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How To Get Out of Developer's Block?
Midnight Thunder writes "I have spent the past six months working on a software project, and while I can come up with ideas, I just can't seem to sit down in front of the computer to code. I sit there and I just can't concentrate. I don't know whether this is akin to writer's block, but it feels like it. Have any other Slashdotters run into this and if so how did you get out of it? It is bothering me since the project has ground to a halt and I really want to get started again. I am the sole developer on the project, if that makes a difference."
Get to work. Guess why it's called work?
Mhmmm.... get a job as a project manager ?
Sit yourself down for a half hour, promising yourself that at the end of the half hour, you'll get up and take a break.
Repeat.
Expand to 45 minutes. Repeat.
Etc...
Oh, and stop whining.
LSD and Weed, just stock up on Doritos and Grateful dead CDs beforehand.
A Magic the Gathering Article and Forum Aggregator
I take a walk if it's one of those small bugs that holds you up for days and then turns out to be a semi colon in the wrong place.
If I can't motivate myself to work on a particular project, I work on something similar for personal projects at home, because that's always more interesting than doing something because you have to. Once I get into it, I get little moments of inspiration like "Ah, that'd be a really useful feature to use at work." That makes the work more interesting and there are times at work when I get little moments of inspiration like "Ah, that'd be really useful to use on my home project."
Drill baby drill - on Mars
..whether because you think your project will make the world a better place or just cause you think your coding style is gonna get you laid.
Motivate yourself - doesn't matter how or what, as long as it's something you care enough about to put ahead of other stuff you obviously find more fun. Like asking questions on Slashdot.
Break your project into manageable steps. It's the only way to tackle large, complicated tasks when you lack motivation.
If you do enough small steps, you'll regain your enthusiasm for the project. Then you'll be back on the rails in no time.
Sole developer is hard. There's no easy answer as people react differently.
I'd say:
1) Get away from the computer for a bit.
2) Do that other project that keeps interrupting your thoughts.
3) Sit down and work out a hard plan with deadlines. Not long term deadlines, but in the near future. If you can't do this, then maybe the project is too fuzzily defined.
4) Do a lot more work with pencil and paper. Only use the computer for programming and post-pencil-paper documentation.
5) Is there anything outside life that's affecting you? Afraid of zombies in red jackets dancing if you fail to finish the project? Is it actually going well, or are you unhappy with it? Ask yourself the hard questions to see if it's that. I.e., you feel it's not worth finishing the project, so you can't.
6) It could just be your work conditions - chair, computer position, desk cleanliness. Or the people around you - interruptions, etc. Make notes of when you get interrupted, and then see what they're like at the end of the week. Like a food diary, you might be surprised.
echo '0.0.0.0 slashdot.org' >> /etc/hosts
Drink enough beer and you will wake up with the project completely finished.
You won't remember how, plus there might be some residual traffic cones and hookers in your office.
This will terminate your code block.
Work on the software's architecture or design. Draw diagrams on how the pieces are to fit together and how data (and control) are to flow throughout the system. This lets you look at your project from a more abstract perspective and may make it easier to get motivated to code portions.
The dogcow says "Moof!"
That has happened to me on lone-gunman projects. It is particularly troublesome when you are determining your own deadline as the writer's block feeds procrastination.
Because this is a lone gunman project you may have an ordered list of development steps or modules to develop in your head. One thing to try would be to mix up the order of development a little in order to jump-start your brain and motivation with something different while at the same time being productive on the project.
Or set up a development schedule with firm delivery milestones and hand it to your boss, and working against a deadline may get the brain moving.
Start fun and small. Do the fun stuff first, get your mind obsessing over it (sketching up your mockups, database schemas, etc), so that that's all you're thinking about, then starting the coding isn't so much of a hassle. Don't think too big off the bat, or the project will seem too daunting. Focus on getting a small prototype up and running, then once you've got that momentum, you can start adding features.
They say to start but not finish the easy stuff at night so that when you wake up the next morning, you have the easy part to finish, which gets you started. Then, once you've got momentum, continuing on the harder stuff is easier.
How could I say to men: "Speak louder, shout! For I am deaf!"? -Ludwig van Beethoven
Abraham Lincoln said: "If I had six hours to chop down a tree, I'd spend the first four hours sharpening the axe".
