I've been a professional developer for about six years, working at two companies mostly on firmware. I recently became a team lead, which means I barely write code during work anymore. I've tried coding and learning new things in my spare time, but I'm usually too tired or uninterested to make much progress, and I don't retain what I study for very long.
I remember enjoying programming when I was first learning and loved working through problems. These days, I often can't convince myself to bother. I've spent nearly a year slowly working on a bootloader, linker script, and boot sequence just to practice C, but the project has stalled. I'm also interested in game development, yet I tend to build isolated systems like menus or inventory mechanics without ever turning them into a complete project.
Has anyone else gone through a similar loss of motivation? Did taking a break help, or did you find a way to make side projects enjoyable again?
5 Answers
There’s no requirement to keep a side project alive just because you started it. Pause the bootloader, drop the game prototype, or let the curiosity return naturally. A project that takes a year to produce one line at a time may be telling you that it no longer fits your energy or interests, not that you need to force yourself harder.
Make the project deliberately tiny and treat it as finished when that small goal is complete. A one-mechanic game, a weekend utility, or a script that fixes a personal annoyance is enough. Don’t automatically turn it into the foundation of a larger system; finishing something can bring back the satisfaction that disappears in endless infrastructure work.
If the team-lead role is what removed the enjoyment, consider whether you actually want to stay in management. Returning to an individual-contributor position can give you more time in the code and may be a better fit. It’s also possible that the problem isn’t programming itself, but exhaustion from your current role.
Before making a major career change, I’d still try resting properly and checking whether the lack of enjoyment affects non-work activities too. If almost nothing feels fun anymore, that points to broader burnout rather than just a coding problem.
You could also stop waiting for motivation and create a lightweight routine around a short list of projects. For example, take a walk after work, then spend 15–30 minutes on one clearly defined task. The goal isn’t to make huge progress every day, just to move the project forward without making the session feel like another full workday. Over time, the routine may start feeling rewarding instead of forced.
It may be worth taking a complete break from coding for a while. If programming has become your job, adding more of it to your evenings can make burnout worse. Try a hobby that is unrelated to technology, ideally something away from screens, and come back to coding only when you genuinely feel curious again.
I’ve found this helpful too. Learning something hands-on, like knitting or crochet, gives your brain a different kind of challenge without feeling like more work.
That makes sense. I often start with one small feature and then disappear into architecture, entity systems, or a much larger design before anything is playable.