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How do you stay creatively fulfilled in a technical role like software engineering, especially when working on projects that aren’t personally exciting?

I'm really curious about how people in tech stay motivated and avoid feeling overwhelmed. How do you keep enjoying your work when you're dealing with tough deadlines, bugs, or long hours? What helps you not burn out?

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Shivam’s Answer

Hi Olena! In my personal experience, software engineering can be incredibly exciting especially when you take a holistic view of the role. You're not just writing code, you're actively contributing to high-level and low-level design discussions, participating in architectural change reviews, and engaging in agile ceremonies like scrum calls, sprint planning, backlog refinement, retrospectives, and more.
You’re also part of peer reviews, handling code deployments, giving demos and presentations to stakeholders, contributing to documentation, participating in hackathons, and engaging in volunteering events and mentorship programs. Sometimes, you might even take part in the hiring process, adding to the growth and culture of your team.
At the same time, setting timelines and managing expectations are key to delivering work efficiently and effectively. You may occasionally be assigned bugs or projects that don’t immediately spark your interest, but try to see the bigger picture. The impact your work can have through successful delivery! That sense of contribution can be incredibly fulfilling. Of course, there will be times when you feel stuck, and that's okay. The most important thing is to communicate early and clearly when you're blocked or facing challenges. Identifying and resolving dependencies quickly ensures the team can keep moving forward together. Hope this helps!

Shivam recommends the following next steps:

Get a 360 degree view of software engineering role
Understand the impact metrics on the assigned projects
Have a clear communication with the project stakeholders
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Cole’s Answer

The #1 thing for me is to always have a passion project or side hustle! Even if my "day job" doesn't excite me 100%, I can look forward to recharging and flexing creative muscles in other places. While time management can definitely be a struggle, if it truly motivates you, then you'll find a way to make time :)
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Cuauhtemoc’s Answer

Hi Olena

It is difficult to find a job that perfectly aligns with our personality. However, it is possible to find a way to related to the project. Here are some things that you can try;

Find small ways to innovate:
Even if the project itself isn't thrilling, look for opportunities to introduce new techniques, tools, or approaches. This can keep your work interesting and help you grow as a developer.

Set personal goals:
Create your own milestones and challenges within the project. This could be learning a new programming language, optimizing a piece of code, or improving your problem-solving skills.

Collaborate and share ideas:
Engaging with colleagues can spark creativity.

Work on side projects: (my favorite)
Having a personal project that excites you can balance out the less interesting work tasks. It can also be a great way to experiment with new technologies and ideas.

Stay updated with industry trends:
Keeping an eye on the latest developments in software engineering can inspire you and provide new perspectives that you can apply to your work.

I hope that helps.
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Tessa’s Answer

The first thing to consider is that the majority of roles have an element of difficulty, sameness or even boredom. Getting to work on what we love, without experiencing some of the less exciting stuff is rare, it's a part of the learning journey. Software development is no different.

But as with most roles, try to understand where your contribution fits. You are likely to be part of a team, which has an influence on whether customers are delighted with the products you help to produce. If product quality is poor, the customer experience will be poor. So you are impacting and aiding the overall business strategy.

Actively participate in the scrums, network across different groups, challenge your knowledge - always be willing to learn more. Knowledge of coding is a stepping stone to many other areas in technology.

Good luck!
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Teklemuz Ayenew’s Answer

To keep your creativity alive in a technical role, dive into problem-solving by trying out new tools and making systems better. Keep learning through courses, contributing to open-source projects, and working on your own passion projects to stay excited and break the routine. Team up with colleagues to get fresh ideas, and set small, achievable goals to keep moving forward. Choose roles in projects that match your interests so you remain engaged while helping the team succeed. For tasks that seem less exciting, see them as chances to learn, improve them where you can, and work with others to make them easier. Balancing your role and managing tasks wisely will keep you motivated.

Make work smoother by automating repetitive tasks and take mental health days to recharge. Think about the bigger impact of your work to revive your passion, and join open-source projects or meetups to feel more connected to your field. To handle deadlines and long hours, break tasks into smaller parts, prioritize, and set clear goals to avoid getting stuck on perfection. Keeping a healthy work-life balance, using efficient workflows, and practicing mindful habits will help you stay focused, motivated, and creatively fulfilled.
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Irwin’s Answer

I would also recommend finding mentors within your organization or company that you can confide in about the work that you do . Often times , burnout and long hours stem from you either being stuck on some particular problem trying your best to figure it all out alone, but definitely leveraging the expertise of those more senior can alleviate some road blocks and cause you to spend less time on one thing.

I think its also important to create a healthy balance/ separation between work and your personal life. Set healthy boundaries and this might look like having a set time each day where its all hands off from work and you can now take part in other activities that you enjoy; whether it be a hobby ( ie sports, cooking, binge watching shows), side projects, reading etc. During this time really try to not think about the ongoing/ unresolved problems that you have waiting for you at work. This break away from constant working allows you to come back more refreshed and even boosts your productivity.
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