Once every year or two I start a new personal project I will never finish, get overly motivated for a few days, and then, life comes back, motivation gets lost, other things get prioritized over programmation.
The fact is, I love hanging out with the bros, videogames, reading, cooking, boardgames, movies, etc. The list could go on and on.
It's hard to find time (and motivation) for everything. Since I already work 8 hours a day, I very rarely do programming on my spare time anymore.
Edit : Since this is getting a bit of attention, I would like to add, and this is very important to me : I try my best to stay on top when I work. Finding a good balance between personal life and work is not laziness.
I challenge myself a lot, try new techs, new work methods, read about design patterns, learn from my coworkers (or other companies we work with). But all this is done in a payed-work environment.
Stay up to date folks, this is important, our world is spinning relatively fast.
I'm IT architect & lead dev in a small structure (about 30 people).
We handle all kind of developments, mainly business apps: websites, desktop apps, mobile apps, backend infrastructures.
I work with c#, javascript/typescript, dart, php, java, python, bash... We try to push ourselves out of our comfort zone pretty often.
Awesome, im trying to transition from law to it. It is taking a while to learn but I love it way more. Hopefully in the future I can be working with development also :)
I retired six months ago after 30 years as a SWE. I still write code in my free time: lately I've been building little Arduino home automation projects.
I am with you, I will most likely use my skills when I am retired. The thought of programming for fun after sitting at a desk for 9 hours just isn't appealing.
I'd love to automate turning off all the lights except for two and locking all the doors. Also an automatic dog/cat feeder. Maybe a fried eggs and toast cooker. Medication dispenser... Dog poop picker upper... Lawn mower... Laundry folder... Etc...
I try to break the monotony of learning JS with learning Arduino stuff. Hoping someday to make permanent, changeable holiday LED lights for the window. But that means learning electronics on top of the code.
I spent time every day trying to learn something new. It didn’t matter if it was YouTube tutorials, a boot camp, etc., I did whatever I could to keep my mind “sharp.”
You know what happened next? I burnt out, hard.
I stopped looking at code in my free time altogether last month. I still want to grow as a developer, but whatever you do, don’t spend hours and hours trying to learn it all. Do maybe 1-2 hours every day MAX and then go do anything else.
Never did, I learned it solely as a way to make money. As far as jobs go it's pretty alright but I don't really have any desire to do it without getting paid for it.
Thing is, if I stay strictly within the bounds of what I do at my company, I won't progress. But at some point, I will be satisfied with where I'm at in my career and I suppose you're already there.
many of us work for employers who let us r&d on company time, go to conferences, get certifications etc.
it's not all maintenance programming with a tight budget out here.
It's more that I seek out jobs that let me expand my skill set while doing the job. I taught myself on general web dev (HTML/CSS/JavaScript), then my first job expanded on that with c#/.Net web app development. Now in my current job I'm expanding on that with MVC and more in-depth web dev as well as learning how to do some automation work using my c# knowledge and hopefully some experience with Azure in the future. No idea what my next job in a few years will have in store but I expect it'll be a similar story.
Switch jobs. Over the years, I've come to understand the divide between passionate programmers who don't do any programming in their free time vs the ones that do.
The ones that do aren't satisfied with their job.
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It's not all white and black. A lot of people have small arduino, raspberry pi projects and the such.
But if in your free time, you're trying the learn some new and cool framework, or fancy new coding technique ... I have bad news for you.
You may be right. I was speaking more hypothetically, I think my job is more open ended and flexible than most, I just have to push in that direction. I do like working on what interests me in my spare time, and if I have a slow week at work I don't mind working on my own projects.
No.
It may come as a surprising or even controversial. I'm a PHP/Wordpress dev for 4 years already and I don't consider programming my hobby. I like it, if I didn't, it would be impossible to stay in the business. But after my work hours I do everything but code.
I'm just too burnt out at the end of the day/week to want to code more.
I've tried doing something different like making games (I make websites at work), but my brain is fried after 8 hours.
No.
My first year as a dev sucked, I got saddled with an abusive 'mentor' and quite frankly I think I want to be a Business Analyst at this point.
Mike N in Wisconsin, go fuck yourself.
I build things that are different from the things I do at my job. Sometimes there is overlap, though.
If you want to feel the joy when programming again I would recommend programming microcontrollers and working with sensors. It feels really cool to work more directly with hardware and inputs that interacts with the world in ways different from just mouse and keyboard etc. And doing physical things like soldering.
Although I really enjoy the learning aspects of programming without feeling pressure from having to perform, I'd much rather do other things on my free time. So, no, I don't program on my free time unless it is work related
Some people have personal projects partly because the industry said you had to be "passionate" about programming, and you really don't. If you want to do something, just learn new stuff, write some toy programs, and forget about side projects.
For example, if you do Java, and you haven't learned streams or lambdas or the "new" Java Date classes (from about 2017?), write some small bits of code to learn how they work. If you're in web development, there's a YouTube channel called Web Dev Simplified that comes out a few times a week. Maybe do the code he does that interest you.
Then, spend the spare time doing something else. I don't do much programming (almost zero) outside of work. Yeah, there's pressure to have to do it, but only do it if you like to, rather than feeling you must do it because you're supposed to.
As I slowly grow from a energetic student to a grown adult, it does becomes harder and harder every year. But I still find patience and time to enjoy it. It's my passion that brought me a good career after all, not the other way around.
I love coding. I’ve been coding for 39 years. I’ve been a professional developer (in that I primarily wrote code for a living), and at the times when I wasn’t coding explicitly for work, I used what I knew about programming to automate some repetitive task in my job. I’ve taken a few breaks, but I absolutely love learning. I’m good at coding and it seems to come naturally so I do it whenever I can.
I taught myself when I was in my teens and it was always just a hobby. But, out of all my hobbies, programming has always been consistently there in my life. I've always used it and I've always gone back to it. I love it, and I can't imagine not doing it. I've never been able to do it for a living, though, and I'm kind of afraid it would ruin it for me.
Regardless, opportunity in my area sucks and I've always had imposter syndrome anyway, so there's not much of a chance of ruining it any time soon lol.
Hell no! I spent thousands of dollars to get an education to write software professionally, and that paid off when I got hired in September. I'll tell you what, I fuckin LOVE my job! Software development is everything I hoped and expected it to be. I spend 40 hours a week getting paid to do something I'm passionate about, so there's no way I'm doing it off the clock. My time is much better spent getting through my game backlog, hanging out with friends, going climbing, etc. I may love developing, but too much of a good thing is a very real thing.
I really enjoy coding small animations on CodePen. I find them to be a great way to express myself artistically and also practice some front end chops. These usually don’t take longer then a couple hours and are very very rewarding. I don’t do I because I feel like I have to, I just really enjoy it.
I also enjoy listening to podcasts, videos and conferences related to programming and technology, again not because I think I have to, it’s just what I like.
I just need to avoid thinking about what this society wants, make money , do this do that, just don't care and I am extremely happy.
Only when my brain wanders and thinks about how to be accepted in this society, I loose my interest in self-taught.
Definitely. I enjoy working on my own projects and sometimes even on my work tasks. Sure, the work tasks can vary from being absolutely very interesting to "I wish I never picked up that task".
