Ask HN: What to do when there isn't fluidity in coding?

I've been coding on and off for over 10 years. I can get stuff done by banging my head against the wall but it's never been fluid. I still am always fixing silly bugs and forget the tools I'm using if I don't use them on a daily basis etc. So I don't have side projects or after work projects. Anyone ever experienced this? Is it fixable?