Hey everyone! I'm a 24-year-old developer who's been working remotely for a few years. While I appreciate the steady job I have, lately, I feel like I've hit a wall. Our backend is pretty tough to work with since there's no proper dev setup, which makes debugging a nightmare. On the other hand, frontend tasks are much easier since I can push directly to staging.
I've been procrastinating a lot and even relying on AI tools, but I'm currently stuck on a bug that's been dragging me down for over a week. I know the project will ramp up soon, and I really don't want to let my amazing CEO down. I also recently finished my master's and went through a breakup, which has added to my feelings of apathy and frustration.
So, I'm reaching out to you all to ask: what strategies do you use to deal with procrastination and motivate yourself when coding gets tough? How can I push through this mental block and keep improving as a developer and as a person? Any tips or personal stories would be greatly appreciated!
2 Answers
First off, I would suggest stepping back from AI tools for a bit. The best way to learn backend workflows is to shadow a more experienced engineer if possible. If there isn’t anyone around to help, focus on making the software easier to handle overall instead of straining your brain trying to figure it out all alone.
This situation is common in backend vs frontend discussions—many backend setups can't run locally. I work on numerous services, and only a few can be set up that way. My advice is to check if your backend language supports remote debugging. If so, work with your infrastructure team to enable that. It might require some team communication, but it's worth it to step through the code directly. Also, understanding why things can’t run locally can lead to a big productivity boost—if you can uncover solutions, it'll help everyone.
Thanks for the insight! I hadn't thought about enabling remote debugging or analyzing the setup—I'll definitely look into it!