There will be a time when programming may no longer be as much fun and exciting as it used to be for you, I remember when I was younger how much exciting it was and it still is for certain projects, these are my thoughts why this happens and how to deal with it:

  • When you started programming it was exciting for you, especially that you were building fun projects, no specific deadlines, no stress, no testing, no clients requirements and so on. But real life is different, programming will become just a tool, a part in a bigger process that aims to fulfill the business requirements of a client.

  • You may be working in a company where your sole responsibility is to focus on a small part of the process, and repeating that day in and day out which may not be really fulfilling..

Now, that being said, this may not be the case, and you may be really happy in your workplace and with the work you are doing there, but if this is not you and you are feeling a bit frustrated or feeling like ‘this wasn’t what I was expecting’, these are some notes/suggestions you should know:

  • First of all, this is normal, and it is work after all, when something you love becomes work, the game becomes different the responsibilities as well, you will be playing by the business rules, and the market rules, and what your employer wants, in this case, just consider it as a job, a way to get money.

  • Keep working on side projects or read about the technologies you are excited about, at work you may be programming an accounting system that you aren’t excited about, but if you are into game development, or building open source tools, just work on that for fun in your free time, it will feel so much different than your ‘programming at work’.

  • Another thing you can do is actually taking a break from programming and focus on other unrelated hobbies and socializing, this can help you focus on other aspects of your life, which can make you more excited about programming again.

  • It may not be you, it can be simply be your workplace, the culture there, the apps they are building, the process and the technology they are using, etc.. so by switching to a different company you may feel more energized and more interested in coding again, but think well about this option before deciding, especially when the economy is tough.

  • And finally, if all the above didn’t work, and programming for you is much more meaningful, and it is important for you to code projects that you are excited about, then you will have to quit your job and pursue your vision, but let me be clear about this, if you want to do that, you should really be aware of the consequences, and it doesn’t mean it will be ‘fun’ all the time anyway, on the contrary, this can be really stressful, and you still need to adhere to the market rules, but at least you will have a saying in what to build, and also keep in mind that this won’t be easy, and you may suffer financially because of that (at least for a while).. but still, all that being said, this is one of the options you have that can be really rewarding, understand the risks of this, and proceed accordingly.