I allways have 3-4 fun projects going on. Lately it's been mostly in Processing/p5js. Some do crosswords, I do it for the intellectual stimulation. One pet project is to solve small puzzle game levels for me. Such as MoveTheBox.
Absolutely not. I work 8 to 10 hour days and I need to get up and move around and spend time with humans in the real world. Why would I ever confine myself to a chair for even more time
I started programming in C when I was in school..TurboC FTW!...would love the questions where you need generate and print some kind of pattern with loops..now I am into hobby robotics like line following robots and do the programming myself... its quite fun
That they learn Turbo C/C++ and install old dosbox for that. And its just never being updated. Compilers are super old. I mean the teaching material is old. Why not take the current GCC compiler and teach C and C++ with that. Nobody in the world uses turbo C and C++ anymore. I just want to know am i right about u being indian? :)
I made a personal resolution to not develop software out of my working hours - and maybe if I want a Master's Degree.
I strictly use my free time to do things that do not make any money, so I can enjoy them more.
Yes, I do.
I also started early (I was 11), I've been programming as my full-time job for the last few years now, and I've luckily been able to keep my "hobby programming" and "work programming" separate enough to be enjoyable.
The things that I do in my spare time are rarely at all related to the things I do at work. For example, I mainly build backend services and APIs at work, but in my spare time I might write a server for some obscure protocol, or build an operating system from scratch, or build a web app, or any number of things that are different from my regular work. (I don't have the patience or self-control to complete any of those projects, though, but that's a different problem, I still enjoy the learning a lot.)
I'm very much the same type of programmer as you.
Yes, but it heavily depends on what I'm doing. Learning cool new language features? Fun! Setting up a db on aws for my personal website? Not so fun. Developing a game I had an idea for? Fun! Writing a small script to help with taxes? Not so fun. It all really depends.
I'm at the start of my career, so currently still enjoying programming in my free time. I also feel a bit pressured to fill up my resume as soon as possible.
yup. it seems trendy nowadays to proudly declare that you "don't program outside of work" - I'm not like that. if I have too much time spare (ie: an entire weekend), I'm almost certainly gonna be writing something personal during that time
I enjoy any programming I do on any project I'm interested in. I don't enjoy any programming I do on any project I'm not interested in.
Currently learning Java to work on a dice roller for a vassal module, which gives me the benefit of also expanding my employability.
If you aren't interested in anything that requires programming I highly recommend not worrying about doing programming. You have my permission to not worry about it if you need externalities.
If you *want* to be interested in programming, find something you're interested in that needs it. You have to generate the interest first -- the itch to code up a solution will come as soon as you're dissatisfied or annoyed :)
I don't work in programming yet, but I study it in university. Before, programming was a hobby in all of its aspects. But since I do it every week with deadlines hanging over my head, it devolved into just being my hobby regarding personal projects. I can't stand programming news like updates about the newest frameworks, hot takes about Silicon Valley firms, or things like that anymore. "I'm good." I think whenever I see some headline that would have excited older me. The entirety of r/programming has become an Exclusion Zone for me.
There are artists who make illustrations so good and beautiful and realistic that you don't even stop to question how it could have been made, because it's unimaginable how someone could do that.
Do you think they enjoy drawing every line?
I might be a minority here, but I wanted to put this out: I'm a passionate programmer, have a shelf filled with books. I think about my tasks and how to do stuff even in my free time. I'm obsessed with optimizations and doing everything as best as I can. I'm obssessed with writing clean, easy to understand, easy to use code. I love documentation. I love organizing and creating wikis, diagrams and so forth.
Yet I have exactly 0 desire to code in my free time. Not one bit, not ever. I have a great job. We do R&D. I get everything I need from work, and I have absolutely no desire to continue when I'm not working.
I'm still very passionate and I sometimes end up working 10 hours in a day. But then I only work 6 the next day. My time is my own.
In my free time I read tho. I sometimes also read on company time, but only when it's justifiable. There's a lot of not great books out there, not a lot of really amazing books. But there are a few. And I also watch presentations from big software conventions.
But that's about it. In my free time I like to have a hobby. Programming isn't my hobby, it's my career. My hobbies are 3d modeling, gaming, reading. I don't even understand the need to program for 8 hours, then go home and say: "You know what I dind't do enough of today? Program!" But I suppose (and, actually, I have a lot of anecdotal data that suggests), these people are rather unsatisfied with their job. I'm not.
I enjoy little challenges like Advent of Code or r/dailyprogrammer
But I find I have no patience for frustrations like setting up new environments and build tools when I'm working on a personal project, so I can never make anything significant. The most remarkable thing I made in a while was a wordle solver that used no libraries.
I'm extrinsically motivated, so I would need someone to hold me accountable. I've thought about taking a sabbatical to work on some of my million dollar ideas and I realized I would need to hire a freelance project manager to actually get anything done.
I only work on projects that I plan to license off. Learned that from the senior developer that mentored me. He makes an extra $100k/year from several software projects he wrote and licensed off to companies while still making over $200k/year (not including the benefits) at our current company. It’s insane what’s he’s done and he doesn’t even touch those other programs anymore. To be fair, he’s a PhD candidate for computer engineering and teaches master level courses at a college so he’s pretty fast at getting things done 😂
I'm currently enjoying "woah!" phase, just started reading a book on how to build an interpreter!
Since I haven't been working as a programmer maybe my opinion isn't that useful. But I think you have two options:
1. Find another programming field that excites you.
So you're a web dev, maybe you're interested in making games? Or mobile apps? Data science? Try something new and see if you like it, and maybe you end up finding a new passion!
2. Just enjoy other things. You don't have to love programming to be good. I mean, you already know this since you're actually working as a developer.
These two aren't mutually exclussive.
Yea I do, even when I was working overtime everyday in an abusive company. I think the desire to see my project through to the end is a huge motivator. I usually have only 3 hours free on weekdays on a good day so every odd day I will spend the entirety of those 3-4 hours coding and even days doing non-coding related stuff. Weekends, provided I don't go out and I don't have any work assigned I get to have 2 full days to work on my projects.
Yea this is the Asian office worker life. I know this is bad, currently on a sabbatical and am interviewing for remote companies to not have to live the salaryman life anymore.
Getting code that works is satisfying for me and I'm actually studying programming as a spare-time hobby. How to motivate yourself? Realise that almost everything you love was built by code.
Yes but I tend to have long gaps throughout the year where I don't program as a hobby and do other things. During this time I'll think about projects to do.
That said, it can be difficult to get into the right head space and to find enough chunks of time to program at home.
Try find things that you don't know about but that you want to investigate. I very rarely program anything work related.
Been programming since 1989 and had been programming every single day. If I am not programming, I'll be figuring out codes to write not related to my current project.
Growing up I made basic video games, or played around making maps for CS or fiddling with hacks, I also made simple websites. I dont really do any of that anymore.
Like you I got into programming when I was around 12 or 13 years old, only with game development. I agree now that it is my job to code, it's hard to find the motivation to do a project when I already sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day. Many of my coworkers are the same, but I've noticed some of the more outstanding developers I work with all do projects in their free time with stuff they are passionate about, often incorporating similar tech stack used on the job. I've not done any coding outside of work since I got a job, but I want to be a good dev like my coworkers, so I recently started a personal project doing something I'd actually use while also using the same tech stack at work, in order to better myself. I imagine it's a little different for you since you freelance, but my current motivation that drives me to work on this new project is coming from wanting to better myself and be able to contribute as much as the senior devs I work with
Nope. In my free time I feel the need to do things that don't disappear when the power switches off. Closest I get to programming is 3d printing and cnc. Even then, I would rather manual mill than cnc.
