5 ways to quickly defeat the stupor of the programmer

Laziness. Overload. Confusion. Lack of purpose. Each programmer during his work is faced with a number of negative emotions. And if they get out of control, they begin to have a significant impact on development, and in some even become the cause of the complete rejection of further work.

If you have ever thought that you are just not able to write code, although in fact knowledge is enough for this, it means that you have come across a so-called programmer's stupor. In fact, this is the same creative crisis.
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Overcoming psychological stupor is always difficult, but it is worth remembering that they always have a root cause. Having found it, you will be able to move towards victory and success .

Let's look at some of the most common causes of a programmer’s crisis, and analyze how to deal with them.

Root cause # 1: Helplessness

The first major source of crisis, especially among beginners, is helplessness. This is the very feeling of overload that makes you “hang out” and run away from your problems, sitting for hours on Netflix or wandering around Reddit.

Helplessness itself can be divided into two sub-problems: lack of knowledge and difficulty in managing tasks.

Let's say you were hired as a programmer, and your first task is to remove a few bugs from a large work program created within the company itself. You need to check millions of lines of code and thousands of pages of documentation, and there’s nothing pleasant about it.

Where to begin? Yes, the situation is not easy, and you do not need to have a special imagination to understand that this situation can lead to the disappearance of enthusiasm from the programmer.

In this case, we recommend using this tactic: break the task into small parts, and then use the to-do list to track your progress step by step.

What else will help you? Sharpening your general knowledge of the topic. Perhaps you need to get acquainted with something unknown, for example, to master a new programming language. Try to carefully analyze all the free textbooks on your specialty available to you, after which you will feel more confident.

If the books are not your thing, you can familiarize yourself with several courses for Udemy programmers. The point is that after studying the maximum amount of material the programming process will no longer seem so complicated.

Root cause # 2: Fear of failure

Fear of failure is indirectly associated with the idea of ​​"congestion." He is able to influence both beginners and experienced specialists. And, although it affects not everyone, but many suffer from it.

In short, you know what is required and you have the skills necessary to do the job. But you are so much worried about whether you can cope with the fact that this anxiety paralyzes, not allowing you to even get down to business. Some procrastinate, and the rest and completely abandoned programming.

There are many people who are critical about this issue. It is very easy to stumble upon seemingly offensive concise advice, for example, on a statement by Bill Schindler.

“I have never come across this,” said software consultant and XML specialist Bill Schindler. “I don’t know why we allow people to use such stupid excuses as a programmer’s creative crisis / stupor ... The only cure for a programmer’s crisis is to start programming something, anything - just like the only remedy for a writer’s stupor - to start writing.”

But those who have experienced a similar psychological failure readily give advice and recommendations that can be useful: sleep, walk in nature, or even meditate.

“I like this analogy for meditation: defragmenting the hard disk, clearing the cache, and deleting temporary files,” writes one of the Slashdot visitors.

Many have shown by their own experience the effectiveness of meditation to reduce anxiety and “refresh” the head. We recommend that you familiarize yourself with these free meditative tools and they will help you get started. But such applications , soothing your mind, can work wonders.

But in principle, the fear of failure is a spiritual and internal problem that needs to be overcome . The words “just do it” do not always bring significant benefits, but often they are the most successful path to salvation.

Root cause number 3: aimlessness

For those who program on behalf of others - and this is true for all programmers who are not owners of their own startups - the motivation is depleted from time to time. At such moments, you begin to feel that the work is devoid of any meaning.

If we look at the theory of motivation, we find that it has 2 forms: internal and external.

An external stimulus is something that forces you to do what you do not want to do. Common examples are salary, bonuses, threat, etc. The inner stimulus lurks in you: you do something because you want it, even without receiving any external rewards.

At any moment you usually act under the influence of many factors, which are a mixture of both internal and external stimuli. But if only external motivation drives your movement, then you may begin to wonder: “What am I doing here at all?”

In this situation, you have 2 options. You can either find an internal incentive for your current projects, or find another idea that can really inspire you.

Intrinsic motivation consists of dreams and goals. Are you personally interested in the results of your activities? Do you agree with the goals and beliefs of your company? Do you have a feeling that part of the work you do?

If not, then it's time to think about where you could “invest” yourself. Look for ways to create your own project, even to share with someone. In the worst case, if you simply cannot find internal stimuli, it may be time to change the conditions to more successful ones.

Root cause # 4: Boredom

Some programmers, especially relatively experienced ones, lose interest in programming, for it begins to seem boring to them. This problem is somewhat different from the aimlessness mentioned above, because here we are talking more about an obstacle than a goal.

Or, to put it another way, by working on extremely simple, too trivial, or completely routine projects, you may suddenly discover that the brain is constantly on autopilot. Everything is very easy, and therefore the task does not fascinate you, and you do not want to write code further.

The solution is to find a way to challenge yourself again.

By working for a company, you can voluntarily take on more responsibilities. Why, instead of just “catching” bugs and installing common utilities, do not ask about changing the task or transfer to another team? This option is not always suitable, but still worth a try.

Another way - more practical - to take up a personal, third-party project. Try to create something that goes beyond the basic work duties. If you write games during the day, try building sites in the evenings.

“I recommend that programmers have 2-3 parallel active tasks on which he (a) can work. Caught in a dead end, it is useful to switch and do something else for a while, and then return to the problem and look at it from a different point of view. ”

There are few ways to relieve boredom as effectively as changing activities, and programming is no exception. Sometimes you just need something new.

Root cause # 5: Burnout

If none of the reasons listed above is suitable, you may have just reworked and burned out, and even are on the verge of workaholism. Among its signs are anxiety, fear of unproductiveness, neglect of health for the sake of work.

Burnout is a psychological term that implies long-term fatigue and reduced interest in work. Burnout is believed to be the result of chronic occupational stress (for example, overload).

“The symptoms of burnout are similar to those of clinical depression. In a study directly comparing the depressive symptoms of burned-out workers and patients with clinical depression, no differences of diagnostic significance were found between the groups. Employees facing burnout reported as many depressive symptoms as patients with clinical depression. ”

Workaholism can cause changes in your brain and body, which can have a serious impact on your psychological well-being. Loss of motivation to create code is just one of many potential symptoms.

To overcome this obstacle is difficult. There is no universal solution here. However, if workaholism seems like a real problem to you, perhaps it’s time to think about abandoning programming.

You can be a workaholic programmer, even if writing code is not your main occupation. Third-party projects and hobbies can be equally destructive if you let them get out of control.

How do you deal with a programmer crisis?

Sometimes a stupor can be triggered by hunger, thirst or sitting position. If your brain does not have enough food or water, then you have every chance to face sharp attacks of depression and loss of motivation.

For the sake of warm-ups you can practice without going to the gym. If you are really limited in time, we recommend that you perform these exercises right next to the desktop. A healthy body is in many ways the key to psychological health.

PS We recommend another useful article on the topic of working on yourself - 8 clear signs of a successful life that have nothing to do with money or fame .

The author of the translation is Vyacheslav Davidenko, the founder of the TESTutor company.