Staying Motivated and Focused while Coding

One of the most common questions among programmers is how to keep motivated and focused while coding. It is an epidemic in an industry where everyone is trying to build something for themselves or the company they are working for. Losing focus, or watching cat videos, when you should be solving the problem that you have been stuck on for weeks, can be a huge obstacle. But you are not alone. Just like you, there are many coders who struggle to stay focused and motivated on both their personal and professional projects.

In this article, we will discuss some tips and strategies to help you stay focused and motivated while coding. Before we start, we should always remember that it takes 15-20 minutes to get back to the proper level of concentration after a distraction happens. So, if you work in a place prone to distractions, either relocate or make it clear to others that you don’t want to be disturbed.

Let’s get started.

Tips to stay motivated and focused while coding

Join a Guild

Just like many other trades, coding requires group work. If you are a lone wolf and want to get work done all by yourself, chances are you will lose motivation on the project you are working on.

The best way to deal with the loss of motivation and focus is to join a guild, a community that can help you deal with these issues.

Livecoding.tv is a perfect platform to connect with like-minded people. On the platform, you can broadcast your project and get followers. Some of these followers might take an interest in your project and want to chip in with their valuable thoughts.

Focus on what you love

Computer science is an extensive field. With so many sub-fields such as web design, system programming, game programming, etc., programmers can get confused on which sub-trade to focus on. Most of the time, a wrong choice can kick off a downward spiral in your output. For example, if you don’t love system programming but are still focusing on it, the chances are that you will quickly get demotivated and lose focus.

To counter it, you need to find what you love. Try out web development. If you love what you are doing, continue. If you don’t, then try out something else.

Find the best project to work on

Good job! You have found what you love. Now, you need to build stuff. The same rule of thumb applies to other projects as well. You need to find work that really interests you. So, choose a project that will let you push it to the end without losing motivation.

Also, it doesn’t matter if you are building something that might not be a huge financial success. Want to create an app that shows crazy cat videos? Do it! And, follow with it until the end. Add something unique to it and let users have fun with it. Will it reach a million downloads? Who knows? Throw what you have and hope for the best.

Broadcast

You have chosen your field and a project you love. Can nothing go wrong? After all, it is based on what you love to do. However, motivation depends on many other factors. For example, not getting user feedback can halt you in your path. Also, working on personal projects can be a tough task as boredom starts to set in quickly.

The best way to counter this is to reach out to people. Show others what you are working on, and you will soon start getting some good feedback. In return, you can create a following and market your app even before release. You can broadcast on Facebook for casual interaction or go to Livecoding.tv for a better overall broadcasting experience!

Incremental and structured learning

As a coder, there is no end to learning. It doesn’t matter how many years of experience you have, you need to learn every day. The biggest issue here is structured learning. Many coders seem to learn a lot, but in a non-structured manner, yielding them almost nothing in the long-term. When you find yourself investing so much time without actual growth, the chances are good that you will lose focus and motivation.

To counter it, learn incrementally and with structure. Don’t just jump between frameworks and programming languages. A structured learning process will always motivate you to do better with your projects.

Keep a healthy lifestyle

It doesn’t matter how much you love coding, if you don’t have a good lifestyle, you will suffer in terms health and being productive. Keeping a healthy lifestyle can give you a clear edge and help you make progress in both your work and personal life.

Conclusion

So, here are some tips to keep yourself motivated and focused while coding. We hope you liked it. However, while the above tips work they can work differently for different people. How do you keep yourself motivated and focused?