Obsession
Posted by Nick Johnson | Filed under tech, coding
For some time now, I've been working, on and off, on a P2P filesharing system, which I've dubbed 'Attercop' (named after the term used for 'spider' used in Old English and LOTR). Simply put, it's a replacement for DC++, designed mostly for LAN environments. It uses multicast, so no central hub is required, and it improves on a number of the most glaring weaknesses in DC++. I'm writing it in C#.NET.Like most projects I embark on, I started off hugely enthusiastic, spending as much time as I could spare on it. Normally, I'd continue like that until either I get the project completed, or I burn-out on it. Quite frequently, the latter has happened - I've burned out and lost interest, with the project unfinished.
However, since I've been spending all the time I've not been at work with Hayley, I've had very little time for it lately - a lack that's hard to mourn, since I consider time with Hayley much better spent - and I'd begun to lose enthusiasm for the project. I concluded that I was (unfortunately) suffering from the same sort of mid-project disinterest I often get. However, we spent the last weekend at a Lan, during which I coded nearly the whole time, and I find my enthusiasm suddenly renewed. I'm really enthused about it again, and hugely enjoy working on it.
My conclusion, obvious as it seems: Limiting how much time you spend on a project - no matter how enthused you are by it - can help prevent burning-out on it. It just takes something really good to pull me away from something I'm this engrossed in. Previous Post Next Post