Lack of motivation

[Will_I_Am]

Hi all, this is just a ranted that I wanted to put out there as it has been bothering me for a couple of months now.

I am now in my 7th year of dev, senior position, working for a small/medium sized company, doing mostly back-end work with front-end scattered in here and there. Started out at a startup, moved to a dev house, did not enjoy it, and moved back to a smaller company working on in-house software. I've always enjoyed software development and I almost always have some sort of side project going on, just because I really enjoy programming and I want to keep on learning.

Lately, though, I just can't image doing this forever - standup's, bug fixes, estimations, assisting junior devs, actual dev, etc - same thing over and over again. Although I have grown and my responsibilities with that too, it still feels like a nightmare if I imagine doing this till I die. Perhaps the novelty has worn off and everyone goes through this at some point, no matter the industry. What is weird, though, is that I really enjoy doing development, it just feels as it is getting stale and it is the same thing every day over and over again.
I recently created a cool tool for automating some process at work, and I loved that, but as soon as my normal responsibilities kicked back in, slight despair ensued. Perhaps my actual work at this company is not fulfilling enough, but I when thinking about it, it does not seem too bad and I have been around long enough to know more or less what it is like at other places.

Going through a mini, very early, mid-life crisis type of thing

(I did some freelancing a couple of years back in my spare time which was great, and my thought now is to continue that and see if it can replace my fulltime employment at some point - perhaps that will bring back some motivation and purpose.)

 

[Dom]

Hi all, this is just a ranted that I wanted to put out there as it has been bothering me for a couple of months now.

I am now in my 7th year of dev, senior position, working for a small/medium sized company, doing mostly back-end work with front-end scattered in here and there. Started out at a startup, moved to a dev house, did not enjoy it, and moved back to a smaller company working on in-house software. I've always enjoyed software development and I almost always have some sort of side project going on, just because I really enjoy programming and I want to keep on learning.

Lately, though, I just can't image doing this forever - standup's, bug fixes, estimations, assisting junior devs, actual dev, etc - same thing over and over again. Although I have grown and my responsibilities with that too, it still feels like a nightmare if I imagine doing this till I die. Perhaps the novelty has worn off and everyone goes through this at some point, no matter the industry. What is weird, though, is that I really enjoy doing development, it just feels as it is getting stale and it is the same thing every day over and over again.
I recently created a cool tool for automating some process at work, and I loved that, but as soon as my normal responsibilities kicked back in, slight despair ensued. Perhaps my actual work at this company is not fulfilling enough, but I when thinking about it, it does not seem too bad and I have been around long enough to know more or less what it is like at other places.

Going through a mini, very early, mid-life crisis type of thing

(I did some freelancing a couple of years back in my spare time which was great, and my thought now is to continue that and see if it can replace my fulltime employment at some point - perhaps that will bring back some motivation and purpose.)

My 10c, sounds like you need to start job searching/ask if there is not more "interesting" work you can do.

Possibly upskill (in free time) and then free lance a bit more.

 

[Chevez]

Ahh, the old stuck in a rut feeling. I believe we all feel this a couple of times in our lives.

Most people opt stay where they are and push through.
Some maybe make a small change, or take something additional on.

Some have a chat to who they report and discuss a way forward.

Some change within their current jobs, others move to other companies.

There's no real answer here, but you need to decide what you're ok with.

Here's a song that sums up daily routine for me:

 

[bullzeye.za]

Another strategy that works for me is to recognize that software dev pays well, and if you're smart about it (And manage expectations) you can get your work done in less time than a full business day allows. You're valuable, you're productive, and you have more free time than other career paths. Look at it as an exchange, you're trading a couple hours a day for a very comfortable life.

Invest in hobbies, enjoy the luxuries that come with having this particular skill set. Don't make your job into your life. Bonus points if you work remotely, double bonus points if you're not micromanaged. Find variety outside of work to scratch that itch for something new.

 

[Will_I_Am]

Another strategy that works for me is to recognize that software dev pays well, and if you're smart about it (And manage expectations) you can get your work done in less time than a full business day allows. You're valuable, you're productive, and you have more free time than other career paths. Look at it as an exchange, you're trading a couple hours a day for a very comfortable life.