The same applies for building an app.
One approach:
Draw a schematic of data flow.
Start thinking about data structures for your app.
Write test cases for imaginary modules that talk to these data structures.
Code the modules utilizing the above test cases.
Write app code that utilized the modules.
as bullet points.
The expand o each bullet point until you have psuedo code.
Then call some guy in India to finish it.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
Writer's block occurs when the stuff you're trying to write is SO BORING or otherwise uninteresting and unengaging that you, yourself don't even care about it. I've heard at least one writer say that writers block is a good thing, as it tells him when he needs to go in another direction. I would take the same approach to this situation. You've got this piece of code to write, but it's so uninteresting that you don't even care about it. The question then becomes, "Why?" Is it a feature that isn't really needed? Is it an ugly brute-force approach to a problem? Maybe it's just a piece of backend code that you don't really consider "sexy". Once you figure out why you're not interested, you can then address that problem and the coders block will fix itself.
1. Find something really easy, quick, simple to do. Builds momentum. (At the end of the day, I like to leave myself something easy for the next day to get started on).
2. Find somebody to discuss the project with. That alone will often get me going.
3. Get more sleep. This is more of a personal thing, but I find I'm able to concentrate less effectively when not getting enough sleep.
--D
1) Examine your motives. Do you really want to do this? No? Think about the effect on you if you don't. Spend no more than 2 minutes on this stage. Decide.
2) Describe the problem to yourself, written, in a single short paragraph. Display this where you can see it as you work.
3) Determine the absolutely smallest possible component of this job that you need to do. Maybe a 5 minute job. If you can't break down a big job into smaller jobs, you're in the wrong business. Pick that smallest little job and do it. Write it down on a physical list and tick it off. Actually do this step.
4) Determine the next little job. Work a bit to find the next smallest task. Rinse and repeat.
5) By this time you might have momentum. But if all else fails, acquire a McDonald's or Wendy's job application. Have it framed and on your wall in front of you. Nothing will motivate you better than that.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Sounds a lot like, deep down, you don't really want to be there, or at least you don't want to be working on that project. Are you happy working as a coder? Do you like your particular technical area? Do you truly like your colleagues? Your employer?
Conditions such as depression not withstanding, it sounds like something deeper within you is trying to tell you something.
-- In the beginning was the WORD, and the WORD was UNSIGNED, and the main(){} was without form and void...
A five-mile run followed by 50 continuous push-ups followed by sex with a girl
Funny, for me it's usually trying to have sex with 50 girls, ending up doing what amounts to one push up during the act, and watching her run a mile.
Seven puppies were harmed during the making of this post.
Your motivation to work on something has to come from within. That being said, if you are in a depressed mood (understandable in these times), then you are less likely to be productive. I suggest going out for a run, getting your blood pumping, etc. Sometimes caffeine helps. Music helps. Minimizing distractions helps - web browser, cell phone, etc.
One thing you can do if you want motivation is to reward completing the boring or hard tasks with easier, more fun tasks. Mix up the hard problems you have to solve with minor annoyances. That way, if you can't concentrate on a hard problem, you can at least make some progress. Making progress is the way to get through the doldrums.
Go to bed early, next to a window facing East. Wake up in sunlight.
You might also take the approach that video games do - track the work you do. Reward yourself for making milestones.
This isn't really a troll. It may well be an excellent idea to just say fuck it and start coding without caring whether you are doing it wrong or whatever. Just throw some code together that roughly does the first or next few things it needs to do, compile it (if necessary), and debug it just barely enough for it to produce more or less desirable results. Then forget about it until the next day.
Next day, either refactor what you did the day before, or just keep moving crazily forward. Eventually you will refactor it into something reasonable, and you will have achieved forward movement.
Don't worry, nobody's watching. Like the man said:
Plan to throw one away. You will anyway.
Doing it by yourself is, indeed, hard.
I have done too much of this. Far too much. I need to get back to a group ... over a year away from a company, some years away from a team. My sanity is fading a bit.
