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Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

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Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#1

Post by bdickason »

It's like clockwork.

I'll get HYPER-interested in something, to the point that I can't stop talking about it or thinking about it nonstop. I go through 'buildout' if it's a project, 'level up' if it's a game, or even went down the road of DJing and playing in a band.

Each time, after roughly 6 months, I burn out and end up moving on to something new with little desire to pursue my last project.

I'm extremely worried about this as I've been working passionately on a new startup idea with some friends and we're nearing the 2 month mark.

How can I stay enthusiastic?

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#2

Post by taphangum »

Same thing happens to me. After about a month it takes discipline to just continue. You start doubting the idea, thinking its stupid or wont work (mostly subconciously) and thats what makes you lose interest. My advice would be to keep searching out things that will make you believe (subconciously) that what you are doing WILL work. I do research, read up, make plans, etc.

If you find that this does'nt work. Maybe your brain is telling you something.......

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#3

Post by bdickason »

taphangum wrote: post #2

Same thing happens to me. After about a month it takes discipline to just continue. You start doubting the idea, thinking its stupid or wont work (mostly subconciously) and thats what makes you lose interest. My advice would be to keep searching out things that will make you believe (subconciously) that what you are doing WILL work. I do research, read up, make plans, etc. If you find that this does'nt work. Maybe yo…

I definitely agree with you on the 'doubt' issue. Reading up on things, talking to customers, and other things like this tend to work for a short week or so, but really I've never find something to truly revitalize me on an idea.

The brain could be telling me something, but I would argue that many of the ideas were 'great' and nothing is going to be successful if you only see it through to 6 months :\

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#4

Post by patio11 »

Could it be a fear of success? Or of stretching outside of your comfort zone? Or of the long stretch of hard work after the bloom is off the rose?

You're better informed about your psyche than I am, but I suggest pacing yourself, staying grounded to the other things in life which matter to you in addition to this startup, and carrying it through to completion.

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#5

Post by nudge »

This is perfectly normal (or, at least, common). Okay, I have no idea if it's either of those things, but I know I get a very similar thing.

A few good ways to keep motivated are:

1. Know why you are doing this. If you have a clear goal in mind, you can motivate yourself towards that goal when the project itself is not motivating/stimulating/interesting (e.g. you've done the fun bits of the coding, and now have to do the non-fun parts that make it work nicely).

2. Have a clear roadmap, with milestones that are achievable every few months (or some other finite period - I think we all have different 'milestone horizons' within which the milestone is motivating). It's hard to motivate yourself with an endless project. It's easier if you know you are working towards a certain feature, a certain number of clients, a certain musical piece played well.

3. Do something else. The initial rush phase is great, and you can get a lot done in that time, but for the long haul you need to give yourself space from certain things. Make sure you're not doing the same thing all day, or spending all your free time doing it.

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#6

Post by bdickason »

nudge wrote: post #5

This is perfectly normal (or, at least, common). Okay, I have no idea if it's either of those things, but I know I get a very similar thing. A few good ways to keep motivated are: 1. Know why you are doing this. If you have a clear goal in mind, you can motivate yourself towards that goal when the project itself is not motivating/stimulating/interesting (e.g. you've done the fun bits of the coding, and now have to do…

The clear roadmap is something I've never been good at and perhaps this is a root cause.

For example, as a 'product manager' I have tons of big dreams for my product. Generally, it takes 2-3 months to get any solid prototype out there. Add on another 2-3 months of buildout to go from prototype to something people use and... by the time anything I've built in the past has reached 50k+ users, we're at least 6 months out and only touching the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the features that I want.

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#7

Post by bdickason »

patio11 wrote: post #4

Could it be a fear of success? Or of stretching outside of your comfort zone? Or of the long stretch of hard work after the bloom is off the rose? You're better informed about your psyche than I am, but I suggest pacing yourself, staying grounded to the other things in life which matter to you in addition to this startup, and carrying it through to completion.

I don't know if it's fear of success, but I think the stretch of hard work is a good one. Perhaps it's also a result of an unrealistic roadmap?

i.e. I want A, B, and C to happen in X amount of time (hoping i can use that description w/ all the nerds here) and we're barely scratching the surface of A.

I think that accepting that it take 6 months to get anything decent STARTED is a good place to start :)

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#9

Post by onceuponkauai »

don't quit on something until you've seen it through, and if you do decide to quit on it, try to get some value out of it if you know someone that can take some of your old stuff to 100% completion and still own some of it, whatever that is.

This applies to a product, not so much a WoW account.

Re: Ask HN: Why do I lose interest in every project after 6 months?

#10

Post by mdolon »

I really do feel your pain, as I have been through similar mental struggles before (and still do occasionally). One remedy I've found is to release a MVP or show your work to others, as it helps to reaffirm what you are doing isn't a complete waste of time. Launch early if you can and once people start using your it or you start making money, it's much easier to keep pushing forward. This one is more of a reminder to myself than anyone else but your product doesn't have to be absolutely perfect before you launch. Quality control is important but striving for perfection can be an impossibly long journey that can quickly lead to burn out.
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