I used to code for work making online marketing robots.

Due to change in life circumstances I no longer have the motivation to do it any more and also have some passive income to tide me over for the time being.

I found the programming loads of fun but now I don't have any goal now so don't know what I would code.

Python was my main language and learned a little more javascript eventually to better understand webpage stuff which I would always be analyzing in the inspector for the robots but had not understood how it worked. Also made a couple of html sites from scratch with basic js for some functions. Liked this because the sites were super lean and fast and was able to host them for free on cloudflare.

The most important thing is to have a goal. A clap switch, smart home extension, model railway, automatic irrigation system or anything else you find interesting or useful.

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If Python is your preferred language, then you might consider getting a Raspberry Pi of some kind and working with either the GPIO or I²C connections or speakers or displays etc. If CircuitPython is close enough you can get a MagTag and not worry about wiring stuff right away. It includes a built-in e-paper dislplay and also comes with a handful of sensors and switches built in.

As mentioned, it is all about having a goal. What interests do you have that you could explore? Have you made Python scripts with graphical interfaces yet?

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If you wanjt to ease yourself back in, grok some source code. Contribute a patch to whatever program pisses you off. I tried going in head first with Assembler. I had a headache for a month, then I got walking, & running in a day or two. This saves you the headache .

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Ye I was thinking this, maybe help maintain a package or two in arch repos.

Another thought I had was maybe try my hand at making a game as I am not doing for monetary gain now and then my imagination is the only limit in terms of goal. Well not the only limit but much more room for creativity then.

Continue making marketing robots, but use em for fun stuff like.. I dunno, a revival of pork knuckles with cabbage and potatoes instead of burgers.

First, be sure that those "life circumstances" have really settled down. It can take a lot longer than you think.

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Then – well – does "computer programming of any kind" still interest you? Or would you now prefer to do something else? How about poking into some brand-new programming language? How about something entirely different, such as GNU Prolog?

"Write a GProlog program to solve a Sudoku puzzle." Or, a "logic problem." ("The girl wearing the red skirt is not sitting to the left of the bartender.") GNU Prolog, which is a non-procedural programming language, can do both. Care to discover how?

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Python is cool for anything that works with “text-like” data. I can explain why this is my conviction or give you an example, right away.

Such text-like data can be XML, HTML, plain text or anything serving as configuration data for other programs.

I write this also, because you do not need a team to devise and accomplish your project. It is at the same time small enough to allow you to work on every tier of your new project, to cross technology-borders, if necessary and – on the other hand – big enough to become really useful in the end.

I make up two examples, here, now, on the spot, because they concern things that I am interested in at the moment:

*) A scorefile editor for my favorite (or any other) message processing program (mail, usenet, others that I do not know of)
*) A program which transforms incoming mail (text) into a form (because it contains an order for goods) and accumulates all these forms into 1 table (of any kind – whatever is useful).

Both ideas need some structured input, a convention in the case of the orders by mail. When you look around, you find a lot of such textual data in structured form. Jump at any of it and play with Python.

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One of the consequences of my "mostly consulting-oriented" career was that I found that I could learn "languages and tools" by osmosis. Walk into a brand-new situation and "they are using [X]." Which I had never heard of or seen before. Okay, "give me the manual and a weekend." Very quickly, I was developing code in it, and/or directing others who did so. "Always land four paws down."

"Cold Fusion?" Okay, kinda very-strange, but. "Boston Workstation?" Never heard of it, but you want it to do what? (And you couldn't find anyone else who can? This is your lucky day.) "Cambio?"

Within days and weeks it was doing it. Because I had learned how to focus: first on the decision-makers, then their problem, then on the goal and a sellable solution. The technology was secondary – it was a "necessary tool," and treated as such. I grasped what I needed the tool to do, then learned exactly enough about the tool to make it do it. "Never let them see you sweat."

It never led to "years of stable, long-term employment at some big company," but it sure was fun ... I suppose that I made/make a career out of my hobby.

In fact, if programming means “loads of fun”, does it necessitate a well defined project and a strict definition of all the frame conditions to start programming?

In that case, ignore all my contributions to any programming topic on this platform.