I love writing.
When I am not writing software I like to step away and work on something for this blog or for something more involved for InfoQ. I often think I might like to do it full-time if I could make a reasonable living from it, but that’s unlikely.
I didn’t realize what felt so good about writing until recently when I was thinking of post topics. I get a thrill from pushing a new post or article out, a real sense of satisfaction. When hitting the “Publish” button I get a true sense of accomplishment, that I have added just a bit of value to the world. This is what makes Twitter so powerful, 140 character maximum posts at a time. Quick and easy.
I think the satisfaction equates to coding as well. I will be the first to admit I sometimes wait too long to get a set of features out, just holding off for “one more thing”. As we have all heard before, release early and release often. I know when I have a quick fix and get it out, it feels good, so why not do this all the time. This is what the Agile folks preach.
So, it’s important to get stuff out there, off your plate. The blog post doesn’t have to be nominated for a Pulitzer Prize, that code doesn’t have to be an entirely new application. Small wins can be big for your confidence and motivation, they are for me.