I started seriously programming as a hobbiest, student and then intern about 4 years ago and I've always done small projects on the side as a learning exercise.  Schools over now though, and I spend my days at work as a software developer. I would still love to do projects on the side to learn about areas in computer science that I'm not exposed to at work, but I've noticed that after 8 hours of starring at an IDE it's far to tempting to veg out.  Any time I do get up the gumption to work on something for a few hours lately it's gotten left by the wayside.

Anyone have any advice for sticking with side projects when you spend most of your day coding?

One tip - make sure your hobby project has nothing to do whatsoever with your day job.  If you use C++ at work, use something else in your hobby projects.  This will help you avoid some of the burnout because you're at least switching to a different IDE and/or skill set.

But, a hobby is a hobby...so don't fret it.  It's supposed to be relaxing, not stressful.