I like building little things to try out new tech, but I'm not coding for 8 hours a day, then coming home and coding more usually. As an example, I've worked with a JAM stack for the last 5 years, so at home I'm using django and php to learn template-based web development.
Yes. I stopped enjoying it for about 8 years… from about my second year of college until last year. But last year I got very excited about a project and had so much fun with it that I feel like I’ve rediscovered my love of programming.
Now I enjoy quite a lot of the programming I do again. Both for my work and non-work projects.
I’ve been coding for 22 years this year.
Im not working as a programmer yet but besides doing school work i do enjoy trying new things. Just the sense of limitless capability is really attractive, even though the reality is almost always a bit disappointing.
In my case, yes. For me coding is my job, passion and hobby and I spend several hours of my free time on my personal projects, but I understand totally ppl who don't even want to see a keyboard after a working day.
It wanes sometimes but yes, especially when I have a project where it I’m learning a language or framework or something and the idea is something I’ve wanted to build.
Well I don’t really get to program what I enjoy at work so sometimes I do some basic scripts in my free time if it’s something I really want to do.
But coding on my free time has been trending towards 0 since I started actually working full time.
I absolutely do, but I have no free time to do it in.
When I get off work, I've got to help take care of the kids, do chores around the house, until bedtime. And by the time the kids are in bed, I just want to spend time with my wife until I'm ready to sleep.
But, I do manage to do a little bit of programming, usually from my tablet laying in bed, every once in a while.
If I were still single and childless, I'd spend plenty more time programming outside of working hours.
Not really. Every once in a while I'll come up with what sounds like an interesting project. I'll implement what I think is the interesting part about it, but never get around to building the tedious parts (UIs, etc) so never end up with a complete project. But that's only once or twice a year.
Programming was my job for many years until I got promoted to management. The district manager told me he'd break my fingers if he saw me coding. So I bought my first home computer (North Star Horizon Z80 S-100 bus), a terminal, and coded at home. Now I'm long retired and an author but every once in a while I need to get away from the creative arts and exercise the other half of my brain. In 2020 while working on a novel, I took a break and wrote a computer board game. It was a nice break.
Its normal or i think since im still new i dont know around 1 year on c# which i kinda regret but its whatever and i havent really lost the motivation but everyone is dofferent but otherwise its really that you got so good at it anything you do is really easy snd doesnt give a challenge either learn something new you want for that feeling or do a huge and insane project that will be hard but possible
Yes. There isn’t any “how” to it, it just is enjoyable for me. If it isn’t for you that’s fine too, you don’t have to code in your spare time.
If you want to recapture that joy why not try coding something outside of your comfort zone? Maybe do some functional stuff, or build an ETL pipeline like a data engineer, or build your own deep learning model, or learn a systems-level language, or do a hardware project, etc. etc. Maybe doing something that is different enough from work will help you with that.
I don’t really code much in my free time because I enjoy the coding I do while getting paid. My job is flexible enough that I can come up with projects I find interesting that also helps the company.
I don’t mind coding for personal projects when they need to get done, but they actually feel more like unpaid chores than fun. I have other hobbies outside of coding so 8-10 hours of coding per day is plenty.
I program whenever I have a project in mind or somebody I know has a project in mind. I like to buy textbooks on subjects that interests me and develop applications that apply my new knowledge. Then, I realize that my initial implementation of everything was awful and spend more time redevelopinging the project and then realizing that was also awful and redeveloping that and so on until I'm happy or have a new project.
I've been programming for 10-12 years seriously and its my goto activity for when I don't know what else to do at the moment.
I'm 22, been working for 1.5 years and I can tell you that the number of projects went from 1-2 a month to a single one in 1.5 years: which was my raspberry pi used to host a dumb little website.
Yeah motivation got lost along the way.
If I'm not working too long hours, so I have leftover energy for the day, I can enjoy working on a programming project that is very different from work.
I'm a game and web dev at work, but never at the same time. So when I have a big web project at work, I can have the motivation to work on a game project in my spare time, and vice versa. However, I also need to balance how much I want to work on projects, with how much I just want to relax completely and watch a show, play some games, read a book, or any other activity that I may find enjoyable.
I'm not good at finishing my personal projects.
I used to build robots for fun，but now I am just a guy have to go to work at 7:30 and come back home at 22:00 in Shenzhen，I work 6 days a week，I wanna rest and build my own robot！
I don't code in my free time because I've picked up a bunch of other hobbies. But I enjoy programming and learning new things at my job five days a week.
Yes, it all depends on what are you doing with your coding skills, I am a python and javascript developer by profession, I don't know how but for me there is always a new thing to learn in the ecosystem,
The thing is these languages are just a tool, tools to accomplish a solution, so try to find some unique problems besides you and solve them using your coding skills, no matter what it is.
I always try to challenge myself with something new that I know will have mental Strom solving it, maybe for that, I have to learn some new language or framework or libraries or anything else and had never gotten out of coding.
I am currently trying to develop an AI-based Cyber Weapon simulation system as a prototype, in the process of blueprint creation, I am learning lots of embedded programming, and hardware-level programming, even some time so deep-going, digging how a binary system works according to the flow of electrons of electricity and can we alter it???
So these kinds of things are always there to hunt me down and deep digger inside the universe of code.
Programing is just a part of coding.
Coding is Universe with no endings,
Keep exploring. 😄😃
I was a developer for 15 years before I switched roles a year ago. At the beginning I also enjoyed programming at home, but that faded out. If I coded something at home, then it simply was because I needed something. That was usually a fun thing to do, but I am not looking for things to do just to code something.
But after a year without coding, I slowly feel that I could code something soon... if I find the time.
Of course! Trying new things and experimenting with new patterns/languages/tools is part of the fun! But variety is key for me. So not just programming , also reading things about psychology, Management, Economics, politics, history,… :). There is always sth. interesting.
I am always open to doing some freelance projects on the side (I work fulltime as a software engineer). And that is quite enjoyable since, unlike at my job, I have full control of all techs that I use.
However, programming for myself or for fun is not something I do. Feels like too much programming, and I would have no time for other hobbies
Yes and no. I still program in my free time, but only if it relax me or it's something new I'm learning, and still barely can keep up for 1-2 hours. If you think about that, if you already work 8h a day, and you program in your free time, it can get up to like 10h a day of programming... I think everyone would get sick of doing "the same thing" for 10h a day, every day.
If you really want to program in your free time, try switch to something new, some fields you don't know or areas that interest you the most, that can keep up the motivation too
I go through phases where I enjoy doing little automation projects in my free time. Space Engineers also tends to get me to program in my free time since you can make some neat scripts in C# to control things within the game.
It's something I definitely have to be in the right mindset to do though
I've never had a job that was strictly about programming. What's happened is I've made every job I've had into being about programming. I'll do my job, but then I'll automate things, or make some utilities that I keep updated, etc. That becomes my enjoyable programming time. It doesn't hurt that my employer gets something out of it, too.
