Your path can be full of many ruts and it can be somewhat challenging to stay motivated. You need to have a constant voice in your head (or on paper) reminding you what drives you; what makes you smile while writing code.
Before I get too far into motivation, I need to talk about where this idea came from. I've finished Apprenticeship Patterns and am now in the process of doing the actions Dave Hoover prescribes. The moment I finished, I wanted to jump up and manically scribble thoughts and complete all the exercises. But I didn't. I let the book digest for a day or two. Turns out, that motivated me even more.
Naturally, I thumbed through the pattern listing and decided I would first tackle "Sustainable Motivations". I never doubted my motivation on a project, but I have felt the intensity change. Now that I'm focused on The Long Road, I want to be reminded of my motivators. The ones that you can really feel in the pit of your stomach.
So, I did an exercise and wrote down 15 of my motivations, took a break, and wrote down 5 more. Then, I whittled the list down to its essence.
- Creating a rock-solid foundation
- Learning something new
- Simplicity
- Delivering
- Exceeding Expectations
All of these motivations are how I feel, not what other people think. They are connected to me and are a subset of my core values. Reading them out loud jumpstarts my brain into code mode or spawns an infinite conveyor belt of ideas. I'll keep these in mind as I continue my path with the rigorous (maybe frustrating, at times) learning ahead.
I suggest if you're struggling to keep your motivation, or you want to ratchet it up a notch, to give this exercise a try. But remember, the most important part is to keep the list somewhere you can access it in a pinch. Think of it as a delicious candy bar you'll need in the middle of a long day.
How do you stay motivated? Tell me on twitter @corymonty.