Invest in hobbies, enjoy the luxuries that come with having this particular skill set. Don't make your job into your life. Bonus points if you work remotely, double bonus points if you're not micromanaged. Find variety outside of work to scratch that itch for something new.

Well said and some food for though!

I do work remotely yes, unfortunately we are micro managed to some degree. We have to track our time to the last minute, so even if my work is done before it is expected, I have to "find" other things to do to fill my 8 hours for the day.

 

[Cartman]

Hi all, this is just a ranted that I wanted to put out there as it has been bothering me for a couple of months now.

I am now in my 7th year of dev, senior position, working for a small/medium sized company, doing mostly back-end work with front-end scattered in here and there. Started out at a startup, moved to a dev house, did not enjoy it, and moved back to a smaller company working on in-house software. I've always enjoyed software development and I almost always have some sort of side project going on, just because I really enjoy programming and I want to keep on learning.

Lately, though, I just can't image doing this forever - standup's, bug fixes, estimations, assisting junior devs, actual dev, etc - same thing over and over again. Although I have grown and my responsibilities with that too, it still feels like a nightmare if I imagine doing this till I die. Perhaps the novelty has worn off and everyone goes through this at some point, no matter the industry. What is weird, though, is that I really enjoy doing development, it just feels as it is getting stale and it is the same thing every day over and over again.
I recently created a cool tool for automating some process at work, and I loved that, but as soon as my normal responsibilities kicked back in, slight despair ensued. Perhaps my actual work at this company is not fulfilling enough, but I when thinking about it, it does not seem too bad and I have been around long enough to know more or less what it is like at other places.

Going through a mini, very early, mid-life crisis type of thing

(I did some freelancing a couple of years back in my spare time which was great, and my thought now is to continue that and see if it can replace my fulltime employment at some point - perhaps that will bring back some motivation and purpose.)

I went through similar situation, where I enjoy sysadmin. I felt like i never worked a day in my life, till i was promoted to a branch manager role, but that wasn't where my passion was. I'm no longer there by my choice, but would love to get back into sysadmin. My suggestion would be to chase your passion of development, so that you feed your soul. You get a lot of positive energy/well being by doing what you love. You may need to freelance, but that can be stressful with erratic income initially. Maybe you can start freelancing now, or speak to the company to move more into a development role?

 

[Xyris]

Start your own company...

Do game design. I want to design a game if I can but need someone with programming knowledge that needs a 3d designer.
Let's do it. Let's redesign battle tanks, the tv game, make a new and improved 3d version, first person view, or top down is fine, maybe more of a moba type feel and then we make it so that it can be played multiplayer, but you can level up and it's a battle royal at the same time..

There you have it. An idea, and the basic concept of the idea and a willing body, sitting here. Use me, touch me! feel me.. Wait, I was thinking of someone when I typed that.

I use blender (3d software) and you do programming, with a few other eager minds I'm sure we could make the next fortnite craze and make a few billion... but then you would sit here again complaining that you are having a post mid life crisis because you have too much money and don't know what to spend it on.

 

[Will_I_Am]

I went through similar situation, where I enjoy sysadmin. I felt like i never worked a day in my life, till i was promoted to a branch manager role, but that wasn't where my passion was. I'm no longer there by my choice, but would love to get back into sysadmin. My suggestion would be to chase your passion of development, so that you feed your soul. You get a lot of positive energy/well being by doing what you love. You may need to freelance, but that can be stressful with erratic income initially. Maybe you can start freelancing now, or speak to the company to move more into a development role?

I was thinking of speaking with them, so that I can do more development. When I first started with them, I did a lot of dev, but these days it is more oversight, planning and fixing existing bugs/support queries.

Plan with freelance is to do in on the side for a bit and see how it goes. Luckily I do have some good contacts and past clients, so hopefully I won't start from a clean slate.