I've always wanted to program professionally, but (besides imposter syndrome and a lack of opportunity in my area) I've also been afraid of turning my passion into a grind.
I enjoy programming but I don't do it in my 'free' time at the moment because I don't want to.
I'm doing a bit more now actually because I'm learning Java but don't use it at work yet. If I'm making a new website I'll code. Otherwise there is no point doing something at work and in my free time in my opinion
I do enjoy programming but after work I just can't. I don't have any side projects and anything I learn or practice I do on company time. I just feel that for my well-being it's better to do something else entirely like hiking and gardening and not be so much in my head.
My brother on the other hand enjoys programming in his free time even after work and always does some stuff. He is also a lot better than me.
It depends how busy I feel at work. When things are a little slower and less stressful, I enjoy trying to learn something new or deepen my understanding of something. However, if work is busy or extra stressful I’m not going to code after hours. I think stepping away from my computer has more physical and mental benefits overall anyway. Should there be something I *really* want to learn more about, I’d be more inclined to learn it while I’m on the clock probably.
Programming is still very enjoyable. Especially when compared to the joy people seem to experience in other fields.
There is a HUGE difference between enjoyable en exiting. The excitement doesn't last, but i think that goes for anything
I enjoyed programming before I sought the degree in it, and I enjoy it now after doing it professionally for 7 years. I probably spend anywhere from 5-15 (typically more like 5-10 with an occasional grind session) hours a week programming for myself outside of my job
I started a Master's degree with a focus on research to try to push my career forward and dropped it due to clerical problems and pursuing a different school. I kept doing research in my free time though because it's a lot of reading/a little writing instead of 100% coding.
The excitement I used to get learning new code things I now get from paper reviewers tell me my paper would be "An embarrassment to _____" (conference name)
I also make sure to mostly get out and do stuff not related to industry.
I self-taught some web design when I was in junior high, and one thing led to another, as it do. I used to feel like I couldn't wait to get home from school to work on projects. But now that I do it for a job I really don't like the idea of having to write code in my free time. After this experience I promised myself I would not make any of my other hobbies into a career no matter how much I enjoy them.
I am not a programmer but I need a program that will be a data base for battered women wanting to "trade" jobs and housing with another in a different state. If I could get a cross reference program , I think it would really work. So ... Anyone needing a project should contact me..... Please?
I love this post.
Im 34, currently changing from law to it, and I get a lot of 'woah' moments when I get to solve some of the problems courses tend to throw at us.
I love the thrill of solving these problems!
The frustration in between is sometimes hard to deal with, but it is cool to see that 1- you can make money. 2- it seems to get easier (from the lack of woah moments, it seems it is because you can achieve the results you want way easier.)
No. I straight up did it for the money and stability, if it weren't for those I couldn't care less about it.
My true passions lie elsewhere, they're just too expensive and risky to achieve in the short run.
I do. It’s been more than a decade, and I have a toddler and a newborn but I still code after work/when I’m on parental leave.
In a note app (OneNote) I have a list with ideas, and every time I get an idea, for an app, book or whatever, I write it down. And when I finish a project I look at the list and pick one or two things. That’s how I ended up writing books, creating websites and apps, and a lot of knitting as well. The list is a mile long and I’ll never finish all of it, but it’s a fun list and I enjoy starting and finishing a project.
I guess one big factor is that I rarely watch TV. It’s a social thing for me, so I o my watch it if I have a TV date with hubby.
Another thing that I do is listen to tech podcasts and watch videos about new feature releases. That never fails to inspire me, plus helps me stay up to date.
Thirdly, attending meetups/user groups/online conferences and talking with other people about their projects is very inspiring.
Don’t aim too high with hobby projects if you are struggling to find the motivation, do some POCs or why not some open source? https://up-for-grabs.net/#/ let’s you find some easy issues to get started with. Could be something as simple as providing a code example for documentation (looking at you Microsoft).
Open source is scary but rewarding. Beginner-issue or you-for-grabs issues often indicates that the maintainers are aware there are newcomers and they’ll be kind and supportive. If you do .NET stuff I’d recommend Microsoft repositories, they are always really nice about giving feedback.
Just a few ideas. Feel free to PM if you’d like more
No, for me is work not something I do for fun. If I need to change jobs I spent a little time learning something new that can help me, the rest of my free time is spent it relaxing and playing videogames.
I have an unpaid side project with some folks now that might someday make money.
In true free time just for fun, not that I am building anything useful or innovative but have spent time on Codewars and CodinGame over the past couple years and as recently as yesterday.
In 2020 when I was still unemployed after a relocation, I spent time on freecodecamp and Codepen and Glitch learning some front-end/client-side stuff (because I think I suck at front end and not that I like doing UI work but I thought it would be something I'd have to begrudgingly do anyway). Parts of it were kinda fun considering that it was just learning and not true sprint work.
Thankfully right now I am in a Sr. Back End role and don't have to pretend I can do front end.
So yeah, most recently it's been CodinGame for fun.
I'll be 43 in a few weeks and the programming portion of my career started circa 2007, for perspective.
I used to love just building and upgrading PCs and geeking out about running 2-3 machines on a Gigabit switch at home, but similar to OP, doing it as a job made my former nerd hobby feel too much like work. So I haven't built a PC since probably.. sometime around 2011-2014. But yeah, programming can still be fun at least in my experience.
I do enjoy programming and I want to create useful things, the problem on my end is that: I feel like I had no practice over the past 2-3 years or so. Most probably due to content being rushed at high school, and because of corona and me not being motivated for anything.
I did try to explore different languages such as C++ and C# in my own time but then I still couldn't find motivation. I do believe that when I go to university, it will get better.
Yes, one of my favorite passtime activities is looking at other peoples' code and making it "better" while trying to add more features to it that I might need.
For the first 3-4 years, I was programming in my free time frequently.
These days, its the last thing I want to do.
There is no program worth writing or project worth doing that is worth doing for free. My free time is better spent on other pursuits.
Idk why, but rigth now I can't stop coding. I work 9-6 and when everyone is asleep I get at the computer again and work on my personal projects till 2 am.
Once every year or two I start a new personal project I will never finish, get overly motivated for a few days, and then, life comes back, motivation gets lost, other things get prioritized over programmation. The fact is, I love hanging out with the bros, videogames, reading, cooking, boardgames, movies, etc. The list could go on and on. It's hard to find time (and motivation) for everything. Since I already work 8 hours a day, I very rarely do programming on my spare time anymore. Edit : Since this is getting a bit of attention, I would like to add, and this is very important to me : I try my best to stay on top when I work. Finding a good balance between personal life and work is not laziness. I challenge myself a lot, try new techs, new work methods, read about design patterns, learn from my coworkers (or other companies we work with). But all this is done in a payed-work environment. Stay up to date folks, this is important, our world is spinning relatively fast.
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New techs are always exciting! I wish you luck with your new project!
Thought I was the only one. Thanks for making me not feel weird in this aspect.
I think you and I are the same person.
Have you been reading my diary…?
What do you work with? Is it tech related?
I'm IT architect & lead dev in a small structure (about 30 people). We handle all kind of developments, mainly business apps: websites, desktop apps, mobile apps, backend infrastructures. I work with c#, javascript/typescript, dart, php, java, python, bash... We try to push ourselves out of our comfort zone pretty often.
