Somehow I always thought that no-one else had this problem. Seriously.
I hope I can finally give up my youthful arrogance. I always believed that when people spoke about getting experience they meant learning more about writing software (and how I scoffed at that). But it's just as much, if not more, about learning how not to turn around and run away.
I eventually snapped out of it, but it took that whole week of just recharging my batteries to get back into it. I even managed to start working a few times during that drought and I always stopped almost immediately afterwards, never getting into the zone.
Maybe it's the nature of the work, maybe it's a common character flaw of people who do our work, I don't know. All I know is you're certainly not alone.
I also have this problem. It seems like every once in a while, I get stuck in this weird anti-productivity loop. I know I should be doing things, and I'll tell myself that I'll start in just a little bit or the next day, but end up not.
I've noticed that I can put a halt to this process quickly (hopefully this works for other people as well) by forcing myself to stop thinking about whatever it is I'm doing for a while, and do something creative or intellectually stimulating that is entirely unrelated to the problem at hand.
In my case, the "recharge" activity tends to be one of:
- playing musical instruments
- reading
- drawing / painting
- going outside and doing one of the above, or thinking about nature, physics, etc.
- studying (as in going through a book that I need a pencil and paper to make sure that I am understanding what's being shown in it).
In the case of studying, the subject matter doesn't have to be entirely unrelated to what I'm doing. I've been using Concrete Mathematics for this purpose lately. Studying, however, doesn't help if I'm stuck in anti-productivity mode and feeling like my brain's a bit burnt out though.
If I don't force myself to do one of my "recharge" activities, I remain in the "anti-productivity loop" for a while, at most a week or so.
It should be noted that the "anti-productivity loop" is a powerful force. It's easy to fall into, and it takes a bit of a force of will to break out of.
Perhaps it would be more appropriately labeled "state of negative-flow".
It's from weight training. I just heard of it a couple of days ago, but it's eerily similar. Also, plain common sense (but I needed to hear it). http://www.reddit.com/r/programming/comments/79fu6/7_ways_to...
Thanks for the tips, kaens. I will certainly keep them in mind in the future.
I think everyone goes through those phases, but honestly I haven't since I left my "real job". Whenever I find myself in a small rut, I just switch to another task or take a nap. There's always so much stuff to do at a startup - it's never ending work - that I always can find something else to work on in the intermediary. Being able to say that your website/blog/product literally gets better every day feels euphoric especially when talking to your investors, friends, family, cofounders.
I haven't worn a tie since I worked in a supermarket, and I sure as hell wasn't a professional there.
Here's what you need to remember: the difference between a professional and an amateur is that a professional comes and in and delivers work they'll stand behind all the time, whether it's fun or not. You are always going to work harder and faster when things are fun. Things are not always going to be fun. If you're a pro, you're going to keep going regardless.
Obligatory essay (not that they've set the world on fire either, but the sentiment is good): http://www.joelonsoftware.com/articles/fog0000000339.html (Fire and Motion).
Best of luck.