Honestly, I think the problem often isn't "I don't know what to program" but instead "None of my ideas are things I actually can, or want to, program".
I have lots of big ideas. Big applications, distributed systems, etc. My experience tells me they would take months or years of dedicated work, even working with others. I already have a job.
I have lots of small ideas. I don't want to spend time on most of them because they're not particularly interesting to me. I don't want to write a TODO application that's perfectly suited to me, even though I want such a thing. I don't want to futz around with the UI and write all the mundane utility functions. There's no interest there for me.
So there's just nothing I'm particularly passionate about enough to motivate me to spend my time on it. And that's no big deal, at work the I have the luxury of other people thinking up the big problems and providing me with countless amazingly intelligent peers with whom to create things. And at home I have other hobbies.
Edit: So, I guess to crystallize some advice from that, at least for people who are similar to me: try to get a job that satisfies your "I want to code amazing things" itch, and then enjoy everything else the world has to offer outside of work.
That attitude is fine if you're content making someone else's ideas. If you've got lots of big idea, do something about it. Who cares if it takes you months or years of dedicated work? If that's your hobby, then what is the issue? How much time is spent watching television? Cut that in half, and build your big idea.
Then what was the point of your original post? If you're happy with what you're doing(or not doing), then good! Otherwise it sounds like you do wish you were working on these ideas, and are looking for some reassurance of it.
I have lots of big ideas. Big applications, distributed systems, etc. My experience tells me they would take months or years of dedicated work, even working with others. I already have a job.
I have lots of small ideas. I don't want to spend time on most of them because they're not particularly interesting to me. I don't want to write a TODO application that's perfectly suited to me, even though I want such a thing. I don't want to futz around with the UI and write all the mundane utility functions. There's no interest there for me.
So there's just nothing I'm particularly passionate about enough to motivate me to spend my time on it. And that's no big deal, at work the I have the luxury of other people thinking up the big problems and providing me with countless amazingly intelligent peers with whom to create things. And at home I have other hobbies.
Edit: So, I guess to crystallize some advice from that, at least for people who are similar to me: try to get a job that satisfies your "I want to code amazing things" itch, and then enjoy everything else the world has to offer outside of work.