Keeping up the motivation

[Snavy]

Sometimes you get an idea and while hyped, you wish to work on it. But after some time when a problem occurs ( usually a tough one ) you just give up on it. I can't seem to keep my motivation up for anything for a long period of time.
For example I started a project for OTS ( a tool ) but then gave up on it because there was a problem. I started with an AAC; gave up on that too. And I think that I am usually demotivated when there's no great reward in it.

How does one avoid feelings and emotions in order to stay productive and actually achieve something ?

 

[Felipe93]

perseverance.. usally it happens to me too... but i can't rest till i solve the problem and the best reward it to solve the issue c:

 

[killer990]

I'm working on my OTS project, also had alot of times while begin demotivated, but if You will start something You don't need to keep work on it alltime spending day's/week's. Sometimes You must take a break and do something other (Play other server or other game) for me its work's and I'm keep make a progress on my project. If working on something make You angry then slash some zombies or kill someone in pvp server, but if You dream about good server that ppl will enjoy then You need to avoid panic while encounter any issue, take some advices in OTland or from friends and keep working to be proud of Your hard work.

 

[Znote]

First challenge is getting past the "basic debugging" wall. Once you crack that you won't get stuck and frustrated all the time. Debugging really is a super useful underappreciated skill. Bothering someone who knows shit helps get past this.

Next challenge is... Sleep on it. That means stop and do another task. I struggle with this, I can end up tinkering with something trying to get it to work for hours with no valuable "project development" even though there are lots of other more manageable tasks to do. But if you manage to do this you will be more productive, and suddenly when you totally don't expect it, your brain just flicks on with the solution. I call this subconcious debugging. Its awesome, but also very disturbing. You can wake up in the middle of the night and "just get it", even though you havent thought about it for days/weeks. And suddenly you have the urge to do something and cant sleep aff.

ps: I havent slept for 18 hours. And I havent done anything else than coding.

I end up sporadically getting into development zone. And I keep coding and thinking for hours on end. But ohh man it is soooo satisfying to see shit actually work and you just wanna finish it all up in one go before your mind is lost again.

Because, at least for me I usually "crash" later on, and looses all will to code for a while (especially for that project). Better take advantage of that fucked mentality while I can. ^^

 

[Peonso]

I have given up into forcing me to do hobby related stuff. What I do, that usually work, is to keep good documentation and everything organized so I get back on track once I'm motivated again. Split things into smaller tasks also helps, because you need to end things to please your brain. Also if you stumble in some wall, and it doesn't bottleneck other parts of development, move to other things. Forcing myself into walls was the number one problem I faced and really demotivates me.

 

[Syntax]

Keep multiple projects at the same time or switch to other areas of the project.
For web dev, I'll do backend one day, frontend another, design another.

 

[dantexd]

The real challenge is keep going on after being demotivated, when decides if its going to happen or not is "determination".
I always think that what decides if I continue or not is my determination and what motivates me is feeling closer to what I desire.
Though..
Even bad feelings like being angry, stressed, etc; When I try to use those feelings instead that letting them bring me down its when magic happens.
Being rude with auto-criticism helps too.

 

[Steve Albert]

All big, great & complex things start small.

That phrase can be applied to any goal you want to achieve. It also allows you to forgive yourself when you're slacking off

 

[JDB]

A lot of what is said here is good. I like to reward myself in some ways. It may sound cheesy but after a long day of coding, work, school, etc. I would treat myself to something (e.g. food) and grab a good night’s sleep. A lot of times I would also take a break and watch my favorite show or movie and mentally accept that downtime as a reward. It allows me to rest and recuperate, in a sense.

At the end of the day, you have to find what works best for you. Always remain positive and never be afraid to ask for help. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve asked a friend to go over my code that I’ve been stuck on for hours and they find the issue within a few minutes.