https://codify.technology - I should have stopped and abandoned this long ago. I have literally no idea where I am going or what I am doing, but for some reason I keep going and it dosent matter. Thats whats so great about side-projects. It dosent matter, all that matters is that I am having fun and learning; getting to explore my creative side outside of whatever my PM at work wants me to do. For my day-job I work at TII. I have no impact on the product at all, nobody cares what I think, but here (my side proj,) I get to express myself and solve problems the way I think they sould be solved. I used to watch the news and get upset at how public policy was implemented; now I get to just do things the way I want them done. I know it sounds silly/dumb to most people because nobody cares or will adopt my solutiuon en masse but its still fun and I think thats at the core of any successful side project; are you having fun? If not, time to move on.
Ask HN: When do you say no to a personal passion project?
11–15 of 15 posts
Re: Ask HN: When do you say no to a personal passion project?
#12Just my thought -- perfection is the enemy of good. I've fallen into this before, trying to write the "ultimate" version of some program. Do you use your own web apps today? If you enjoy the work, why not start by focusing product that you need today? If something is good enough to work for you, others will find value too.
I think that's what I'm starting to fall into now. I've finished the workable versions of them, and now I'm starting to scope out features that might make them too complex. I use most of these programs every day, and the challenge I'm striking is whether or not I need to create the ultimate, or if I should just stop where I am at.
Is your goal to have fun building it? Or is your goal to ship it?
I know plenty of projects that will never ship because the author can think of new things faster than he can code. Coding is fun. Shipping, selling and supporting is work. Hence the (subconscious?) goal of never actually shipping.
Which is perfectly OK. But being self-aware enough to know this is happening is both useful and liberating.
Alternatively if your goal is to ship, then ship it already...
Re: Ask HN: When do you say no to a personal passion project?
#13Why don't you want to spend the next year building out an app that you might abandon in the future? What's the downside of working on a passion project and then setting it aside when the passion runs out?
Exactly this, id rather docthis than die with ragrets
Re: Ask HN: When do you say no to a personal passion project?
#14Just my thought -- perfection is the enemy of good. I've fallen into this before, trying to write the "ultimate" version of some program. Do you use your own web apps today? If you enjoy the work, why not start by focusing product that you need today? If something is good enough to work for you, others will find value too.
I think that's what I'm starting to fall into now. I've finished the workable versions of them, and now I'm starting to scope out features that might make them too complex. I use most of these programs every day, and the challenge I'm striking is whether or not I need to create the ultimate, or if I should just stop where I am at.
I cycle back and forth between “what would the magnum opus in this space?” and “how little can I get away with here?”
After doing some fantasizing about the former, it helps me to switch frames and build the fastest, shittiest version of it. I have a TODO.txt file with what might come later, but I also have something working that I can learn from and/or get utility from. (For me, the alternative is constant anxiety about “what else could I brainstorm here?” (which is fun) and little in the “what did I accomplish?” (which is rewarding in a different way, but isn’t strictly as ‘fun’).
Re: Ask HN: When do you say no to a personal passion project?
#15I've putting together ideas for a post about applying Ikagai concepts (https://becomingbetter.org/ikigai/) to side-projects.
1. What you love -> How strong is the itch to create this side-project?
2. What you are good at -> Do you have the skills and resources for this project? Or least the aptitude to gain the skills?
3. What you can get paid for -> Most side-project don't directly benefit one financially. Maybe the question is will this project benefit me via skills acquisition or maintenance that could be helpful with my "real work"?
4. What the world needs -> Side-projects usually are not "needed:, but can be found interesting or entertaining. Definitely would weight "needed" > "interesting" or "entertaining".