Time for #DevDiscuss!
Tonight's topic is STAYING MOTIVATED!
Something we all need to do.
Ho do you stay motivated?
What factors affect motivation?
What's your responsibility and what's on your team or leadership?
Time for #DevDiscuss!
Tonight's topic is STAYING MOTIVATED!
Something we all need to do.
Ho do you stay motivated?
What factors affect motivation?
What's your responsibility and what's on your team or leadership?
When if comes to motivation often the hardest part is getting started. I find if I push myself to take the first step then I often get into a flow. #DevDiscuss
Time for #DevDiscuss!
Tonight's topic is STAYING MOTIVATED!
Something we all need to do.
Ho do you stay motivated?
What factors affect motivation?
What's your responsibility and what's on your team or leadership?
How I stay motivated:
1. Know when to take a break
2. Try to find balance (non tech hobbies)
3. Change it up (your desk, your text editor, your environment)
4. Be lazy for a night
5. Do some little todos to build the momentum
#DevDiscuss
Motivation is a trend, not a moment. It's tightly coupled to your long-term stress levels and work/life balance. A short vacation won't fix it. An off day or week is normal; any longer than that means you need to take better care of yourself. #DevDiscuss
Motivation can be effected by a lot of things.
It could be the problem you’re working on. Maybe it’s not your favorite.
It could be you’re tired of your office. Go work in a meeting room or another floor. I used to do this all the time. #DevDiscuss
What helps me stay motivated is just taking a minute to remember why I am doing what I am doing when I need it and listening to podcasts. Hearing and reading people’s stories reminds me that if they can do it I can too #devdiscuss
It helps to be honest with yourself and your team. It’s ok to be less motivated some days. Don’t beat yourself up for it.
If you’re in a leadership position, don’t beat your team up for it.
Slow and steady wins the race. #DevDiscuss
Time for #DevDiscuss!
Tonight's topic is STAYING MOTIVATED!
Something we all need to do.
Ho do you stay motivated?
What factors affect motivation?
What's your responsibility and what's on your team or leadership?
I am going to break this up into parts because I have tried a lot of things.
I try to stay motivated by delineating work stuff from the rest of my life. Including side projects and side learning. That way, my feelings about work don’t seep I to the rest of my life #devdiscuss
If you’re one who likes to code at night in addition to your day job, take the night off (or the weekend or the week). Don’t force yourself to be motivated repeatedly. Your productivity is a long term game. #DevDiscuss
Setting specific, realistic goals for myself and checking in on progress regularly helps a lot. Also scheduling work patterns that maximize my productivity/minimize burnout. (Of course, it really helps when you have managers who understand and support this! 😁) #DevDiscuss
Time for #DevDiscuss!
Tonight's topic is STAYING MOTIVATED!
Something we all need to do.
Ho do you stay motivated?
What factors affect motivation?
What's your responsibility and what's on your team or leadership?
Factors that affect motivation: confidence (including impostor syndrome), and seeing progress, big or small. This is going to take me on a tangent. Follow along. #devdiscuss
I have been having a rough few weeks with times where I didn’t feel like I was making any impact and imagining “is this all I got?” On a late train home, I was listening to the latest episode of @CodeNewbies where the guest took 5 YEARS to get the job he wanted #DevDiscuss
The Terminator has some good words about not beating yourself up. This comment is in regards to someone struggling with depression and not being motivated to hit the gym. #DevDiscuss
I have list of easy tasks. Some are within current projects, some are tweaks to my dev machine 😀 When my motivation is lack it let myself do one of those before what I’m stuck on. #DevDiscuss
I can attest to this! And sometimes you're the only one thinking that you should keep plowing forward even if you're really tired, when in reality even the people around you, your team mates, are telling you to take it easy. #DevDiscuss
It helps to be honest with yourself and your team. It’s ok to be less motivated some days. Don’t beat yourself up for it.
If you’re in a leadership position, don’t beat your team up for it.