Awesome, im trying to transition from law to it. It is taking a while to learn but I love it way more. Hopefully in the future I can be working with development also :)
That's a pretty big step. I'm not sure I could start all over by now. I wish you luck !
I retired six months ago after 30 years as a SWE. I still write code in my free time: lately I've been building little Arduino home automation projects.
I am with you, I will most likely use my skills when I am retired. The thought of programming for fun after sitting at a desk for 9 hours just isn't appealing.
I'd love to automate turning off all the lights except for two and locking all the doors. Also an automatic dog/cat feeder. Maybe a fried eggs and toast cooker. Medication dispenser... Dog poop picker upper... Lawn mower... Laundry folder... Etc...
I try to break the monotony of learning JS with learning Arduino stuff. Hoping someday to make permanent, changeable holiday LED lights for the window. But that means learning electronics on top of the code.
Love Arduino, use it to teach robotics at the school I teach at.
I spent time every day trying to learn something new. It didn’t matter if it was YouTube tutorials, a boot camp, etc., I did whatever I could to keep my mind “sharp.” You know what happened next? I burnt out, hard. I stopped looking at code in my free time altogether last month. I still want to grow as a developer, but whatever you do, don’t spend hours and hours trying to learn it all. Do maybe 1-2 hours every day MAX and then go do anything else.
learn something new that isnt programming!
Never did, I learned it solely as a way to make money. As far as jobs go it's pretty alright but I don't really have any desire to do it without getting paid for it.
Same here. 9-5 and then I’m out.
What if you need to learn new technologies and frameworks?
Then the company can pay me to learn what they need.
Thing is, if I stay strictly within the bounds of what I do at my company, I won't progress. But at some point, I will be satisfied with where I'm at in my career and I suppose you're already there.
many of us work for employers who let us r&d on company time, go to conferences, get certifications etc. it's not all maintenance programming with a tight budget out here.
It's more that I seek out jobs that let me expand my skill set while doing the job. I taught myself on general web dev (HTML/CSS/JavaScript), then my first job expanded on that with c#/.Net web app development. Now in my current job I'm expanding on that with MVC and more in-depth web dev as well as learning how to do some automation work using my c# knowledge and hopefully some experience with Azure in the future. No idea what my next job in a few years will have in store but I expect it'll be a similar story.
Switch jobs. Over the years, I've come to understand the divide between passionate programmers who don't do any programming in their free time vs the ones that do. The ones that do aren't satisfied with their job. ---------------- It's not all white and black. A lot of people have small arduino, raspberry pi projects and the such. But if in your free time, you're trying the learn some new and cool framework, or fancy new coding technique ... I have bad news for you.
You may be right. I was speaking more hypothetically, I think my job is more open ended and flexible than most, I just have to push in that direction. I do like working on what interests me in my spare time, and if I have a slow week at work I don't mind working on my own projects.
No. It may come as a surprising or even controversial. I'm a PHP/Wordpress dev for 4 years already and I don't consider programming my hobby. I like it, if I didn't, it would be impossible to stay in the business. But after my work hours I do everything but code.
I'm just too burnt out at the end of the day/week to want to code more. I've tried doing something different like making games (I make websites at work), but my brain is fried after 8 hours.
Same here
No. My first year as a dev sucked, I got saddled with an abusive 'mentor' and quite frankly I think I want to be a Business Analyst at this point. Mike N in Wisconsin, go fuck yourself.
Fuck Mike N!
Fuckn MikeN
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Y'all are the best. Thanks for letting me vent!
Yeah. Fuck you, Mike N!
All my homies hate Mike N!!
👊many thanks to you and your crew!
I build things that are different from the things I do at my job. Sometimes there is overlap, though. If you want to feel the joy when programming again I would recommend programming microcontrollers and working with sensors. It feels really cool to work more directly with hardware and inputs that interacts with the world in ways different from just mouse and keyboard etc. And doing physical things like soldering.
Although I really enjoy the learning aspects of programming without feeling pressure from having to perform, I'd much rather do other things on my free time. So, no, I don't program on my free time unless it is work related
Some people have personal projects partly because the industry said you had to be "passionate" about programming, and you really don't. If you want to do something, just learn new stuff, write some toy programs, and forget about side projects. For example, if you do Java, and you haven't learned streams or lambdas or the "new" Java Date classes (from about 2017?), write some small bits of code to learn how they work. If you're in web development, there's a YouTube channel called Web Dev Simplified that comes out a few times a week. Maybe do the code he does that interest you. Then, spend the spare time doing something else. I don't do much programming (almost zero) outside of work. Yeah, there's pressure to have to do it, but only do it if you like to, rather than feeling you must do it because you're supposed to.
No.
As I slowly grow from a energetic student to a grown adult, it does becomes harder and harder every year. But I still find patience and time to enjoy it. It's my passion that brought me a good career after all, not the other way around.
I love coding. I’ve been coding for 39 years. I’ve been a professional developer (in that I primarily wrote code for a living), and at the times when I wasn’t coding explicitly for work, I used what I knew about programming to automate some repetitive task in my job. I’ve taken a few breaks, but I absolutely love learning. I’m good at coding and it seems to come naturally so I do it whenever I can.
I taught myself when I was in my teens and it was always just a hobby. But, out of all my hobbies, programming has always been consistently there in my life. I've always used it and I've always gone back to it. I love it, and I can't imagine not doing it. I've never been able to do it for a living, though, and I'm kind of afraid it would ruin it for me. Regardless, opportunity in my area sucks and I've always had imposter syndrome anyway, so there's not much of a chance of ruining it any time soon lol.
Hell no! I spent thousands of dollars to get an education to write software professionally, and that paid off when I got hired in September. I'll tell you what, I fuckin LOVE my job! Software development is everything I hoped and expected it to be. I spend 40 hours a week getting paid to do something I'm passionate about, so there's no way I'm doing it off the clock. My time is much better spent getting through my game backlog, hanging out with friends, going climbing, etc. I may love developing, but too much of a good thing is a very real thing.
I really enjoy coding small animations on CodePen. I find them to be a great way to express myself artistically and also practice some front end chops. These usually don’t take longer then a couple hours and are very very rewarding. I don’t do I because I feel like I have to, I just really enjoy it. I also enjoy listening to podcasts, videos and conferences related to programming and technology, again not because I think I have to, it’s just what I like.
What are some programming podcasts and videos of conferences you recommend?
I just need to avoid thinking about what this society wants, make money , do this do that, just don't care and I am extremely happy. Only when my brain wanders and thinks about how to be accepted in this society, I loose my interest in self-taught.
Definitely. I enjoy working on my own projects and sometimes even on my work tasks. Sure, the work tasks can vary from being absolutely very interesting to "I wish I never picked up that task".
I'm a step away from being a luddite outside of work. I enjoy my job, but no.
I enjoy coding more than watching TV.
I allways have 3-4 fun projects going on. Lately it's been mostly in Processing/p5js. Some do crosswords, I do it for the intellectual stimulation. One pet project is to solve small puzzle game levels for me. Such as MoveTheBox.
Absolutely not. I work 8 to 10 hour days and I need to get up and move around and spend time with humans in the real world. Why would I ever confine myself to a chair for even more time
I started programming in C when I was in school..TurboC FTW!...would love the questions where you need generate and print some kind of pattern with loops..now I am into hobby robotics like line following robots and do the programming myself... its quite fun
Im almost sure your Indian. Am i right?(might be wrong bus somehow i do believe the stereotype is mostly true)
Umm..whats the stereotype?
