Coding for Fun: Why I Still Build Useless Things

“Creativity is intelligence having fun.” – Albert Einstein

Years ago, I wrote about why I love coding useless things (read it here). Spoiler alert: I still do. And honestly? I believe in this approach even more now.

Coding without pressure—no deadlines, no business needs, no perfectionism—isn’t just a hobby. It’s how I’ve built the skills, experience, and knowledge that make me better at everything else I do. When you code for yourself, with nothing but creativity and technical curiosity guiding you, you remove the noise: no security audits, no stakeholder meetings, no debates about the “right” tech stack. Just you, the keyboard, and whatever weird idea you want to bring to life.

Here’s the magic: this kind of freedom creates solid skills. You solve problems you wouldn’t touch otherwise, explore tools you didn’t know existed, and come up with solutions no one expected. And because you’re not aiming for “perfect,” you actually get better, faster.

I’ve seen this in programming, but I’m convinced it applies to anything that combines skill, creativity, and curiosity. Want to master something? Strip away the pressure to be “good at it.” Just mess around. Experiment. Fail in the most ridiculous ways possible.

I don’t have enough to say about sports or other fields, but I bet the same applies there. Practicing for the love of it—without chasing goals or worrying about results—is probably one of the best ways to grow.

So yeah, I still code useless things. And every line of “pointless” code makes me better at tackling the challenging stuff.

Give it a try. Build something weird. Make it messy. Learn along the way. You’ll be surprised where it takes you.