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Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

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Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#1

Post by corecoder »

I'm a web developer and DevOps engineer. I know a few languages and frameworks very well, I can find my way around with a good deal of other languages and frameworks, and I'd like to learn a lot more.

My problem is that I cannot seem to be able to pick a project (any project) and stick with it long enough to do any meaningful progress, let alone finishing it. It's been several years since I've managed to work on a side project for more than two days continually.

I sit before the computer thinking: I know! I'll write a roguelike in X! Five minutes later, I'm thinking: fuck roguelikes! I'll write a graphical solitar card game with Y! Five minutes later, I don't care for it anymore, and would rather write an isomorphic strategy game in Z.

The same thing happens with tools I might need, applications I think about, experimental stuff, etc.

Has anyone else experienced this, and, more importantly, found their way out? How?

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#2

Post by ferzul »

yep. my solution uas simple. listen to my attention. if it's boring (at that instant), why stay? eventually i found and completed several projects, the need or interest driving me. and sometimes, i pick something up off the backburner and bring it closer to fruition.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#3

Post by sova »

This is a great question and one that often goes unnoticed: I observe my optimal work habits and patterns, instead of seeing them as a drawback, how to turn it advantageous?

If your optimal flow is 2-3 days spurts on mini projects then think of a big project and break it down into these mini-projects. If you can build one power ranger, you can build the mega ranger, just thoughtfully break the tasks into pieces first.

More importantly, you need a topic you are passionate about, and then you can use all your computer knowhow to make tools with that domain as a central focus or backbone. Again, you don't even have to stick with the same toolkit as long as you can break your work into meaningful mini projects.

Celebrate and rejoice when you complete mini projects, and keep your eye on how satisfying it will be to make big projects come perfectly together. If it took many people many days to build the pyramids, it will probably take one person a while to build one. I don't think that's unreasonable, the key is staying motivated. Come to the desert and leave with a pyramid

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#6

Post by jamil7 »

It's pretty normal. Figure out first what you want from each side project. If your goal is to learn or play around with new "X" then it's fine to half-ass it, build the fun parts and then never look at it again. If you want to try and build a business and make money on the side then this is usually the time to not try out new "X" and instead stick to boring tech you know well.

Edit: for practical tips on keeping some momentum, just start with a tiny amount each day, like just 30-40 minutes after work or before. The next week you can add a little more ect.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#7

Post by skinnyarms »

Maybe you need to examine what your true goal is. Why do you want a side project? Are you doing it because you feel like you are supposed to have side projects, or because you actually want to accomplish a goal? If it's the former, you could try to align the side project with another goal of yours - say learning some new language or framework.

If you are just trying to build a portfolio you can come up with a (small) "SMART" goal, and commit to completing it. After you reach the milestone you can make a conscious decision whether to continue or not - but either way you have _something_ completed.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#9

Post by littlecosmic »

You’ve already done step one: realise the pattern. Step two is don’t do the new project. See it for what it is, not a great new idea, but another step down the road you’ve been walking down for years.

Just because an idea pops into your brain, doesn’t mean you owe it anything.

Something that may help is picking a smaller project, so small you could do it in a day or two. Build up some endurance over time.

Good luck

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