You get the following problems:
You get lonely
You have nobody to talk over a problem or a design with - and that's bad. You can get stuck on a stupid problem, and if you talked to someone else they'd have said "You idiot, you just need to use this widget" .. and they'd be right. This is probably the worst one
You get very jaded. There's no competition, nor does anyone say "Well done Fred. Nice work"
If you are working at home - the fridge is far, far too close. Nasty
Your designs get corrupt because there's nobody charged with keeping the design and structure in shape. It's far too easy to cheat - you wrote the code, after all, why do I need encapsulation?
What to do?
The fridge problem takes self control, the corrupt design problem is tough, and the loneliness problem is very difficult. Take some external sport, maybe - perhaps some sort of team sport (I skate - in a team. Embarrassing for a geek perhaps, but nice to talk to people completely outside your field).
But you do need some interaction with your peers - Slashdot is not a good way. Too introspective.
You need a friend network, for the occasional geek chat, kick in the head, and the odd war story. Oh, and beer.
Personally I am trying to leap back into the arm of an organisation, with teams. A difficult change, especially in the current climate, but essential for my sanity.
So I wish you luck.
You might try studying a completely new environment - Ruby or something, in an attempt to reinspire the child-like wonder that got you into this area. It's still there. Go for it!
"Cats like plain crisps"
I find that nothing gets me cleaning the apartment like having a project to do. And nothing gets me working on a project like having a clean apartment AND another more urgent, less appealing project to do.
Right now, if your apartment is messy, work on your current project. Of course, instead of working the project, you'll procrastinate it by cleaning your apartment. When your apartment is clean, get yourself an urgent, unappealing project. Soon you'll be using your original project as a means of procrastinating the new one!
-- I prefer the term "karma escort."
> Given that Michael Jackson died a few hours ago, I would pick another image.
You really don't think the OP knew this?
So far, I remove all technology from my life. Phone kept to essential calls/text only. Turn off (temporarily) Internet at home. Zero tv and movies. No games. Zero technology and information intake.
I'll start to get better after a couple of days but I keep up the detox for about two weeks. Ramp up the reading, jogging, rowing, sport with mates, go for drinks.
You'll feel better and the 'itch' to burn code will return.
.
Get yourself an enormous piece of paper (butcher paper, or something from an art store), and make a big drawing, in pencil, of the entire project and how everything will fit together. Do it at an appropriate detail level to fill a good portion of the paper.
This has multiple benefits... it gets all your ideas written down, it gets the project organized (and helps identify potential problems before they're in code), it makes for nicely visible pieces of a larger puzzle, and, perhaps most importantly, it gets you away from the computer where you have coder's block.
The one best piece of code I've ever written, which had all sorts of interprocess communication and synchronization problems to overcome, etc., I started with a big drawing, which lent itself very nicely to a fully pseudocoded skeleton of the program (fully doxygened and line-by-line commented before any code went in), followed by the actual code, which practically wrote itself at that point. Not only did this keep the process going, but it also helped me eliminate and compensate for a whole bunch of technical and design issues, before I had even written the code that I would have had to fix. After addressing a few rogue syntax errors, the program ran correctly the first time.
Unfortunately, while effective, this process left me completely spent. Having written what was, by my standards, a perfect piece of code, I saw little further for me to accomplish in my career, and I was especially devastated when I saw that it was fairly likely that my contribution would not make it into the final product. A mere shell of a programmer remained, and I have steadily lost interest in programming since. I'm enrolling in graduate school for music in the fall.
-- I prefer the term "karma escort."
As a director of a software development organization, I won't be popular for saying this. But... it is your boss' fault. Not yours.
You simply aren't motivated. I want to slap the person somewhere in another post who said... "motivation comes from within". It *rarely* comes from within.
When one of my managers or peers comes to me and complains about "unfocused" or "unmotivated" employees, I tell them to get off their collective ass and motivate their team or their employee. Psychologically, as an employee, you should feel driven by your surroundings to achieve a goal. That feeling should be driven by your team, your boss, your organization.
Being "self-motivated" is the single, biggest path to burnout in existence. Don't even begin to blame yourself.
Here is what I would recommend. Go to your manager. Tell your manager that you simply aren't feeling very motivated about the work you are doing. Have an open and honest conversation about it. You might be surprised. Your boss might actually bring some out some of the motivational mojo that you need. If your boss doesn't come through for you, then think about going to another organization.
But don't quit programming. You probably love it and you probably are pretty decent at it. You just need to be motivated, that's all.
