How to concentrate again after getting stuck at some point

Question

I'm a self-employed IT guy at the moment. My self discipline is quite decent usually, I plan and think a lot before implementing something. I got stuck at some point now, because I didn't foresee a small detail and need to fix it at many points of my project now (should require me 2-3 working days to fix). For the last 4-5 days my coding productivity hit the bottom, I went on to deal with other parts of the project such as graphics, sound effects. But as you can imagine it is not a permanent solution, I have to go back to coding and fix the issue.

I know after it is fixed, I will get back to my previous pace. Any ideas how to motivate myself? Looking back at past I found myself in this situation a couple of times sometimes dropped the project sometimes it took me 2-3 times more time. Anybody found himself/herself in a similar situation and has a working solution?

Answer 1

Please let me start with my background first. I'm a developer. At work, my title is a code monster. :) We do pair programming. My buddy's title is "Hyper productivity seeker". :) Pair-programming helps a lot in a situation like this. We also estimate projects/requirement together. Sometimes, my pair does the work I don't like and I do what he doesn't like to do. And if both of us don't like the task, we do it together or we take turns. We found that doing this really helps keep us motivated at work. We feel like we can attack any difficult job.

For you situation, I think you should just bring in somebody, you don't have to expect the person to help you work. Just tell him what you're working on, what's your problem. He/she might point out something you just didn't see. Or maybe he/she ask a question that lead you to realize that you might ask the wrong question, not that you can't find the right answer.

When you're back to your pace, you can consider about pair-programing. I found my best match. I hope you will find yours and get your speed together. :)

Answer 2

If I'm understanding the situation, you have some unexciting cleanup to do that is going to take you a few days to complete. And the anxiety of doing that work is affecting you in other ways as you continue to delay the effort.

Make a deal with yourself to start working on it in pieces. The most important thing you can do is get started on the task. Maybe the first time you work on it for only 10-15 minutes. Set a timer. Work on it in short bursts and you'll find either you do eventually get it done in a series of short bursts or at the end of a time slot you decide to just keep going and get it done.

Bottom line, is there anything preventing you from getting started on the task? If not, get going, even if it's only a short burst! Then do another one.

Answer 3

How to concentrate again after getting stuck at some point

try refactoring. Read "Clean code" (if you haven't done it) and try to make your code as clean as possible; this will get you back into the zone (works for me every time)