Recently (a couple of last weeks) I met a strange crisis in my life,I cannot focus to program, I cannot focus to read articles i only manage to read most general topics and answer to them and so on, I cannot make me interested in some things in core programming (It is probably because I am overworked so I thing it will change after some time)

This made me thinking that programming is hard because it is neccessary in this work to hold a real strong focus on some sort of things, and also wander (think) why programming is hard in general... Why programming is hard ? (I found it hard; at the beginning - i was coding in c64 asm when i was about 13 it was not so hard, but when you do it a couple of years at full time job it became hard for me - I am not sure but sometimes i think that when i was 13 I was doing it better then now at the age of 35 (code was maybe uglier but i was doing it with much more energy) - but this is digression)

Well...it's supposed to be hard right? If it would be easy it would mean that you're not really too free to do whatever you want.

Maybe try a higher level language? That should help.

It also depends on what kind of field you're working....if you want to make games but you have to make office extensions....i can understand why you're bored.

Well, it's called fatigue my friend, the enthusiasm is gone the joy of creating something with code is gone.

Don't worry it comes back!

some programming projects demands a lot of mental concentration and repetition of the same routine with no right away see results,

sometime in a professional work you need to write ton of code that is not directly connected to the end result (error handling for example) and it's a lot of sisyphean work.

working lot's of hours to get that deadline. there are many more reasons of course but you probably know them :)...

all this cause the fatigue.

I see coding as a form of art, and any artist after doing some grand art creation needs a rest.

you just need a vacation!! a rest to the mind, then back to the joy of creation.

In principle programming is very simple (the computer does what you tell it to do and you don't have to worry about stuff that are part of other professions), but programs are extraordinary mind-blowingly complex. That's pretty much it.

Or something...

When I work on my personal projects I call myself a hobbiest. That way I don't have anyone to answer to but myself. The code structure, the process, the documentation can be as formal or informal as I see fit. I would describe it as the difference of being to run fast and free to go where I want to. I love that feeling of coding free of worries and concerns. But it doesn't pay worth a damn.

For my job, I don't think of it as being paid to program, I'm paid to do all the other stuff. The formal process, the research, the documentation, the meetings. And I'm happy to do it because then I have both work that I do to make the money that I need to eat and live and a separate project that gives me the creative outlet that I need that keeps coding fun.

You just need to figure out how your own brain works and work to it's benefit towards your programming goal. Just like we all learn differently, we also work and program differently. We all, however, have certain thresholds and must properly balance work with play. Our brains must have play and time to relax. It's like a muscle. Some of us reach our thresholds sooner than others, and sometimes at more frequent times of the year than others. I know that I'm more productive at certain times of the year. It is indeed an art form and it's the same with art or any other creative brain process.

For myself, I take it day-by-day. I learned that my own brain can go seriously long periods of heavy coding, often very long days (12-18 hour days of nonstop coding is common with me) and I can go days and days like this, sometimes entire weeks and months. This year for me is a case in point. I don't even remember the first half of the year!

However, I will always reach a point where my brain has had enough and I have to do a 180. I have to take a step back and do something entirely different. I have to work my brain on a different level, often on a much lower level for a while, while my higher brain (and logical aspects) recuperate. It's a balancing act. So sometimes I absolutely have to stop coding, even if I'm in the middle of something... just stop and walk away and do something much simpler for a while. If it means taking a week off, then so be it.

What always happens with me, is when I come back to coding... when I shift back into high gear... I'm completely refreshed. I'm often more productive when I allow myself to take these "steps back" than I am when I force myself to constantly run on overdrive all the time.

I can sit there and be dumbfounded by a problem for hours. I could be coding fine all day, conquering obstacles left and right.. and then I'll hit a road block. If I force myself to sit there for hours I just won't get anywhere. But if i stop, take a long break, possibly go to sleep or take a nap, I'll come back to the problem and almost instantly I'm able to work my way around whatever issue I had. So I learned to be able to read myself and my own brain's wiring very well.

I think ultimately we all need to, to become productive and successful programmers/game developers.

Also remember that you are what you eat. If you put good food into your body your brain will have everything it needs to over come obstacles and figure out problems. If you are putting terrible stuff in you will be working your brain on inadequate fuel. Most people, however, never make this fundamental connection and go their whole lives looking at all the other culprits.

Well, it's called fatigue my friend, the enthusiasm is gone the joy of creating something with code is gone.

Don't worry it comes back!

some programming projects demands a lot of mental concentration and repetition of the same routine with no right away see results,

sometime in a professional work you need to write ton of code that is not directly connected to the end result (error handling for example) and it's a lot of sisyphean work.

working lot's of hours to get that deadline. there are many more reasons of course but you probably know them ...

all this cause the fatigue.

I see coding as a form of art, and any artist after doing some grand art creation needs a rest.

you just need a vacation!! a rest to the mind, then back to the joy of creation.

i got some longer break at the beginning of the year (in winter), and after that for couple of days i was feeling something like 'coding frenzy', excitement to code, but after a couple of months again i was begining to feel like i wrote above, i cannot focus.

But I was asking not only about that, I wander WHY programming is hard: (i do not know), i think some

reasons

- this is hard becouse of the fact that you must hold a focus for some kind of things for a long tIme (and this is maybe even unnatural for a man i think, - I feel it, focus is a strain and this strain is not healthy imo)

- this is hard becouse there is a lot to learn in the community to be considered a experienced programmer

- yet probably more reasons

Long breaks and other hobbies as well you need indeed, or else your brain will be damaged by stress and in the end it will lose its ability to learn and focus.

I am not kidding you. Stress is very dangerous for the brain. Take breaks and accept that you need them(breaks). No matter what other tells you. Your brain is your working tool. Take good care of it

Sometimes, I really don't feel like coding at all, I can't concentrate. So I spend the rest of the day to play games or watch anime. In the next day, I can code again, no problem. Sometimes it would take more than one day to get over this... "fatigue" (as mochiler said above) you think "programming is hard"? yeah, it IS hard and another reason: currently the brain is not working properly (for coding) because of stress. we all have this problem so don't worry, just take a break.

I don't find programming hard. In fact I find programming to be a fairly trivial task. Photoshop and artsy stuff now I find that really hard.

However as people have already said what you are suffering from is fatigue. Take a holiday for two weeks and you will be fine.