Did his joke make you feel Bad? Was it Dangerous? or just to Off The Wall?
When he has his funeral, will you feel like you Got To be There?
Clearly, you feel he will go down in History, but not for being Invincible.
I guess you will say goodbye Forever, Michael it's be a real Thriller.
Well, there will always be the music and me.
Damn, I wish you were named Ben.
Did I miss one?
Sorry for AC apparently I posted too much.
I wouldn't go so far as to blame management for motivation problems. It isn't really a dev manager's job to motivate a developer who doesn't know why they are demotivated any more than it is to be a developer's therapist. If the developer has a concrete reason (eg. "the lead is abrasive" or "the deadlines are way too unrealistic") then you can blame the manager for inaction.
That said, perhaps the solution to this developer's motivation problems is to become a dev manager for a while. Then he'll find coding far more enjoyable than being blamed for things outside his control.
Too right.
I've burned out myself during a large, sole developer project. I thought about leaving programming at the time. Tried to point out the insanity of deliverables at hand; but had a whole multi-tired management chain above me 'wishing' for some absurd counter-real truth. I crashed majorly. Took the blame. Saw a shrink. Apparently it happens to a lot of us and a huge hand in all of this is down to mis-mangement. Unreal-expectations which are out of your hand and 'seem' very end of the worldish; it's easy to get that sort of tunnel vision when you're a sole developer working on something. In my own case it was a project with a rapidly changing and volatile spec and unrealistic timescales, the manager was a thicksh1t who couldn't defend realism in the deliverables of those under him (he was under pressure himself) and I was pressured into agreeing to estimates which his managers wanted to hear. Total Burn Out. My shrink said he was a manipulating SOB. Picked myself up and moved on.
We're often put under undue pressure; if you're a good developer you'll get away with it 9 times out of 10. We started out doing it for fun; so you'll suffer sleep loss; long hours; whatever? We've all been there. It's fun - when you pull it off. Since we usually do, there's an expectation that we'll always pull the rabbit out of the hat. It's unrealistic and unreasonable. I now choose which of my 'own' projects I wish to stress out over. If you can't get past the code-block, just be honest with the powers that be. If they have an issue - move on or propagate up the chain. There are still a lot other roles and life options out there.
Good luck.
I'm currently having a similar problem writing my thesis. Luckily, the bit I'm onto at the moment is the "big thing" that I've been working on, but it's still hard to get cracking on writing. Here's a little snippet:
A multi-marker approach for quantifying genetic variation has been
demonstrated, using an ideal model population for this task. The
benefit of using multiple markers has been previously shown by
\citet{marchini05}, who found that a multi-marker approach will
generate more informative results, even after considering the
multiple-testing cost. The approach here has used a bootstrapping
method, which may help in the removal of false positive signal that is
common in GWAS \citep[][see]{wellcome07,healy06}.
I've had a go at trying to think through reasons for my writing block, and have narrowed it down to the following:
I suppose I could keep going for another hour or so, but I have a thesis to write.
Ask me about repetitive DNA
Seriously,
Take a holiday.
Take a break, holiday or vacation just get away from it all and don't bring your computers with you. The break needs to be for a min of a week and perferably longer.
Depending on other factors you could also be suffering from burnout
I find test-driven development a great way to break out of the developers block. Just write a small test, the tiniest most trivial test that you can imagine. Now make it pass. And pretty soon you are back in the game.
--
Hate your boss?
It's caused by one or more of the following - Doing something for too long - with a lack of support - without any likely rewards on the horizon - and with a realization what you're doing, while once seemingly important, is truly insignificant.
Burnout is your brain telling you you're on a loser and it's time to walk away and for good reason: There are worse things than walking away from a losing proposition. If you want to push on anyway, at least learn about it. Google is probably your only friend: http://www.google.com/search?q=burnout+"scientific+american"
There's, indeed, a LOT more to it than that. There are any number of things that may be blocking your creativity, but from the description I suspect burnout and/or depression. If you've been working a lot or are under a lot of stress (kids, too many hours, responsible position, people complaining to you a lot) your mind may simply be locked up. This is a panic reaction, a last defense mechanism for a mind running with hormonal imbalances. It will mean your cortisol is too high early on, then drops off at the time you need it most. Your body's stress response is worn out and depleted and needs time to regenerate. That's why burn-out victims are usually told to go home and do nothing for a year. It takes a LOT of time.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do I drink more than two cups of coffee every day? Too much caffeine will elevate cortisol and make you more sensitive to stress. Cut down on coffee and take Ginseng supplements - this will help your body restore its decreased cortisol capacity. I personally like green tea with ginseng. It takes a bit of time to switch, just do it gradually and you won't run into problems. Try to cut smoking and alcohol as well as much as you can.
