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by adamzerner 3858 days ago
Assuming that you have the energy to do coding after work, it seems like this is really a question about time management rather than about motivation.

One thing I'm trying right now and that seems like a good first step is to track what you spend time on every day. I'll give you an example. Right now I'm home for Thanksgiving, which is sort of a vacation, but I also want to be productive. Here's what I did today:

11:50-12:45 - Wake up, internet

12:45-1:00 - Work

1:00-8:30 - NFL, hang out with friends

8:30-9:00 - Quick work out, shower

9:00-10:45 - Dinner + work

10:45-11:25 - Break, clean up, shave, wash up

11:25-11:50 - Work

11:50-12:00 - Pats-Broncos OT

12:00-2:00 - Work

2:00+ - Relax, sleep

I don't know if that was the most helpful example given that I'm on vacation, but whatever. I've found that I spend a lot more time on little things like eating and cleaning than I'd think/hope (I'm a very slow eater).

Anyway, I think that having good data on where you spend your time is very useful. Both from a logical planning perspective, and from an emotional/motivational perspective.

Prioritization, motivation and efficiency are topics that are too big and too well covered for a comment of mine here to be useful.