Slow and steady wins the race. #DevDiscuss
Oops, didn’t get the #devdiscuss part down right. Oh well.
Where was I going with this? Just keep going, a little at a time. Bad moments do not last forever.
Staying motivated when depressed has been hard though. I haven't yet figured how to stay motivated during those times because I stop caring about the goal. #DevDiscuss
This, and repeat the following: "Streaks don't matter."
Streaks are not habits. Break a streak, and it's over. Miss a day of a habit, and you'll come back.
#DevDiscuss
If you’re one who likes to code at night in addition to your day job, take the night off (or the weekend or the week). Don’t force yourself to be motivated repeatedly. Your productivity is a long term game. #DevDiscuss
Another thing I do sometimes is acknowledge I’m not motivated TODAY (the important part is ONE day). For that day I catch up on e-mails and other paperwork #DevDiscuss
My motivation is pure momentum during the wall hitting times. Succeeding in bringing ideas to life sparks my creativity, which gives me purposeful motivation. I've tried to quit, yet I always return. #DevDiscuss
I keep motivated by always looking at a new challenge. New technologies, new engineering area, impressing a new client. Find the unique part of what you’re working on and focus on that! #DevDiscuss
That last part (and my therapist had helped me with this)
Everyday, I have done the best that I can. If I find that the motivation meter is down, the universe will not change it. I can.
That is just me and my experience, of course. #devdiscuss
I've found a visual progress tracker has been really helpful. I'm using a blank monthly calendar b/c not a lot of space per day. I only record some stuff, like "run" or tracking work hours (contractor) or fun stuff (movie). Can easily see/track trends. #DevDiscuss
Usually, deadlines work as a motivator for me to finish things. It puts me in a lot of stress, yes, but I certainly get more done if I'm aware of when I need to deliver it VS it being an open-ended thing. #DevDiscuss
I... Don't. 😔
This is a point I struggle with often. My biggest motivators are filling a visible need, and making sure those I work with aren't held behind because of me.
#devdiscuss
The other comment I’ll make on motivation is that emotions are temporary. Frustration, excitement, etc. It motivates me to always be working towards that next thrill of success. That can be a small victory or a big one, either what. #DevDiscuss
This is good for short term things though, I think? Because if I do this too much too long, I start to get tired and either not care enough to finish something, or just damage myself further by finishing something & end up even more in a position not to do anything #DevDiscuss
When I struggle with tasks some days (working from home, this is not uncommon), I sometimes use the pomodoro method as a test. If I can't focus for a single one, I put that task aside for now. Result is usually worse to try push through, then come back. #DevDiscuss
This is an important point; as an indicator, I whole-heartedly agree.
Also important is that as an action (ie. to motivate), it not only lives in the moment but can truly shine, particularly when contagious :)
#DevDiscuss
A question for those in #DevDiscuss now: do you think that environment is a factor that can help motivate (or de-motivate)? Where do you usually find yourself more motivated to work? Or are you the type who can work anywhere?
In moments when I am facing impostor syndrome (which is a huge factor in motivation), I think @MinaMarkham said “I am not a good enough actor to fool an entire industry” and that was a WORD. #devdiscuss
👍👍 I also remind people (and myself) all the time, especially before presentations, that no one knows what you've done as well as you do. I think we easily forget our own knowledge and raise others artificially. You *can* do it. :) #DevDiscuss
That makes sense to me. Long term deadlines, if treated the wrong way, can turn into long term crunch mode. If you’re sprinting all the time, you’re gonna get tired. #DevDiscuss
Personally I find myself more motivated to do work when I'm NOT at home, even during the times I did have the option to work at home.