- Can I work for a few hours only, and then feel like my mind "locks up"? This is definitely a stress sign. If that's the case, take a 10 minute break for a walk OUTSIDE, EVERY HOUR. (I mean it! I had the same problem, and an external management bureau with lots of hands-on experience gave us these tips, and they worked.) This will help you de-stress and over longer time will help reset your body's hormone system. Also: cut away any other stress factors. Are you busy two days a week helping your kids' soccer teams do their paperwork? Let it go. This will be difficult if you are indeed tottering near burnout - it makes you more emotional since your "logical" brain is less active - but it is vital. Also, do you jump out of your skin every time your mobile phone rings? Also a very strong indicator of stress. Be wary and get to know your own fear signs. If it is all too much, consider if you can let it all go and rest for at least half a year. The project will still be there then, or if you are overtaken by competition, there will be other projects. Rule one of life: we all want to feel good. Only then can we help others and be productive. If you're living only for others and don't feel good doing it, something is wrong. Some people - especially those with a large sense of responsibility - are extremely sensitive to stress, and you don't know for certain until you have crashed through and are well beyond your limits. That's what it took for me to realise something was wrong: I could barely do the dishes without being told how to do it. Don't let it get to that.
- Do I feel miserable? If so, that might indicate not only burnout, but also dysthemia/depression. GET PROFESSIONAL HELP. And I mean a real shrink, not just a psychologist. He can temporarily set you up on medication which will help you recuperate; after some time you can then build down and get rid of the meds once you're standing on your own feet again. But for the time being, medication is probably essential as a crutch. Note: it is of VITAL importance that you find one you're comfortable with; if you don't feel OK with the shrink after a few sessions, thank him/her and just tell them that you don't feel allright and try another one. It can take a few tries to find the right person.
- Do I sleep enough? If you're not getting at least 6 hours of clean sleep, you're probably stressed or burned out. I remember a "burning" feeling from that period and only sleepint 2-3 hours a night.
- Do I have a real work place, and are there distractions? I ran my own company for seven years, and in the beginning I worked from home. In doing so I could never really "get away" from it. Once I had an office outside the door it made a real difference: I went to the office to work, and psychologically that also did a trick - it set me into "work mode". I left the browse
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.
Most exciting project in the world and all I could do was play solitaire. Game, after game, after game of solitaire. Why was this happening to me?
That started a long journey of discovery. After talking to several doctors, and a shrink, I learned several things. I learned that on the Myers-Briggs scale I am an INTP, heavy, very heavy on the Introvert, light, very light on the Proceeding part. That means that being around people is stressful for me. I also learned that most programmers are INT types. Funny how that works out. I learned that I had some form of an attentional disorder. Adult men who have undiagnosed attentional disorders tend to develop depression and some form of obsessive compulsive disorder, and anxiety disorders. (Programmers can really benefit from having a bit of OCD.) The doctors recommended a whole raft of different medications.
OK, this is my story, not yours, I am just telling you what doctors told me were the cause of my developer's block (and writer's block too). They were right, but their suggested solution was wrong for me. There was one time when I was out of work for a long period of time recovering from having my ankle rebuilt that I did resort to anti-depressants. There are some very good ones that are now available cheaply as generics. They fit my unemployed budget quite nicely. But, I weened myself off of them.
The whole process that I went through has taken more than 10 years and is on going, when you start to analyze your life you never stop.
Eventually I started exercising. One day I gave my self a gift. I wrote it down. "I grant my self the gift of one hour per day to exercise." That was the best thing I ever did for myself. I started exercising regularly and took up a martial art. The martial art included meditation and Chi Kung training. That lead to my giving myself the added gift of 1/2 hour of meditation per day. After only a couple of months all the external symptoms went away, Internally, they are still there, but I can deal with them. I also lost 50 pounds and dropped my blood pressure. And, oh yeah, my back that had hurt for 20 years stopped hurting.
