Status: lack of motivation or lack of time? I dunno...

[tr1p1ea]

Or in your case, like being a genius .

*hides from Jim e's wrath*

[kv83]

Nah, I remember that I touched z80 after more than a year again, and I even improved without writing z80 a year... it was when I made the small Chip's Challenge demo with Jedd's sprites... anyone remember that?

[Jim e]

Or in your case, like being a genius .

*hides from Jim e's wrath*

Your setting the bar really HIGH for me, I'm starting to stess.

*runs & hides in shame*

[the_unknown_one]

@Jim e: No man, don't worry, we know you're not super, ur only human, just like us. If it doesnt work out, it's not your fault.

@Kv83: Yea i remember it, it was very nice!

I've had the same thing too, end of 2004 i stopped coding z80 a few months, and after it i had improved

[Jim e]

@Jim e: No man, don't worry, we know you're not super, ur only human, just like us. If it doesnt work out, it's not your fault.

Oh great now I feel insulted, Tr1p raise the bar for me, now it's be genius or be dumbass. j/k

Though it wierd how we all improve despite non-coding. Perhaps it's like working out a muscle, if you do it constantly, no breaks, you won't givew you self a chance to recoop, so even if raise the amount of wieght, you'll never get stronger unless take rest for a day.

Perhaps learning how to code is like doing more reps, more advanced coding like more wieght.

Or I should get off this wieght training analogy.

That, reminds me I need a new dumbell bar.

[leofox]

Nah, I remember that I touched z80 after more than a year again, and I even improved without writing z80 a year... it was when I made the small Chip's Challenge demo with Jedd's sprites... anyone remember that?

It happens quite a lot with stuff, that you actually get better for not doing it. I have it with games all the time, i suddenly was waaay better on Age of Kings after nog playing for 6 months..

[the_unknown_one]

Sorry Jim e if u thought i insulted u, but i didnt mean it that way, ur a genius

[Jim e]

Nah, i can be content being a dumbass.

[the_unknown_one]

Ur no dumbass man, ur fuckin smart, u made better sound & greyscale routines which is amazing! I hail to u, oh genius! *hails* *bows*

[dysfunction]

I IM'ed with Kevin rght after he first posted ith this, but I'll restate what i said here. We all get periods like this. You get excited at the outset of a new project, or even when you think of new features and ways of doing things in thatproject, but once its down to boring code without a lot of visual result you lose the motivation. I didn't program at all last summer; it wasn't until i started an exciting new project (Aura) that I got back my motivation for Ender's Game. So my advice: try a new project. Experiment around. Make a menu for Diortem or something else simple and fun, especially make something that looks cool and you can be immediately proud of. it also helps if you can make a new screen and have people rave about it, that always boosts your self-esteem- and your motivation.

[DJ_O]

As for yesterday I got a bit more motivation during the evening, but I decided to cut down in Diortem features a lot so I dont give myself too much pressure

[Gambit]

You are not alone.

Seriously, all programmers eventually experience this "phenomenon", like everybody before me said. Even ME! Why do you think that I have not finished ZGreyLib? I've thought about this last night, and I have some hypotheses:

• Time
  The big one. Whether it be school, work, or whatever, many coders are distracted because of something. I suffer from taking too many AP/Honors classes, where homework is demanding
• Motivation
  This is kind of a difficult field; it's basically how you feel, or what your mood is. Sometimes, doing something over and over gets boring, and you lose focus.
• Interests
  Another one. You may be doing other things that zap your time: extracurricular activities, hobbies, family, girlfriends, a life, etc.
• Planning
  For me, if I don't have a plan, it's kind of difficult. I don't really program "on-the-fly," rather, I like to follow steps that I've laid out. Also, doing too many projects at once can be discouraging.

I believe everyone of those points above are somewhat interlinked; lack of time results from other interests which reduces motivation because you don't have a plan... Maybe it's a curse? "Curse of the programmers"...

[Jim e]

The true phenomenon is becoming a better coder despite a lack of coding. It's counter intuitive to the common thought practice makes perfect. In this case sloth makes better. It is at the least more energy efficient.

Personally though I like to have a few small projects outside of my big project. Like the in game sound I did, it wasn't hard, just a nice break from the same old screen that I have been starring at for months now.

I think we could all use a simple side project that, as stated before, show results, instead of just debugging and fine tuning the same old project over and over and over.

That or get ritalin.

[Patori]

*goes to sleep*

[the_unknown_one]

I agree with ya both, totally my opinion. I have a lot of side projects, but i almost never finish them...