My heyday in programming was about five years ago, and I’ve really let my skills fade. I started finding myself making excuses for my lack of ability. I’d tackle harder ways to work around problems ...

Becoming a good programmer is incredibly difficult and it doesn't happen quickly. We can't expect to plant some trees and have 2000-year-old redwoods grow overnight, regardless of the demand for them.

This Q&A is part of a biweekly series of posts highlighting common questions encountered by technophiles and answered by users at Stack Exchange, a free, community-powered network of 80+ Q&A sites.