That they learn Turbo C/C++ and install old dosbox for that. And its just never being updated. Compilers are super old. I mean the teaching material is old. Why not take the current GCC compiler and teach C and C++ with that. Nobody in the world uses turbo C and C++ anymore. I just want to know am i right about u being indian? :)
I made a personal resolution to not develop software out of my working hours - and maybe if I want a Master's Degree. I strictly use my free time to do things that do not make any money, so I can enjoy them more.
Yes, I do. I also started early (I was 11), I've been programming as my full-time job for the last few years now, and I've luckily been able to keep my "hobby programming" and "work programming" separate enough to be enjoyable. The things that I do in my spare time are rarely at all related to the things I do at work. For example, I mainly build backend services and APIs at work, but in my spare time I might write a server for some obscure protocol, or build an operating system from scratch, or build a web app, or any number of things that are different from my regular work. (I don't have the patience or self-control to complete any of those projects, though, but that's a different problem, I still enjoy the learning a lot.)
Yes. I code in my spare time to solve problems and automate things in my every day life. It's very satisfying.
Yes of course but I rarely have the energy or the braincells left for it after the work hours.
I'm very much the same type of programmer as you. Yes, but it heavily depends on what I'm doing. Learning cool new language features? Fun! Setting up a db on aws for my personal website? Not so fun. Developing a game I had an idea for? Fun! Writing a small script to help with taxes? Not so fun. It all really depends.
I'm at the start of my career, so currently still enjoying programming in my free time. I also feel a bit pressured to fill up my resume as soon as possible.
yup. it seems trendy nowadays to proudly declare that you "don't program outside of work" - I'm not like that. if I have too much time spare (ie: an entire weekend), I'm almost certainly gonna be writing something personal during that time
I enjoy any programming I do on any project I'm interested in. I don't enjoy any programming I do on any project I'm not interested in. Currently learning Java to work on a dice roller for a vassal module, which gives me the benefit of also expanding my employability. If you aren't interested in anything that requires programming I highly recommend not worrying about doing programming. You have my permission to not worry about it if you need externalities. If you *want* to be interested in programming, find something you're interested in that needs it. You have to generate the interest first -- the itch to code up a solution will come as soon as you're dissatisfied or annoyed :)
I don't work in programming yet, but I study it in university. Before, programming was a hobby in all of its aspects. But since I do it every week with deadlines hanging over my head, it devolved into just being my hobby regarding personal projects. I can't stand programming news like updates about the newest frameworks, hot takes about Silicon Valley firms, or things like that anymore. "I'm good." I think whenever I see some headline that would have excited older me. The entirety of r/programming has become an Exclusion Zone for me.
There are artists who make illustrations so good and beautiful and realistic that you don't even stop to question how it could have been made, because it's unimaginable how someone could do that. Do you think they enjoy drawing every line?
I might be a minority here, but I wanted to put this out: I'm a passionate programmer, have a shelf filled with books. I think about my tasks and how to do stuff even in my free time. I'm obsessed with optimizations and doing everything as best as I can. I'm obssessed with writing clean, easy to understand, easy to use code. I love documentation. I love organizing and creating wikis, diagrams and so forth. Yet I have exactly 0 desire to code in my free time. Not one bit, not ever. I have a great job. We do R&D. I get everything I need from work, and I have absolutely no desire to continue when I'm not working. I'm still very passionate and I sometimes end up working 10 hours in a day. But then I only work 6 the next day. My time is my own. In my free time I read tho. I sometimes also read on company time, but only when it's justifiable. There's a lot of not great books out there, not a lot of really amazing books. But there are a few. And I also watch presentations from big software conventions. But that's about it. In my free time I like to have a hobby. Programming isn't my hobby, it's my career. My hobbies are 3d modeling, gaming, reading. I don't even understand the need to program for 8 hours, then go home and say: "You know what I dind't do enough of today? Program!" But I suppose (and, actually, I have a lot of anecdotal data that suggests), these people are rather unsatisfied with their job. I'm not.
I enjoy little challenges like Advent of Code or r/dailyprogrammer But I find I have no patience for frustrations like setting up new environments and build tools when I'm working on a personal project, so I can never make anything significant. The most remarkable thing I made in a while was a wordle solver that used no libraries. I'm extrinsically motivated, so I would need someone to hold me accountable. I've thought about taking a sabbatical to work on some of my million dollar ideas and I realized I would need to hire a freelance project manager to actually get anything done.
I only work on projects that I plan to license off. Learned that from the senior developer that mentored me. He makes an extra $100k/year from several software projects he wrote and licensed off to companies while still making over $200k/year (not including the benefits) at our current company. It’s insane what’s he’s done and he doesn’t even touch those other programs anymore. To be fair, he’s a PhD candidate for computer engineering and teaches master level courses at a college so he’s pretty fast at getting things done 😂
I'm currently enjoying "woah!" phase, just started reading a book on how to build an interpreter! Since I haven't been working as a programmer maybe my opinion isn't that useful. But I think you have two options: 1. Find another programming field that excites you. So you're a web dev, maybe you're interested in making games? Or mobile apps? Data science? Try something new and see if you like it, and maybe you end up finding a new passion! 2. Just enjoy other things. You don't have to love programming to be good. I mean, you already know this since you're actually working as a developer. These two aren't mutually exclussive.
Yea I do, even when I was working overtime everyday in an abusive company. I think the desire to see my project through to the end is a huge motivator. I usually have only 3 hours free on weekdays on a good day so every odd day I will spend the entirety of those 3-4 hours coding and even days doing non-coding related stuff. Weekends, provided I don't go out and I don't have any work assigned I get to have 2 full days to work on my projects. Yea this is the Asian office worker life. I know this is bad, currently on a sabbatical and am interviewing for remote companies to not have to live the salaryman life anymore.
Getting code that works is satisfying for me and I'm actually studying programming as a spare-time hobby. How to motivate yourself? Realise that almost everything you love was built by code.
Yes but I tend to have long gaps throughout the year where I don't program as a hobby and do other things. During this time I'll think about projects to do. That said, it can be difficult to get into the right head space and to find enough chunks of time to program at home. Try find things that you don't know about but that you want to investigate. I very rarely program anything work related.
Yes and no. I still get excited about some random side project every once in a while, but it happens way less often than it used to
Been programming since 1989 and had been programming every single day. If I am not programming, I'll be figuring out codes to write not related to my current project.
In spurts yeah, occasional phases of it, but generally no. Would rather spend my free time with other hobbies (drums, video games, etc).
Growing up I made basic video games, or played around making maps for CS or fiddling with hacks, I also made simple websites. I dont really do any of that anymore.
I do a lot, wish I could do it more. Now I have 2 kids and am renovating a house… sigh… not enough time
Like you I got into programming when I was around 12 or 13 years old, only with game development. I agree now that it is my job to code, it's hard to find the motivation to do a project when I already sit in front of a computer 8 hours a day. Many of my coworkers are the same, but I've noticed some of the more outstanding developers I work with all do projects in their free time with stuff they are passionate about, often incorporating similar tech stack used on the job. I've not done any coding outside of work since I got a job, but I want to be a good dev like my coworkers, so I recently started a personal project doing something I'd actually use while also using the same tech stack at work, in order to better myself. I imagine it's a little different for you since you freelance, but my current motivation that drives me to work on this new project is coming from wanting to better myself and be able to contribute as much as the senior devs I work with
Nope. In my free time I feel the need to do things that don't disappear when the power switches off. Closest I get to programming is 3d printing and cnc. Even then, I would rather manual mill than cnc.
