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Finding your motivation
“Talk is cheap. Show me the code.” — Linus Torvalds
I believe in a world of open source software. A world where people contribute to projects that they believe in and want to contribute to. How do we make this happen? The answer is simple — people must code.
To start contributing and creating products time must be put in to do so. In order for people to put this time into the work there must be some form of underlying motivation to do so. This motivation must be intrinsic (from inside), not extrinsic (from outside).
The ability to create software equates to turning time and effort into something digitally substantial. Developers have the ability to create products, solve problems, create profit and become something from nothing!
For most people what they create is not up to them. Why are there so many developers in the world who only create what large corporate bodies tell them to? We work in an industry that has so much potential for the mere employee. Why? Because the employee has the ability to create, and the ability to create is the power to reach great potential.
Every coder has a side project. Some have many. It is that unfinished project or brilliant idea that will sky rocket them to riches beyond belief and freedom to build what they desire and have control over their future. It is often simply a matter of finishing said project.
Finishing this project can sometimes be the hardest thing imaginable. This can be a product of lack of time, energy or other commitments. Is it really because of these things? No. What it comes down to is not an issue or time, or the perfect idea, or the perfect audience — it is an issue of motivation.
Examples of behaviours that are the result of extrinsic motivation are: studying because you want a good grade, cleaning your room to avoid being reprimanded by your parents, training for a sport to win a trophy. In each of these examples the behaviour is motivated by the desire to gain the reward or avoid undesirable outcomes.
Intrinsic motivation is behaviour that is displayed because it is personally rewarding — performing an activity for its own sake rather than a desire for a reward. Examples of this are: participating in a sport because you enjoy the activity, or studying because you like the subject. There is an internal force to do an activity for it’s own sake.
External motivation simply does not last; it is strong in the beginning but fades fast. Intrinsic motivation is an underlying force that keeps pushing you.
How do you feed this intrinsic fire? There are many ways to keep on track, one very simply rule is you must track your progress. The ability to see progress towards your goals will keep you motivated and on track.
There is a simple tool that can be done with a wall calendar and a pen, its very easy. Simply decide on a goal, such as I will commit 30 minutes of code to my project everyday. Then everyday you achieve this goal you mark off a day on the calendar. As you manage to continuously commit code each day, you create a chain. Eventually you will look at your calendar and see a series of days that you have worked on your project. This shows progress. It encourages you to not break the chain. This is called a ‘don’t break the chain’ system.
Jerry Seinfield popularised this method, I have tried it, and trust me it works. Give it a go and see if you are more productive.
The time is now to start solving problems and working on your ideas.
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Learn more about my thoughts and ideas at spencer-walden.com
