 cups of coffee. It can be as little as whispers of strangers in the next cubicle or a tumbler named Kevin with a sunflower sticker or, you know, 8 hours of blaring anime music. It might be different for each and every one of us, but the point is that some introspection and understanding of "what makes you go" could go a long way in your productivity.
tl;dr I turned my office into a pseudo-coffee shop and this encourages me to work productively.
Happy coding guys!
What you said about anime is the exact, TRUTH. I recently started rewatching Haijime No Ippo to get some inspiration!
I've been feeling really lost after attending a bootcamp and trying to get everything in order. I think it's the perfect mix of inspiration and imagination.
Great thoughts! Thanks for this.
@theghostyced , which anime do you prefer? I see a handful of recommendations from other folks in the comments which I'll check out also, but I'd love to see a "get pumped for work, inspiring anime" thread get going, starting with what's on your list.
I know nothing about anime other than it's extremely vast, so I don't know where to start (for these purposes). I'm always interested in new sources of inspiration. Thanks again!
If u looking for a get pumped for work type anime then either "Black Clover or Boku no Hero Academia" would do the trick @thomas
Thanks again, and thanks for the quick reply!
I totally agree with the first three tricks especially the movie part. Cause last few weeks when I did not pass a job interview I felt it was not worth coding anymore and I should just quit it. But then when I started rewatching sillicon valley I immédiately reopened my Android studio and I was coding again. Thanks buddy
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.
One trick I use is to take some breaks every 30-40 min. Could be like take a walk, go to buy some candies or just go for water. It helps you to clarify your mint for a moment and refocus when you get back to the code
I'm off to watch some anime! Thanks.
Haha :D Love the anime trick the most! It motivates me to do stuff as well! :)
At one point Love, Death and Robots did the trick for me.