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I'm a hobbyist. I'm in the process of writing a very nice piece of software for Unity, which will eventually be sold/used in my current projects. It will be great to have on a portfolio. But the problem is, despite the fact that it's been going pretty well, I don't feel motivated to program. I put it off, doing anything else before it. Usually I would do some art, but it's a programming-only project. How can I get my enthusiasm to write code for it back?

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Paying someone else to do it always worked too ... – Rook Oct 8 '11 at 15:02

marked as duplicate by Mark Trapp Oct 8 '11 at 18:25

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…do it already, or drop it.

Is it really worth? Judging from your description it's not life changing enough.

You would like to have it done aready. But you don't bother working on in in the future.

A software project isn't a novel. A software project never ends. You either commit to it or you drop it.

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+1 Very good point: a software project never ends. One can always find a way to refactor things, add new functionality, etc. Staying within a particular scope can be important. – Iterator Oct 8 '11 at 16:32
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Can't agree more. Programmers who don't have a desire to complete/ship aren't much more than random typist... – Permas Oct 8 '11 at 17:29
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Bite it off in small pieces. Do a little bit at a time. After a while you will see that you are in striking distance of finishing.

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I was having a similar problem like @Muzz5's but "Bite it off in small pieces" tip just got it solved. Thanks @Mike! Now I think the issue is not the motivation but the way you think of the project and the planning. – matte Oct 8 '11 at 16:40
@matte: Often I have to face some octopus-like piece of work that I'd much rather ignore. I can't even plan it very much, it just seems too messy. But if I just nibble at it around the edges, after a while it becomes not fun, but do-able. – Mike Dunlavey Oct 8 '11 at 18:17
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Maybe you are working too much. Notice the word 'working.' I did not say programming. This is because it can happen in any kind of thing one may happen to work on. Maybe you got bored or just need something else to focus on.

Why not take a break? You are already procrastinating by prioritising other things before programming, and a break never hurts (unless you are on a real crunch). Try to set some time for which you won't be programming, period. I can assure by the end of this limit, you will be itching to get back to it.

I personally like to divide any task into smaller sub-tasks, and make a check-list. Whenever I get something done, I tick it, and in the end I end up fighting with the list, and not my laziness.

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