Are you feeling like you are making no progress in your programming or design work? Are you finding it difficult to sit in front of your computer and jump right into work? It’s one of the most difficult things to do in any profession, staying motivated. Carol-Therodor Pelu states that, “a lack of motivation is a mundane and troublesome issue that affects almost everyone.” I’ve been hit with a lack of motivation numerous times in my programming career due to feelings of being burned out.
Tips for Motivation:
Create Short/Long Term Goals
By creating goals for your timeline, you help narrow your focus on simple steps for creating self motivation. Consider the short term goals as stepping stones to reaching your end long term goals. Lets take learning a new programming language for example. Create a long term goal of building a project in that language and use the individual educational aspect of the language as short term goals as you move through the documentation.
Avoid Feeling Burned Out
Don’t sit at your computer if you begin to get frustrated or tired. Get up and stretch, move or even take a break. Taking some time away from a computer problem may give you the mental reset to find a solution. Podcasts and YouTube videos are another great way of absorbing related programming material if you need a break from your work station.
Be the Tortoise, Not the Hare
Sure speed is nice but it’s not always the best way to program especially if it’s learning a new programming language. Slow and steady wins the race! You want to be able to comprehend and apply the material you may be covering and not just work through it quickly for the purpose of finishing lessons. This doesn’t mean work slow and inefficiently which brings me to my last tip….
Realistic Goals
Create goals that are going to be realistic for your short and long term. Choosing to learn and properly apply multiple languages in one week is unrealistic. Setting realistic goals help keep you from getting discouraged about unrealistic ones. Checking off goals from your list is a great feeling that will keep the momentum rolling onto the next one.
Tech Thoughts | Carlos Robles 