Then, I had an accident and had to have my ankle rebuilt. I stopped exercising (hard to do when you are in deep pain and can only walk with crutches) and I stopped meditating. All the symptoms came back. I fell back into the pit. I'm back doing my martial art and meditating and the symptoms are gone again.
So, what worked for me? A long journey of self discovery that included my starting a martial art at age 51 and learning to meditate and do Chi Kung.
At the very least, if you do not already do it, exercise for at least one hour per day, at least 5 days per week. It can be as simple as walking. But, I do believe it must be done all at once, not spread through the day. I set a kitchen timer to tell me when I am done and I use the same timer to tell me when meditation is over so I don't disturb myself by constantly checking the clock.
Just an aside, once I forgot to set the timer and I wound up meditating for 3 hours. The need to pee got me out of my chair. BTW, you can meditate sitting normally in a chair. No need to twist up your legs into pretzels.
That is how I solved my developer's block.
Stonewolf
Cool! It's always nice to know the feedback is appreciated. Some other things you might keep in mind:
- have a BIG work desk. A big desk (everything in easy reach) is like computer memory to a person, and your brain is the processor and the filing cabinet is the hard drive (spacous, but slow).
- There are many different people with different reactions to stress. A friend of mine used to faint regularly, and feel dizzy all the time. After she stopped her second job, a few weeks later she felt a LOT better. Listen to what your body is telling you; if you aren't sure, try changing things to see if it helps. Keeping a diary also helps. Note down what you did generally throughout every day - eat, drink, smoke, work, etc - and try to discover patterns. You may, for example, work out that the acne you get twice a month is actually connected to those few times you carpool with someone. Bad fibers in his car?
- be wary of other peoples' expectations. Are you a YES-sayer? Teach yourself to say NO or, at least, "I'll get back to you on that". I remember having immense problems resisting people who wanted me to do something for them because they projected their problems on me: "my computer HAS to work this weekend! My kids want to play games! I need to check e-mail!" It took me the burnout session to realise that that is THEIR problem. If that's an issue they'd best get a second computer. One of the best ways to get burned out is by assuming too much responsibility. If you're taking projects yourself, jot down how much time you think something will take, and double it. Use that number to plan your time. If you're in a corporate environment, tell your boss you're full and that you either need an assistant, or an intern, or more colleagues who can help you with the work; if he's got a dinosaur brain (like many managers do), write down your predictions and don't be afraid to give him the I-told-you-so after the $#!7 hits the fan because he didn't listen. However, do it constructively: tell him you'd like to discuss things with him to ensure it works better in the future. Destructive commenting is too easy and doesn't achieve anything at all aside from a few seconds of self-vindication. It may get you fired, but usually you're just doing your job and your managers' superiors will realise this; you can't help it you have a better view of things than your manager.
- If something seems "too big" or "too complicated", once again you're in the danger zone of a burnout; check my earlier post to see if you can recognise more warning signs. If you feel good and fit and are productive, on the other hand, it may not be burn-out but it may only mean you need to chop the project up into smaller parts to give you a good overview. If you can oversee all the steps in each of the parts, and can oversee how they all connect, you can see the whole project. This makes running it MUCH easier since you can keep an eye on both micro and macro goals.
- Set limits to your project beforehand. Make estimates of how long you plan to invest in a certain segment of the project, what you want to achieve, and STICK TO IT. If you have time left you can add extra stuff later. If you get extra ideas en-route, write them down but don't integrate them unless it's absolutely vital. You can review the achievements and extra ideas later. Also, plan in time for EVERYTHING: time for planning, time for arguing with colleagues, time spent in traffic, time on the phone, time reviewing the code or project. Try to hook a number on everything. You might not get it correct right away, but you will develop a much better feel for what you are doing and how much time each part takes, because you are consciously trying to manage them. A famous saying is: "who fails to plan, plans to fail." This is exponentially true of corporate environments with many people in it. On your own, or with two people - three max - you can do everything ad-hoc and take things as they come; above that and you need structure, work procedures, flowcharts, and people chasing each
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it well worth the effort.