A Developer’s Free Time

Lately, I’ve been in a bit of a self-reflective mode. So, this blog post is going to be a little different than normal. Usually, I try to post about very technical / programming things. However, due to some things at work that I probably shouldn’t air in public, I’ve started to think about what I put my energy into at home and at work.

Like many software engineers, I really, really like writing software. It doesn’t matter what the software does. So long as it solves a problem, I’m happy to work on it. This also means that my hobby is (drum roll please) -- writing software. So, at work, I write software. I come home and I write software. It’s part of loving the creative process and having a bit of a one-track mind. It’s part of being compelled to learn something new and fulfill the ever-so-eternal quest to improve on existing processes.

If that describes you, I would consider you a compulsive programmer. I say this with the most positive meaning of the word and with all due respect. Your compulsion is what probably makes you good at your job. After all, remember, I’m talking about myself, too. As a side, here’s a great example of “one of us.”

If you can’t really relate, you probably already know what I’m going to say in the rest of this post. I would consider you a less-than-compulsive programmer. You are no less of a programmer -- I’m sure you’re very good at your job, too. You are just not driven to constantly run in the same mode, all of the time.

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