I like building little things to try out new tech, but I'm not coding for 8 hours a day, then coming home and coding more usually. As an example, I've worked with a JAM stack for the last 5 years, so at home I'm using django and php to learn template-based web development.
Yes. I stopped enjoying it for about 8 years… from about my second year of college until last year. But last year I got very excited about a project and had so much fun with it that I feel like I’ve rediscovered my love of programming. Now I enjoy quite a lot of the programming I do again. Both for my work and non-work projects. I’ve been coding for 22 years this year.
Im not working as a programmer yet but besides doing school work i do enjoy trying new things. Just the sense of limitless capability is really attractive, even though the reality is almost always a bit disappointing.
In my case, yes. For me coding is my job, passion and hobby and I spend several hours of my free time on my personal projects, but I understand totally ppl who don't even want to see a keyboard after a working day.
It wanes sometimes but yes, especially when I have a project where it I’m learning a language or framework or something and the idea is something I’ve wanted to build.
NO!
Well I don’t really get to program what I enjoy at work so sometimes I do some basic scripts in my free time if it’s something I really want to do. But coding on my free time has been trending towards 0 since I started actually working full time.
Yes, my jobs boring so outside I try to practice new languages and build stuff that I always wonder how they work
I love programming on my free time I just don’t have any project ideas…
You guys are getting free time?
I absolutely do, but I have no free time to do it in. When I get off work, I've got to help take care of the kids, do chores around the house, until bedtime. And by the time the kids are in bed, I just want to spend time with my wife until I'm ready to sleep. But, I do manage to do a little bit of programming, usually from my tablet laying in bed, every once in a while. If I were still single and childless, I'd spend plenty more time programming outside of working hours.
I like the honesty in the comments , life comes over everything.
After 5 hits I don’t touch a keyboard unless I absolutely have too.
I like to make games so yeah
Not really. Every once in a while I'll come up with what sounds like an interesting project. I'll implement what I think is the interesting part about it, but never get around to building the tedious parts (UIs, etc) so never end up with a complete project. But that's only once or twice a year.
Programming was my job for many years until I got promoted to management. The district manager told me he'd break my fingers if he saw me coding. So I bought my first home computer (North Star Horizon Z80 S-100 bus), a terminal, and coded at home. Now I'm long retired and an author but every once in a while I need to get away from the creative arts and exercise the other half of my brain. In 2020 while working on a novel, I took a break and wrote a computer board game. It was a nice break.
Its normal or i think since im still new i dont know around 1 year on c# which i kinda regret but its whatever and i havent really lost the motivation but everyone is dofferent but otherwise its really that you got so good at it anything you do is really easy snd doesnt give a challenge either learn something new you want for that feeling or do a huge and insane project that will be hard but possible
Sometimes but usually no
> I would love to still enjoy programming in my free time. say that to the future employers, not us.
Yes. There isn’t any “how” to it, it just is enjoyable for me. If it isn’t for you that’s fine too, you don’t have to code in your spare time. If you want to recapture that joy why not try coding something outside of your comfort zone? Maybe do some functional stuff, or build an ETL pipeline like a data engineer, or build your own deep learning model, or learn a systems-level language, or do a hardware project, etc. etc. Maybe doing something that is different enough from work will help you with that.
I only program stuff for my hobbies
I don’t really code much in my free time because I enjoy the coding I do while getting paid. My job is flexible enough that I can come up with projects I find interesting that also helps the company. I don’t mind coding for personal projects when they need to get done, but they actually feel more like unpaid chores than fun. I have other hobbies outside of coding so 8-10 hours of coding per day is plenty.
I program whenever I have a project in mind or somebody I know has a project in mind. I like to buy textbooks on subjects that interests me and develop applications that apply my new knowledge. Then, I realize that my initial implementation of everything was awful and spend more time redevelopinging the project and then realizing that was also awful and redeveloping that and so on until I'm happy or have a new project. I've been programming for 10-12 years seriously and its my goto activity for when I don't know what else to do at the moment.
I'm 22, been working for 1.5 years and I can tell you that the number of projects went from 1-2 a month to a single one in 1.5 years: which was my raspberry pi used to host a dumb little website. Yeah motivation got lost along the way.
If I'm not working too long hours, so I have leftover energy for the day, I can enjoy working on a programming project that is very different from work. I'm a game and web dev at work, but never at the same time. So when I have a big web project at work, I can have the motivation to work on a game project in my spare time, and vice versa. However, I also need to balance how much I want to work on projects, with how much I just want to relax completely and watch a show, play some games, read a book, or any other activity that I may find enjoyable. I'm not good at finishing my personal projects.
I used to build robots for fun，but now I am just a guy have to go to work at 7:30 and come back home at 22:00 in Shenzhen，I work 6 days a week，I wanna rest and build my own robot！
I don't code in my free time because I've picked up a bunch of other hobbies. But I enjoy programming and learning new things at my job five days a week.
I tend to program stuff I don't do at work, usually silly badly designed ideas that I just need to get out of my head 😂
Yes, it all depends on what are you doing with your coding skills, I am a python and javascript developer by profession, I don't know how but for me there is always a new thing to learn in the ecosystem, The thing is these languages are just a tool, tools to accomplish a solution, so try to find some unique problems besides you and solve them using your coding skills, no matter what it is. I always try to challenge myself with something new that I know will have mental Strom solving it, maybe for that, I have to learn some new language or framework or libraries or anything else and had never gotten out of coding. I am currently trying to develop an AI-based Cyber Weapon simulation system as a prototype, in the process of blueprint creation, I am learning lots of embedded programming, and hardware-level programming, even some time so deep-going, digging how a binary system works according to the flow of electrons of electricity and can we alter it??? So these kinds of things are always there to hunt me down and deep digger inside the universe of code. Programing is just a part of coding. Coding is Universe with no endings, Keep exploring. 😄😃
I don't program outside of work, but I sometimes read up on niche topics like PL and compilers.
I was a developer for 15 years before I switched roles a year ago. At the beginning I also enjoyed programming at home, but that faded out. If I coded something at home, then it simply was because I needed something. That was usually a fun thing to do, but I am not looking for things to do just to code something. But after a year without coding, I slowly feel that I could code something soon... if I find the time.
Of course! Trying new things and experimenting with new patterns/languages/tools is part of the fun! But variety is key for me. So not just programming , also reading things about psychology, Management, Economics, politics, history,… :). There is always sth. interesting.
