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Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

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Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#21

Post by morden »

I have to ask, has there been much change in your personal life? Since meeting my soon to be wife I know that I have found it much more of a draw to spend time with her than to be coding all evening.

Also, I have found that it helps to be directed with your personal projects. Over the years (I've been working as a coder since 2000) I've started many things and not finished any. But now, as jnovek suggested, I am working with some friends and we are about to launch our commercial web project. All from a few months of evening work.

Like you, I lost some of the joy of personal coding and even though this recent project is not exactly something I have my heart in, my heart is in producing something I am proud of. That is spurring me on to finish so that I can get on with other personal projects on my own again.

Good luck.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#22

Post by mynameishere »

giles_bowkett wrote: post #18

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. Your skill will return, the light will return to your eyes, and your career will improve. I'm not even kidding. Take a few years away. You'll build something so much cooler than you would at these apparently soul-destroying jobs you've got. I did it, and I'm now showing off what I've built at damn near every Ruby conference i…

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop

This is bad advice.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#23

Post by aaronblohowiak »

mynameishere wrote: post #22
giles_bowkett wrote: post #18

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. Your skill will return, the light will return to your eyes, and your career will improve. I'm not even kidding. Take a few years away. You'll build something so much cooler than you would at these apparently soul-destroying jobs you've got. I did it, and I'm now showing off what I've built at damn near every Ruby conference i…

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop This is bad advice.

Disagreement is not refutation.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#24

Post by Locke »

Here's what worked for me when I was working for the man:

Pick an evening sometime this week. Tell people you're not going to be available. Ask your SO to go out with friends or something. I'd grab a quick bite after work, go home to an empty apartment. Close the blinds, dim the lights. Turn off my cell phone, turn off the wifi on my laptop. Put on a playlist of music that puts me in a good, happy, mellow mood. Poor myself a glass of wine, and settle down in front of the computer.

And just program. Don't worry about getting the code just right. Don't worry about business logic, unit tests, or what might happen if the user clicks the wrong thing at the wrong time. Just program. Make the computer do something cool, just because you can.

Who cares if it won't scale? Who cares if there's no business use case? Who cares if people won't pay for it?

Forget all that. That's work. You won't be able to program after work if you make it work. It has to be different. It has to be fun.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#25

Post by lpgauth »

giles_bowkett wrote: post #18

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. Your skill will return, the light will return to your eyes, and your career will improve. I'm not even kidding. Take a few years away. You'll build something so much cooler than you would at these apparently soul-destroying jobs you've got. I did it, and I'm now showing off what I've built at damn near every Ruby conference i…

What have you built? And what conference are you attending in Canada?

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#27

Post by culley »

Locke wrote: post #24

Here's what worked for me when I was working for the man: Pick an evening sometime this week. Tell people you're not going to be available. Ask your SO to go out with friends or something. I'd grab a quick bite after work, go home to an empty apartment. Close the blinds, dim the lights. Turn off my cell phone, turn off the wifi on my laptop. Put on a playlist of music that puts me in a good, happy, mellow mood. Poor…

My god.

Are you making love to your computer or what?

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#28

Post by culley »

Have you taken a vacation lately?

Get away from your current location. Experience something new.

Guard your time away and don't let the work intrude.

You'll be surprised how much easier problems like this become with a little time to recharge your battery.

And if you find the job puts you right back in this blue space after a few days back... then look for another job.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#29

Post by astrec »

mynameishere wrote: post #22
giles_bowkett wrote: post #18

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them. Your skill will return, the light will return to your eyes, and your career will improve. I'm not even kidding. Take a few years away. You'll build something so much cooler than you would at these apparently soul-destroying jobs you've got. I did it, and I'm now showing off what I've built at damn near every Ruby conference i…

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop This is bad advice.

Sure. But

Dude, quit your job, work at a coffee shop, and build things because you want to build them.

is stellar advice. Seriously. The sabbatical is the instrument of champions.

Re: Questions from a young developer that "just" started working aka: how do you manage it?

#30

Post by rahulgarg »

Take a break from your personal projects for a few months. Read physics or something or maths or just go and watch a few movies or play video games or go running or join karate. Basically anything but programming for a few months in your non-work time. Take a vacation if feasible.

Then come back after a few months with a fresh mind and evaluate your options and situation then.

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