> I spend so much time learning new things about programming that the amount of code I’m actually generating has deteriorated down to just what I’m doing for work.
This sounds so much like me. I also fell into software in a roundabout way like the author. But while trying to figure out how to do my work I get to hear so many acronyms that I have to follow that I often get lost. There is a fine line between learning and wasting time which I haven't figure out yet.
This is kind of how I've grown to feel about modern software development. I used to resent that my career took me down a path that albeit technical, was not what I enjoyed to do: programming. However, while still trying to somewhat keep up with things on my personal projects and tools, I'm constantly taking new Udemy courses etc for a new stack, or to get updated on how a framework now works from the last time I used it.
It was a powerful time when I could pull up Notepad++ and start hacking away a CRUD app in PHP and be confident it would run with minimal rework and minimal reference outside of typing php.net/<function_name>
I’ve seen this with writers. World building and research is so much easier than actually writing.
It’s fun to learn new things and imagine all you could do. But you don’t learn how to use it. Your practical skills aren’t keeping up.
Eventually, you look around and realize you haven’t done anything with what you know. And that can feel hollow to some people.
It helps to step back sometimes and ask what you find fulfilling. For myself, I need to do things and finish them. I love hacker news and all the cool things I learn, but I know it doesn’t satisfy all of my needs.
I'd never criticize the tools someone is using if they can produce quality work. But, if you're using a weird tool and cause a lot of issues for me and others on the team, it is a problem.
How would I even know what tool you're using, unless you mention it or I have a reason to ask?
Anecdote: I worked at a startup with offices in an incubator space, there were a number of other startups there too. There was one startup there that rewrote its web bits several times with whatever the new hotness was at the time, they are now out of business. We picked a path, stuck with it, built a business, and sold it.
This sounds so much like me. I also fell into software in a roundabout way like the author. But while trying to figure out how to do my work I get to hear so many acronyms that I have to follow that I often get lost. There is a fine line between learning and wasting time which I haven't figure out yet.