How do you guys stay motivated to practice/get better at programming...

How do you guys stay motivated to practice/get better at programming? Ever since I went back to school I have been struggling to do ANY programming on my own time. I just have no drive at all anymore. I was making good pace but now I'm on arrays and i've been there are like a month. I think I've done MAYBE 5 hours in total these last four weeks if that.

What do I do to get that fire again to program? Before anyone asks I am a CS major, but since I'm on probation at school I'm only taking two classes, one of which is computer systems. Everytime I try to program for fun/knowledge I either flat out don't want too, or I think to myself fuck this, I don't feel like trying to figure out this programming challenge right now

I don't

I realized inspiration and motivation are fleeting and discipline is required. But I never did anything to become more disciplined.

Okay, I'm not really following you here. What I'm trying to say is I want to break out of this pattern I'm in but with school, being unemployed, and all the other shit it's seems difficult as fuck. Is this just a mentality thing? Not to mention the huge uphill climb compared to where I want to be programming wise

Work out a lot. Force yourself to do it.

For me, the hardest part is being inexperienced. It's like starting in a video game. You have to grind through the first levels in order to become more experienced. Once you get rolling, it gets easier.
Also, find some sort of goal, like a project. I started by making an eeprom programmer. If I hadn't had a real, tangible goal I probably would've given up.
I know it sucks to hear, but you've just gotta tough it out at first.

You don't know what it's like to suffer.

Are you ?

yes

If you don't enjoy it fuck off.

Also it's not hard to be good at programming. It's literally this:

>always code so that you are operating on many things instead of one
>always keep code as modular \ separate and singular as possible

That's literally it.

you can laugh at me now

I just thought it was cool to find you posting in multiple threads. I can't even program myself, so I'm in no position to laugh at you. I come into threads like this where people are asking about learning to program, and I hope to find answers that will help me also.

You sound like a shit programmer yourself

bump

whos is this semon demon?

I know that exact feeling OP. I am a CS major as well but am trying to get a leg up on C++ and finding the motivation can be hard.

How far along are you? I lucked out of not taking structures because it was full, but computer systems is kinda beating me down. Not that it's really hard, just extremely boring to put in the effort. You ever take this class before? I was hopeful that by not taking structures I would be far ahead of the game but at this pace I dunno. I can definitely get started on structures now if I want but I still have to do arrays and pointers before that.
Paige on mfc

i'm putting in as much time as i can manage, because like professional sports, programmers peak at around 25, and if they haven't done any notable work by 30 they aren't going to.
I want to make sure that I know enough by then that I can do something notable.

Explain "notable"

I spent a lot of time programming screensaver type things that just made interesting color patterns. It gave me addictive instant gratification while learning programming. It's like how slot machines and video games give flashing color patterns to reward you; but even stronger when you're coding the patterns.

>if you don't enjoy it fuck off
not him but I don't agree with that. Education has a tendency to kill things you once found enjoyable and drain the life out of you

>on probation at school
>worried about comparing yourself to professional athletes
Here's a revolutionary idea, why don't you focus first on actually making good grades and finishing your education. Then focus on getting a decent job and doing well at whatever work you end up doing. After you get settled with that is when I'd start worrying about doing something "notable." I have a feeling once you finish school, get a job, and find some direction/purpose for your work and life you won't be very focused on being "notable."

Source on semen demon. It kinda looks like a young version of Lucy Cat (amateur porn star, it's NSFW).

Some people just love the process, most people just love the salary. Programming is not the craft for wizards anymore, so you either accept your slave life or try doing something else that gives you that inner fire.

That's kinda part of the problem. I'm already 25 and I still haven't finished school. At this point I pretty much have no choice but to do CS otherwise I'd have to start all over again. I've already wasted years of my life dicking around and doing nothing. Shit is depressing man. I do want to do it and enjoy programming, but lately it just feels like a chore rather than knowledge building. Plus the other areas of my life(health, social, financial) are so badly out of whack that now I kinda feel hopeless

Judging from your post you can neither program nor speak proper English.
And yet you've somehow enrolled on a university programme.

Paige on MFC, formerly PrincessPaige. Pretty good camfu. 10/10 ass.

@OP
This right here, you just need to do be disciplined enough to do it every day. There's no external factor stopping you from coding, there's only you. If you force yourself to do it you will.

YOU HAVE TO LIVE IT

She's pretty hot for sure

What works for me is that I really enjoy programming. I think that is thry key thing that gets overlooked in these discussions.

I didn't do the whole school thing. However, I remember when I started working as a software engineer. It had a similar effect on me as what you are describing. It took about 1 year before I felt motivated to work on my personal projects again.