Your conjecture is quite reasonable, possibly accurate. Tracking bigger goals has definitely been a problem for me.

I love computer science and programming in general, so I am not about to give that up. I guess once in a while I need someone to consult or do stuff together with—like when I've been stuck on a bug for a while.

I will try to create that "custom" overarching framework. Hard to get right, but it might be fruitful.