 

[CyNicole]

I'm in a completely different industry but I went through the same thing last year. I stuck it out and luckily it was a temporary phase, though it made for a rough few months. Overall I love my job, but I don't love every aspect of it. Looking back it seemed to be the minutiae of it that was getting me down. I've realised I can delegate some of that, get help with other parts and have learned to live with the rest. There were also other external stress factors that definitely contributed to my less sunny outlook. You mentioned that you're micromanaged quite a lot. Maybe that is taking away from your enjoyment of your job? I hate being micromanaged. Being sent out of the office and managing my own projects with only semi-regular report backs to management really improved my work-life. Perhaps looking for a position where you are allowed to self-manage more is an option.

 

[Dom]

Start your own company...

Do game design. I want to design a game if I can but need someone with programming knowledge that needs a 3d designer.
Let's do it. Let's redesign battle tanks, the tv game, make a new and improved 3d version, first person view, or top down is fine, maybe more of a moba type feel and then we make it so that it can be played multiplayer, but you can level up and it's a battle royal at the same time..

There you have it. An idea, and the basic concept of the idea and a willing body, sitting here. Use me, touch me! feel me.. Wait, I was thinking of someone when I typed that.

I use blender (3d software) and you do programming, with a few other eager minds I'm sure we could make the next fortnite craze and make a few billion... but then you would sit here again complaining that you are having a post mid life crisis because you have too much money and don't know what to spend it on.

Isn't this not all rosy? @SantaMuerte

 

[Cartman]

I was thinking of speaking with them, so that I can do more development. When I first started with them, I did a lot of dev, but these days it is more oversight, planning and fixing existing bugs/support queries.

Plan with freelance is to do in on the side for a bit and see how it goes. Luckily I do have some good contacts and past clients, so hopefully I won't start from a clean slate.

Some people have a passion for delegating and managing, others are more doer's/worker bees. There is nothing wrong with either, as they can both be rewarding for an individual. You clearly need to do stuff, instead of watching over. It can be daunting to speak to the company, to potentially ask for a demotion, but if that's where your passion is, then that's where you need to be. I did IT support work before sysadmin role, and that was nice having the variety, but it also got monotonous for me, and stressful dealing with multiple clients, invoicing, tracking payments. Working for a company and focusing on a task/project was more rewarding in my opinion, for me. it may be different for you. Sysadmin was challenging for me, and even though it was the same company, it was not the same task, so was still challenging, as I'm sure development work is. So just weigh up the admin side of freelancing, unless you can get longer freelance contracts, where the admin side is negligible? May be more beneficial to get to do development work at your current company, and do a bit of freelancing on the side as you suggested, in order to mix it up for you. Just be careful that there is no conflict of interest.

 

[Will_I_Am]

Some very good responses on here. I think best way forward is to just stick it out for at least a couple of months here and see what happens - might get better, might not, but at least I will know that I was not impulsive if I do decide to move. I'll talk with the people here and just make it clear, that I would like to stick mainly with development. I don't mind managerial tasks here and there, I just don't want to fully transition into that. My passion lies with planning and developing software, not with managing people.

 

[Kamikaze]

Some very good responses on here. I think best way forward is to just stick it out for at least a couple of months here and see what happens - might get better, might not, but at least I will know that I was not impulsive if I do decide to move. I'll talk with the people here and just make it clear, that I would like to stick mainly with development. I don't mind managerial tasks here and there, I just don't want to fully transition into that. My passion lies with planning and developing software, not with managing people.

And mention to them more freedom away from them keeping tabs on you the whole time. You're not a kid and you're in a senior position. It demands respect from your manager.

 

[SantaMuerte]

Isn't this not all rosy? @SantaMuerte

How I wish it was xD Some days it can be the most exciting thing ever and the next day the most frustrating thing on earth.

But hey, my game is progressing. I was going to have an exhibition at Comic Con this year but they never responded to my application. Now I'm emigrating to the UK anyways. With that sterling maybe I can exhibit at GDC, PAX or Gamescom next year

 

[SantaMuerte]

Well said and some food for though!

