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Sherry Day
Sherry Day

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How do you overcome low motivation?

Top comments (20)

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cescquintero profile image
Francisco Quintero πŸ‡¨πŸ‡΄

Find a hobby that distracts you from the thing that doesn't motivate you.

In my case, I've been dealing with spikes of low motivation at work. What I was advised to do was things that make me feel fulfilled: writing a diary, drawing, reading, going for a walk, even social work or volunteering.

When I'm feeling motivation is going really low, I grab a pen, my diary and start writing whatever comes to mind. It's liberating, relaxing, and I don't feel bad because I didn't waste any time. It was time invested on myself.

This is a programming community so I suppose you code. It's ok to not have side projects or to work fewer hours a day. It's not sustainable to be coding 40 hours a week.

Hope this helps you and remember you can do it!

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nombrekeff profile image
Keff

If it's puntual:
What usually works for me is, to step away a bit from whatever I'm unmotivated of. If it's work you're unmotivated with, it can be hard. But if you can, step away for a little bit, take a walk, go to the beach, exercise, learn something new, and treat yourself to pizza and a film or whatever your pleasures might be.

If it's recurring:
Maybe consider a change, you might want to move on to something new which motivates you more. And if the issue still persists, it might be a syptom of some kind of health issue (I'm no health profesional so don't take my word on this).

Prioritize your health over anything else, thatps what's important in the end!

I hope you re-gain motivation! And remember you're not alone!

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moose_said profile image
Mostafa Said

Just enjoy your life. If you put all your thinking into only working or achieving something, you might just end up feeling burnt out. You need to find a way every day to enjoy your life and count your blessings.

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bobbyiliev profile image
Bobby Iliev

My brother wrote a post for that recently:

5 Tips On How To Stay Motivated And Productive As A Developer

TL;DR

  • Stay off your phone
  • Set mini-goals for you to complete
  • Get enough sleep
  • Surround yourself with tech-related stuff
  • Look back at the things you have accomplished
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sametuca profile image
Samet UCA

Look back at the things you have accomplished πŸ‘

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warwait profile image
Parker Waiters

You're probably further along on some of your goals than you realize if you are struggling with new ones.

There are probably more positives than you realize if you look back on them and pay a lot of attention!

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luccabiagi profile image
Lucca Biagi de Paula Prado

I have a few ways to do it:
Remember that I need to work now to make possible to don't work in the future;
Try to learn new non-tech things (Like Ocarina, Kalimba, Melodica or things that involve actively doing something);
Remember that good days only exist bcz we have some bad days to compare;
If it is because the lacking of feeling accomplishment, I try to split in smaller goals.

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spaboi profile image
SPABOI

Listen to music bro. Really helps me to relax and focus on upcoming tasks or drink something I like or go outside. Either way do what you love and never worry. Try to have a positive mindset all the time. :)

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maddy profile image
Maddy

I understand how you feel, and I certainly felt like that in the past, and I still feel like that way sometimes.

This week has been a tough one for me.

How you can overcome is by having hobbies outside of your job.

These hobbies don't have to be code-related.

Do what you like.

Exercise, cook, go for walks, play an instrument, play a sport, dance, sing, travel. ANYTHING.

Software engineering is a high status role, and we often forget that we are way more than our jobs.

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aminmansuri profile image
hidden_dude

I find it matters a lot how you start your day..
I will try to review things in the shower in the morning and when I get to the office to immediately jump in.
I make sure my computer is already showing the code when I get there in the morning so there is no time wasted booting or clicking around in apps.
If I don't know or feel unmotivated coding then I just read the code, and I find that very soon I'm correcting this or that, and then I end up deep coding.
Be sure to not get any distractions during that time.

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kevinpeckham profile image
Kevin Peckham

Practice gratitude and take very long walks.

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andrewbaisden profile image
Andrew Baisden

Take a break and focus on your mental health do stuff that you are passionate about that makes you happy. And then find your spark and reignite that fire inside of you.

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ldev007 profile image
Lomash Dubey

Have a passion driven point whenever you do anything in your life is the key for me to stay motivated in doing anything in general not just work !
You must first have that point clear in you head before starting with anything. Now, the problem happens when we have started and have passed some time doing that same thing let's say some years. This is the phase where we are loosing the motivation to continue with that certain activity in our life, this is the very time when you need to pick up that page where you wrote that point before starting and remind yourself that why did you even started ?!

According to me "purpose-less endeavors" in life are the main reason why we loose motivation over time and so if luckily you just forgot the purpose then you can remind yourself about it to get that enthusiasm back in your life while doing anything in life !

But, obviously in exceptional cases if that purpose with which you started doing something doesn't seems that important anymore then for sure this is the time to make a switch before you end up making yourself feel burnt out !

All the best for your future endeavors guys !

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offendingcommit profile image
Jonathan Irvin

Caffeine

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k_penguin_sato profile image
K-Sato

True haha

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ntlyaraujo profile image
Nataly Araujo • Edited

The only thing that beats motivation every time is discipline. With self-discipline, I have the ability to do things even when I don’t feel motivated to do them. If we wait for motivation, it may never come.

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k_penguin_sato profile image
K-Sato

I usually either

  • learn a new framework/language
  • create something(app, library or whatever).