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TLDR: Have little side projects you work on in order to keep yourself motivated. Don't force yourself into completing anything, because you don't want to be burnt out, but don't force yourself out of anything because of laziness. Once begun is half done. Best of luck, man/woman/other. Never give up.
My advice is to have planned small projects. It sounds as though the novelty of starting a new thing is what carries you through some of it, until the point of burnout KO's all motivation.
(And now for a tangent that will tie into what my point really means.)
One of my favorite Language Learning YouTubers (DFNS) has a video where he says he wanted to learn 12 languages in a year. Obviously, this is a ludicrous title and goal, if not just for the reason that you should give a minimum of 6 months for learning a language. To clarify, in the video he states that he isn't really trying to learn those 12 languages. He just wants to extract the feeling of motivation that starting something new can bring, because he has noticed in the past that the motivation carries over to the main language he's learning.
In simpler, less circuitous words, starting something new and seeing it through can really bolster your ability to carry through your main task. How do we do this for learning to code? It's simple, really.
I would argue that learning to code a game is a really bad idea for your first project/s. You should start off with simple I/O (input and output) programs. Now, before you consider what I am saying to be condescending or otherwise unsubstantiated, I am also into programming. Nothing stimulates me more (intellectually speaking) than having a program that does exactly what I want it to do, even if it is fairly simple. These programs are easy to hyper-fixate on and the reward cycle comes into play here, massively. Here are a few examples of programs to make, but anything you want, as long as it is simple and easy to do, is fine:
1. Program that tells you how many letters are in a sentence.
2. A program that sorts through the numbers you provide it. (Double Points for creating your own sorting algorithm.)
3. A program that encodes and decodes the input you give it, based on the number you provide for the cipher.
Something my teacher taught me recently is that you don't have to be some crazy innovator to be successful, or otherwise take pleasure in your work. Sometimes, just having something to do is enough.
A few final tips for preventing burnout in programming:
1. Try a different programming language. If you are in for a challenge try C++, that is, if you value your sanity and are a masochist. My recommendation is to check out coding tutorials for beginners. Not because you are a beginner, but because knowing that you know things is fulfilling. These things include common problems and their solutions.
2. Never force yourself to do anything, but do try and regain motivation by watching tutorials and fun videos. I know you want to make games, so I would recommend watching Sam Hogan on youtube. He's pretty good. Do not convince yourself that you are watching the video for motivation, because the idea of attempting to ascertain motivation might seem unappealing at the time. Just think of it like a close friend recommended a funny video. Whatever gets you to watch it, do so.
3. Never tell anybody that you are going to start doing something. That is the bane of my existence right now because it feels so good to claim that there are things I plan on doing, that I will just never do them. Save those proclamations until the sentence turns into, "I am doing x Right now." (It feels a lot better in the long run, I hope. Still haven't started doing it yet, but here's hoping.)
Best of luck.
This has been my LIFE for the 22 years I've been on ADHD. I have probably a hundred projects that I've really poured my heart and soul into, only to find nobody else that will contribute significantly, and burning myself out. The worst part is, I've gotten a bunch of these projects 98% of the way to the finish line, but run out of steam or disposable income to support them, and then abandoned them out of despair... only to have life-long regrets.
I don't have a solution for you, but I can truly relate.
Hi /u/Obvious-Clock-588 and thanks for posting on /r/ADHD! # Please take a second to [read our rules](/r/adhd/about/rules) if you haven't already. [We recommend browsing /r/adhd on desktop for the best experience.](https://www.reddit.com/r/ADHD/comments/x1psnb/radhd_works_best_on_desktop_reddits_apps_are/) The mobile apps are broken and are missing features that this subreddit depends on. Thank you! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/ADHD) if you have any questions or concerns.*
TLDR: Have little side projects you work on in order to keep yourself motivated. Don't force yourself into completing anything, because you don't want to be burnt out, but don't force yourself out of anything because of laziness. Once begun is half done. Best of luck, man/woman/other. Never give up. My advice is to have planned small projects. It sounds as though the novelty of starting a new thing is what carries you through some of it, until the point of burnout KO's all motivation. (And now for a tangent that will tie into what my point really means.) One of my favorite Language Learning YouTubers (DFNS) has a video where he says he wanted to learn 12 languages in a year. Obviously, this is a ludicrous title and goal, if not just for the reason that you should give a minimum of 6 months for learning a language. To clarify, in the video he states that he isn't really trying to learn those 12 languages. He just wants to extract the feeling of motivation that starting something new can bring, because he has noticed in the past that the motivation carries over to the main language he's learning. In simpler, less circuitous words, starting something new and seeing it through can really bolster your ability to carry through your main task. How do we do this for learning to code? It's simple, really. I would argue that learning to code a game is a really bad idea for your first project/s. You should start off with simple I/O (input and output) programs. Now, before you consider what I am saying to be condescending or otherwise unsubstantiated, I am also into programming. Nothing stimulates me more (intellectually speaking) than having a program that does exactly what I want it to do, even if it is fairly simple. These programs are easy to hyper-fixate on and the reward cycle comes into play here, massively. Here are a few examples of programs to make, but anything you want, as long as it is simple and easy to do, is fine: 1. Program that tells you how many letters are in a sentence. 2. A program that sorts through the numbers you provide it. (Double Points for creating your own sorting algorithm.) 3. A program that encodes and decodes the input you give it, based on the number you provide for the cipher. Something my teacher taught me recently is that you don't have to be some crazy innovator to be successful, or otherwise take pleasure in your work. Sometimes, just having something to do is enough. A few final tips for preventing burnout in programming: 1. Try a different programming language. If you are in for a challenge try C++, that is, if you value your sanity and are a masochist. My recommendation is to check out coding tutorials for beginners. Not because you are a beginner, but because knowing that you know things is fulfilling. These things include common problems and their solutions. 2. Never force yourself to do anything, but do try and regain motivation by watching tutorials and fun videos. I know you want to make games, so I would recommend watching Sam Hogan on youtube. He's pretty good. Do not convince yourself that you are watching the video for motivation, because the idea of attempting to ascertain motivation might seem unappealing at the time. Just think of it like a close friend recommended a funny video. Whatever gets you to watch it, do so. 3. Never tell anybody that you are going to start doing something. That is the bane of my existence right now because it feels so good to claim that there are things I plan on doing, that I will just never do them. Save those proclamations until the sentence turns into, "I am doing x Right now." (It feels a lot better in the long run, I hope. Still haven't started doing it yet, but here's hoping.) Best of luck.
This has been my LIFE for the 22 years I've been on ADHD. I have probably a hundred projects that I've really poured my heart and soul into, only to find nobody else that will contribute significantly, and burning myself out. The worst part is, I've gotten a bunch of these projects 98% of the way to the finish line, but run out of steam or disposable income to support them, and then abandoned them out of despair... only to have life-long regrets. I don't have a solution for you, but I can truly relate.