How do I not stop feeling like I am doing nothing outside work? (programming.dev)

submitted 8 months ago by Maddier1993@programming.dev to c/ask_experienced_devs@programming.dev

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I am professionally a software developer for 8 years and I simply don't have ideas for personal projects (Can't find any problem that I can fix with programming). At times I feel like that's natural and I shouldn't worry about it. But on the other hand, I do like to imagine having something personal that I can work on so that even if some days on my main job are not satisfying, I can always work on my hobby project and find that missing satisfaction.

End goal here is obviously to get better sleep as sometimes my mind feels dissatisfied with the day's work.

Funnily, I day-dream about the idea of already having done the boring parts (simply manifesting a project that already exists) of some personal project and only solving exciting problems in relation to adding a new feature or exciting aspects.

This creates a problem as I hate staring at a blank file not knowing what to write.

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[-] canpolat@programming.dev 48 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

Not having any personal projects is perfectly fine. Don't worry about it. Not everyone has to have their job as their hobby. Try other things (music, hiking, cooking, etc.). Try to find a hobby that makes you happy (if you don't already have one). That's way more important than having a public GitHub profile. And if a company decided not to hire you because of that, you basically dodged a bullet.

[-] Maddier1993@programming.dev 3 points 8 months ago

I guess it makes sense. Not doing anything is good in and of itself. Boredom needs embracing. I still remember getting entertained in my childhood seeing some ants move around and react to dead insects and carrying leaves.

I am not concerned about not having anything to show for my free time. I am just not finding interest doing stuff which could indicate something worse.

[-] canpolat@programming.dev 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago)

I am not concerned about not having anything to show for my free time. I am just not finding interest doing stuff which could indicate something worse.

You are not alone. It's not easy to find an engaging free time activity. And even if you do, you may get bored of it after some time. The only thing I can say is: even if something doesn't seem very interesting at first, give it a try anyway (as long as it doesn't require a huge upfront investment). You may end up liking the activity or you may end up with like-minded people. And the worst case scenario is, you have wasted some time.

I think majority of people suffer from not having a meaningful free time activity (amplified by the possibilities of internet). And I'm saying this without any data to back it up, so don't quote me on that.

this post was submitted on 27 Apr 2024

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