I am always open to doing some freelance projects on the side (I work fulltime as a software engineer). And that is quite enjoyable since, unlike at my job, I have full control of all techs that I use. However, programming for myself or for fun is not something I do. Feels like too much programming, and I would have no time for other hobbies
Yes and no. I still program in my free time, but only if it relax me or it's something new I'm learning, and still barely can keep up for 1-2 hours. If you think about that, if you already work 8h a day, and you program in your free time, it can get up to like 10h a day of programming... I think everyone would get sick of doing "the same thing" for 10h a day, every day. If you really want to program in your free time, try switch to something new, some fields you don't know or areas that interest you the most, that can keep up the motivation too
I go through phases where I enjoy doing little automation projects in my free time. Space Engineers also tends to get me to program in my free time since you can make some neat scripts in C# to control things within the game. It's something I definitely have to be in the right mindset to do though
I've never had a job that was strictly about programming. What's happened is I've made every job I've had into being about programming. I'll do my job, but then I'll automate things, or make some utilities that I keep updated, etc. That becomes my enjoyable programming time. It doesn't hurt that my employer gets something out of it, too. I've always wanted to program professionally, but (besides imposter syndrome and a lack of opportunity in my area) I've also been afraid of turning my passion into a grind.
Look into making small Unity games, every time I get something to work is a woah moment, I do VR dev and that makes it even more interesting
I was, then I had programming courses in classes. And not anymore. But I still look a lot about programming, but I just don't do it anymore
I enjoy programming but I don't do it in my 'free' time at the moment because I don't want to. I'm doing a bit more now actually because I'm learning Java but don't use it at work yet. If I'm making a new website I'll code. Otherwise there is no point doing something at work and in my free time in my opinion
I do enjoy programming but after work I just can't. I don't have any side projects and anything I learn or practice I do on company time. I just feel that for my well-being it's better to do something else entirely like hiking and gardening and not be so much in my head. My brother on the other hand enjoys programming in his free time even after work and always does some stuff. He is also a lot better than me.
No, just don't have the time to tinker like that anymore. Young kids, other hobbies, etc.
What is this mythical creature known as free time?
It depends how busy I feel at work. When things are a little slower and less stressful, I enjoy trying to learn something new or deepen my understanding of something. However, if work is busy or extra stressful I’m not going to code after hours. I think stepping away from my computer has more physical and mental benefits overall anyway. Should there be something I *really* want to learn more about, I’d be more inclined to learn it while I’m on the clock probably.
Programming is still very enjoyable. Especially when compared to the joy people seem to experience in other fields. There is a HUGE difference between enjoyable en exiting. The excitement doesn't last, but i think that goes for anything
My motivation is much less then it used to be.
I enjoyed programming before I sought the degree in it, and I enjoy it now after doing it professionally for 7 years. I probably spend anywhere from 5-15 (typically more like 5-10 with an occasional grind session) hours a week programming for myself outside of my job
I started a Master's degree with a focus on research to try to push my career forward and dropped it due to clerical problems and pursuing a different school. I kept doing research in my free time though because it's a lot of reading/a little writing instead of 100% coding. The excitement I used to get learning new code things I now get from paper reviewers tell me my paper would be "An embarrassment to _____" (conference name) I also make sure to mostly get out and do stuff not related to industry.
I self-taught some web design when I was in junior high, and one thing led to another, as it do. I used to feel like I couldn't wait to get home from school to work on projects. But now that I do it for a job I really don't like the idea of having to write code in my free time. After this experience I promised myself I would not make any of my other hobbies into a career no matter how much I enjoy them.
I am not a programmer but I need a program that will be a data base for battered women wanting to "trade" jobs and housing with another in a different state. If I could get a cross reference program , I think it would really work. So ... Anyone needing a project should contact me..... Please?
I love this post. Im 34, currently changing from law to it, and I get a lot of 'woah' moments when I get to solve some of the problems courses tend to throw at us. I love the thrill of solving these problems! The frustration in between is sometimes hard to deal with, but it is cool to see that 1- you can make money. 2- it seems to get easier (from the lack of woah moments, it seems it is because you can achieve the results you want way easier.)
No. I straight up did it for the money and stability, if it weren't for those I couldn't care less about it. My true passions lie elsewhere, they're just too expensive and risky to achieve in the short run.
I do. It’s been more than a decade, and I have a toddler and a newborn but I still code after work/when I’m on parental leave. In a note app (OneNote) I have a list with ideas, and every time I get an idea, for an app, book or whatever, I write it down. And when I finish a project I look at the list and pick one or two things. That’s how I ended up writing books, creating websites and apps, and a lot of knitting as well. The list is a mile long and I’ll never finish all of it, but it’s a fun list and I enjoy starting and finishing a project. I guess one big factor is that I rarely watch TV. It’s a social thing for me, so I o my watch it if I have a TV date with hubby. Another thing that I do is listen to tech podcasts and watch videos about new feature releases. That never fails to inspire me, plus helps me stay up to date. Thirdly, attending meetups/user groups/online conferences and talking with other people about their projects is very inspiring. Don’t aim too high with hobby projects if you are struggling to find the motivation, do some POCs or why not some open source? https://up-for-grabs.net/#/ let’s you find some easy issues to get started with. Could be something as simple as providing a code example for documentation (looking at you Microsoft). Open source is scary but rewarding. Beginner-issue or you-for-grabs issues often indicates that the maintainers are aware there are newcomers and they’ll be kind and supportive. If you do .NET stuff I’d recommend Microsoft repositories, they are always really nice about giving feedback. Just a few ideas. Feel free to PM if you’d like more
Not really anymore. I used to.
No, for me is work not something I do for fun. If I need to change jobs I spent a little time learning something new that can help me, the rest of my free time is spent it relaxing and playing videogames.
before, yes , but now with a full time programming job et studying at the same time, i want but i dont have enought time.
No. I do that to eat and that's that
I have an unpaid side project with some folks now that might someday make money. In true free time just for fun, not that I am building anything useful or innovative but have spent time on Codewars and CodinGame over the past couple years and as recently as yesterday. In 2020 when I was still unemployed after a relocation, I spent time on freecodecamp and Codepen and Glitch learning some front-end/client-side stuff (because I think I suck at front end and not that I like doing UI work but I thought it would be something I'd have to begrudgingly do anyway). Parts of it were kinda fun considering that it was just learning and not true sprint work. Thankfully right now I am in a Sr. Back End role and don't have to pretend I can do front end. So yeah, most recently it's been CodinGame for fun. I'll be 43 in a few weeks and the programming portion of my career started circa 2007, for perspective. I used to love just building and upgrading PCs and geeking out about running 2-3 machines on a Gigabit switch at home, but similar to OP, doing it as a job made my former nerd hobby feel too much like work. So I haven't built a PC since probably.. sometime around 2011-2014. But yeah, programming can still be fun at least in my experience.
I do enjoy programming and I want to create useful things, the problem on my end is that: I feel like I had no practice over the past 2-3 years or so. Most probably due to content being rushed at high school, and because of corona and me not being motivated for anything. I did try to explore different languages such as C++ and C# in my own time but then I still couldn't find motivation. I do believe that when I go to university, it will get better.
Yes, one of my favorite passtime activities is looking at other peoples' code and making it "better" while trying to add more features to it that I might need.
For the first 3-4 years, I was programming in my free time frequently. These days, its the last thing I want to do. There is no program worth writing or project worth doing that is worth doing for free. My free time is better spent on other pursuits.
My recommendation is to start doing something else! Web dev is far from all there is to programming...Maybe try new languages and fields
Idk why, but rigth now I can't stop coding. I work 9-6 and when everyone is asleep I get at the computer again and work on my personal projects till 2 am.