Home just drains me too much that I can't really get myself to finish things related to work. #DevDiscuss
Put me in an open plan office space and my productivity will hit 0 and my anxiety will hit 10. I feel like I'm being constantly spied on. Quiet space (library, home office) and I'm good. #DevDiscuss
I try to find a way to incorporate something new (tech or concept) into a project. If I am using the same stack and approach all the time, I get bored. #DevDiscuss
I've been thinking about motivation by way of self-promotion / celebrating victories. I keep a kudos list in my #bujo of small wins which keep me motivated when I'm feeling discouraged. @lara_hogan's Donut Manifesto also comes to mind #DevDiscusshttps://t.co/6EjASvtITK
I love this a lot. Vacations should be fun, not only used as a method of decompression. You have to find ways to decompress more regularly than vacation. #DevDiscuss
For better or for worse, I'm really motivated by positive feedback. I keep a folder on my computer with screenshots and typed quotes of nice things people have said!
I'm also really motivated by getting stuff done, so I normally focus on smaller projects.
#DevDiscuss
Environment can be a factor, yes. For me, a change of scenery and some good tunes and do wonders. I can technically work from anywhere, but I have preference. Sound is big for me. If it's too loud, too much audible conflict, I find it hard to think and focus #DevDiscuss
I need to find a good coffee shop to work at on Saturdays/Sundays. I’m always anxious that my stuff will get stolen if I go to the bathroom. I do a lot of good work when I leave the house. Naps are my crutch when I am stuck. #devdiscuss
I've been thinking about staying motivated on open-ended projects.
How I'm managing:
- Periods of focus time where I push forward
- Regular breaks to give myself time to process
- Break down next steps into stories when possible, & take on bite size chunks at a time
#DevDiscuss
Time for #DevDiscuss!
Tonight's topic is STAYING MOTIVATED!
Something we all need to do.
Ho do you stay motivated?
What factors affect motivation?
What's your responsibility and what's on your team or leadership?
Yes to both of these! I used to think those types of motivation were childish but I think it was just making myself ok with the fact that the working world isn’t quick to give praise. We should all be better at telling people when they’ve done well! #DevDiscuss
In general the most important thing that I've learned is that it's not really about motivation at all - it's about persistence.
No one is always motivated. But you can choose to be persistent & you can choose to practice self-care so that doing so doesn't drain you.
#DevDiscuss
I stay motivated by looking at the past, the progress I made to get to the present, and the shrinking space between the present and the future goals. Feeling stuck is frustrating. I’m learning to ask for help, take a break, or rethink or remap the part I’m stuck on. #DevDiscuss
Find someone else who's working and sit near them. Then, when you need to step away, ask if they'll keep an eye on your stuff. I find people are usually really open to this. #DevDiscuss
Staying motivated is hard and it comes and goes. I find I’m not motivated when I’m tired. I set a schedule and do my best to stick to it. I know I won’t meet it all the time. But I don’t beat myself up and get back to the routine as soon as possible. #DevDiscuss
Breaking things down is one I didn’t realize helps with my own motivation. Thanks for mentioning it.
When I break things down, the problems tend to get better understood and more simple to wrap my head around. This must lead to motivation. #DevDiscuss
A good work environment, balance between personal and professional life, trust, mentory. If you are the person who knows the most in the place, you are in the wrong place. #DevDiscuss
The show doesn't even have to be related to what I really do at work; usually it's because the show has a character is the "we'll be able to do this no matter what!" kind of person, and it eventually rubs off on me for a while 😆 #DevDiscuss
#devdiscuss I stay motivated by tracking how much less time tasks take after I write my code, and by always having smaller projects that can be implemented quickly among larger projects. No substitute for seeing your work actually make a difference, & colleagues are so grateful!
There is a local event that is being thrown here in Metro Detroit. One day, single track with great speakers from the Midwest. Tickets are on sale https://t.co/7FM59BeyJW#DevDiscuss
Intrinsic motivation is the best (and longest lasting). But extrinsic has it's place. Games and gamification works through extrinsic motivation. But, *great* games keep you there from intrinsic motivation. 🕹️ #DevDiscuss
If you're feeling demotivated but switching your focus is impossible or makes you anxious, look for things that will help tangentially and are different enough to feel like a blank page. Specially if it won't take much time. #DevDiscuss