I do work remotely yes, unfortunately we are micro managed to some degree. We have to track our time to the last minute, so even if my work is done before it is expected, I have to "find" other things to do to fill my 8 hours for the day.

Thank fuck my company isn't anything like that. As long as my job gets done nobody gives two shits what I'm doing as long as I'm available when needed. Where is your employer based? From my remote experience I find that US and UK companies generally don't micro-manage or force you to do other shit if your work is up to date.

 

[Will_I_Am]

Thank fuck my company isn't anything like that. As long as my job gets done nobody gives two shits what I'm doing as long as I'm available when needed. Where is your employer based? From my remote experience I find that US and UK companies generally don't micro-manage or force you to do other shit if your work is up to date.

Local company. Longer term, I'll definitely look at something else just for this reason.

 

[SantaMuerte]

Local company. Longer term, I'll definitely look at something else just for this reason.

Recruitment agencies are a good option. I sent my CV to a few of them a few years ago and got my current job from the first interview I did.

If you're at senior level you can also try OfferZen and see if you can get an international job through there. A few of my friends have gotten their international remote jobs through OfferZen.

LinkedIn is also not a bad platform for devs. I've had a few recruiters and international companies reach out to me on LinkedIn.

 

[Maxwell]

Whatever you do, don't burn your bridges and start up your own gig -oh wait, that's exactly what I did. Might I suggest you look for fun outside the workplace. Work will always be shit, even if you do what you absolutely love.

Get a pilots license. Start soliciting hig-end prostitutes. Gamble. Spend too much time and money on home automation and other cool geeky shit.Take up extreme sports.

All just ideas to keep you still interested and make you feel 'alive' whilst work drains your soul, cause believe me dude, its gna drain your soul till the day you retire.

 

[Will_I_Am]

I had a good discussion with my team lead Today. I made it known that I am feeling like I am not getting any dev done these days and he was very receptive and understanding. He said that he will make sure that more of the new dev will be assigned to me and that my path forward will be technical lead instead of team lead, which was originally the plan. So I am feeling more positive! Hopefully what was said will be put into action.

Did not mention the micro-manage thing. The way we track time and the way things are done in the company is so ingrained, that I did not know how to approach it. Personally I will just see how I am able to handle this in the next 3 - 6 months. Longer term though, I will probably look for something else which provides more freedom.

 

[Scrooloose]

Your issue is not unique, I am convinced that most humans with an IQ above 80 experiences this very crisis every few years.

For me, it's every 5 to 6 years. The best I can do is use my current position to build the blocks for the next thing, and when the 5 years are up I look for opportunity - Be it internally at the company or elsewhere. It has served me well throughout my career. There was a period in the mid 2000's where I felt like driving into the nearest lake every afternoon when I went home, and that was when I learned that we should not be stuck in the same job forever.

What I do today is maybe 1% of what I did in my 20's, and at most 5% of what I did in my 30's.

We conflate "job" with "career", but "job" is something we do and "career" is the path we're on - They're not exlusive but they're certainly not the same thing either.

So as encouragement: Look for the next thing. I've seen brilliant developers move into project management roles, back into dev, and eventually into exec levels. If change is inevitable, become part of that inevitability cycle and change yourself as well.

 

[Will_I_Am]

Your issue is not unique, I am convinced that most humans with an IQ above 80 experiences this very crisis every few years.

For me, it's every 5 to 6 years. The best I can do is use my current position to build the blocks for the next thing, and when the 5 years are up I look for opportunity - Be it internally at the company or elsewhere. It has served me well throughout my career. There was a period in the mid 2000's where I felt like driving into the nearest lake every afternoon when I went home, and that was when I learned that we should not be stuck in the same job forever.

What I do today is maybe 1% of what I did in my 20's, and at most 5% of what I did in my 30's.

We conflate "job" with "career", but "job" is something we do and "career" is the path we're on - They're not exlusive but they're certainly not the same thing either.

So as encouragement: Look for the next thing. I've seen brilliant developers move into project management roles, back into dev, and eventually into exec levels. If change is inevitable, become part of that inevitability cycle and change yourself as well.

Really appreciate this perspective!

