Coding For Fun

Sometimes when I’m coding for work, I feel like it’s lost all it’s fun. At work, we sometimes have to work on boring projects. For me the boring projects are the ones where I don’t even have to think about what I’m doing. The tools, the framework, the existing libraries are enough that I can get the job done without even really thinking about it. The kind of project where you can just go straight for 2 hours of programming, compile once, run it, and it just works, no fixes needed.

Now when you can do this, you at least you know you are doing something right. Because not everything you have to do should be some kind of epic battle to get stuff done. Trudging into new territory. But that doesn’t mean it doesn’t drown your spirits when the only thing you’re doing it just going through the movements to get the code into the computer.

I really enjoy going out and exploring new tools, new languages, new language features, new anything, because it really makes me think. It opens up your mind to new possibilities. A developer who doesn’t code for fun is usually not a very good developer. If you can’t take pleasure in exploring programming, learning new techniques, discovering unexplored territory, then you’re going to have a lot of trouble staying on top of all the new technologies.

If you find yourself getting bored with coding, just go out and try something completely new. Program a type of application that you have never programmed before, in some language that you aren’t that familiar with. Exploring new avenues in development will take your mind off the day to day drudgery that your job is, and really help to bring the fun back into programming.

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