> Most likely my dilemma is that I seem not to be able to decide where to specialize and programming alone has become quite boring. I kinda want to do everything and can not decide which is the most fun of games, web, mobile, desktop or security.
This sounds familiar, I experience the same thing whenever I sit down to do anything (not just coding stuff) that's supposed to be 'for fun' only, and has no clear utility value. There's simply too many things I want to do, which paradoxically has a paralyzing effect on me. There's at least 20 things I still want to develop, at least 20 books I still want to read, 20 video games I'd like to finish, 20 things I want to improve around the house, I have a car disassembled to pieces I still want to put back together, I want to learn to play the guitar, I want to pick up sports again (tennis, so I'd have to join a club), I want to travel and spend weekends outdoors hiking and such, etc.
The net result is that every time I sit down to do something, in a strange way I feel guilty not doing any of the other stuff that's in the back of my head. This in turn distracts me from what I was planning to do. In the end, nothing gets done.
One thing that has helped me a little is to try and do one thing of each activity at a time. In other words: work on only one code project at a time, not multiple. Read one book at a time, not multiple. Play one video game completely through, or drop it completely if it gets boring. Pick one thing you want to improve around the house and finish it completely before starting something new.
This works for some things, but not all. Travelling more or picking up sports requires a different kind of discipline, but I'm not sure how to get myself to actually get moving. It's a character weakness I think.
Yeah I kinda try to complete one project at a time, but mostly the projects get shelved when I lose interest in it because I keep thinking about other stuff and find them more interesting.
Currently I am trying to complete one small project without putting it aside. Though I am still thinking other projects, but luckily at the moment those projects in my head require cash which I don't have, so I can't drop this and start the next.
Comments
> Most likely my dilemma is that I seem not to be able to decide where to specialize and programming alone has become quite boring. I kinda want to do everything and can not decide which is the most fun of games, web, mobile, desktop or security.
This sounds familiar, I experience the same thing whenever I sit down to do anything (not just coding stuff) that's supposed to be 'for fun' only, and has no clear utility value. There's simply too many things I want to do, which paradoxically has a paralyzing effect on me. There's at least 20 things I still want to develop, at least 20 books I still want to read, 20 video games I'd like to finish, 20 things I want to improve around the house, I have a car disassembled to pieces I still want to put back together, I want to learn to play the guitar, I want to pick up sports again (tennis, so I'd have to join a club), I want to travel and spend weekends outdoors hiking and such, etc.
The net result is that every time I sit down to do something, in a strange way I feel guilty not doing any of the other stuff that's in the back of my head. This in turn distracts me from what I was planning to do. In the end, nothing gets done.
One thing that has helped me a little is to try and do one thing of each activity at a time. In other words: work on only one code project at a time, not multiple. Read one book at a time, not multiple. Play one video game completely through, or drop it completely if it gets boring. Pick one thing you want to improve around the house and finish it completely before starting something new.
This works for some things, but not all. Travelling more or picking up sports requires a different kind of discipline, but I'm not sure how to get myself to actually get moving. It's a character weakness I think.
Yeah I kinda try to complete one project at a time, but mostly the projects get shelved when I lose interest in it because I keep thinking about other stuff and find them more interesting.
Currently I am trying to complete one small project without putting it aside. Though I am still thinking other projects, but luckily at the moment those projects in my head require cash which I don't have, so I can't drop this and start the next.