 

[Cartman]

Really appreciate this perspective!

True, sort of along the lines of "a change is as good as a holiday"

I resigned from my second job after about 4 years because i could tell that i was being taking advantage of regarding pay. Even discussing with them over multiple years, i would get paltry increases and they told me that i don't have as much money cause i have a girl friend (at the time). After finally having enough and resigning, I phoned one company, went for an interview a few days later, and started working there as soon as my notice ended. I knew how confident and valuable i was at my job, and would be an asset to any company.

I was at another company for more than 13 years, which i loved, they actually found me after i left the company above. Although at one point about 6 years in, I was earning more money on the side with IT sales, and contemplated leaving due to this. I complained to immediate manager, who was friends with the owner, and some months later, my salary doubled. I would like to think that whilst companies try to pay employees as little as possible, at times, this is done because when you initially start, there is an element of school fees, whilst you are learning the position, and becoming more productive. I feel that when i complained, they then reevaluated my current contribution to the company, and made a fair assessment of what my new remuneration should be. There was no discussions or notifications, it just happened quietly. Which in a way was vindication that it was probably an oversight on their part.
I always loved working for this company, so the money issue was more of an annoyance, but isn't that how things cause problems, when you harp on one aspect. I can say that job satisfaction was 100% there, work environment was pretty high too maybe like 90%, then after salary increase, it was all good. I mean over a 5 year period i racked up 56 leave days that got reset to zero cause i was committed to my work. So all was going good till the company was bought out by a corporate, then everything changed, it got dirty, retrenchments, etc, and I was promoted to Manager. Job satisfaction went down to like 10%, work environment was like 10%, salary was 20% of what it used to be. I eventually left.
So the decision is entirely up to you, which may end in regrets, but ultimately if the work environment, job satisfaction and salary are all full fulled where you are, then best to stay. If there are any doubts in these aspects, then a decision to move maybe on the cards. You just need to identify if you are more nomadic with jobs, or longer term. Both are rewarding, depending on your personality. Sometimes the grass looks greener on the other side cause of all the crap That being said, you don't know for certain what the future holds, you could move and get retrenched, or you current company could retrench, anything could happen.

 

[Ystervark]

Been coding for 27 years, still enjoying it. And every now then I get that feeling like what is the point.

Went from dev to dev manager and back to dev. I reliased i do not like managing people. I like code, i like the creative aspect of it.

bullzeye.za make a good point about have other things in your life.

Another job is not always the answer.

New Boss might be an asshole

So not really giving you any help, but we all kinda get that feeling every now and then.

 

[Marcell1992]

I do work remotely yes, unfortunately we are micro managed to some degree. We have to track our time to the last minute, so even if my work is done before it is expected, I have to "find" other things to do to fill my 8 hours for the day.

I think you've highlighted why your job is not fulfilling. Time to find a new place to work.

If not that, as most have basically said. What is the purpose of a job? For water, bond, food, hobbies, etc. I can do almost any job as long as it fulfills my purpose of retiring young and traveling.

 

[Fife]

Let me chime in here with another 2c

I was a Dev/Team Lead for 5 years...Felt exactly the same way, wanted "more" in life. So I quit and traveled for 1 year, did my scuba instructor course and worked in the Philippines before joining a cruise ship. It was great fun...I managed a dive resort in the Philippines, life was simple, I got to dive most days and drank a bottle of rum every day for about a month before realising it wasn't healthy

But here's the kicker, I missed dev. I could make so many improvements in the workflow using my skills, and I enjoyed it. Eventually covid happened, and I came back and returned to dev work...But in all honestly, that year off full time dev saved me...

It made me realise that coding everyday is an issue, when it's not coding for yourself. So, I found a passion that I could contribute to: >unashamed plug< . I learnt a new skill (flutter) and I love working on this once my day of working for someone else is done.

This being said, last month I moved into my first manager position, and I again miss dev, but at least I have my own project I'm working on which satisfies that desire.

So all in all; try take a sabbatical if you can and then find something you're passionate about, to start enjoying your dev work again. Solve problems, learn etc.