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Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#31

Post by swombat »

fookyong wrote: post #4

Don't build in the evening. In the evening, wind down the day, have a beer and plan out how you're going to use two hours in the morning tomorrow most effectively. Set one clear goal. Then... 1) Go to sleep 2) Wake up early (I recommend 6am) 3) Do the work you thought up last night I find myself remarkably productive in this cycle. If you've planned well, you'll whiz through the tasks. Focus on "doing one thing" each…

Agreed. I did 9 months of waking up at 4am and working until 7am to build my first startup's product. Then I would nap for an hour, go to work for 9am, work until 6pm, have as much of an evening as I could salvage, and then go to bed around 10pm. It's very hard. I think it was worth it to escape from the corporate world.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#33

Post by arethuza »

I try and stick to 3 hours 4 times a week (9-12) with three visits to the gym (two in the evening during the week and one on Saturday afternoon) with Saturday evening as "free" time. Usually manage a chunk of time during the day on Sunday as well. So probably 15 hours a week on average doing my own work.

I usually make sure I have what I want to do in the evening sketched out in a notebook at lunchtime - which is when I do research etc.

The thing that makes this possible is pretty much having a "regular" day job that is within walking distance of where I live - 20 minute walk away. With a commute I'd be too tired to do anything at night (I know, I have tried). I usually get home at 6pm - same time as my son gets home from school.

The other thing I have found is that staying up past midnight is a bad idea - I even have an alarm set on my watch to remind me to start shutting down at 23:50.

I tend to sleep most soundly when I've just fixed some horrible bug or implemented some sweet feature!

Note that includes plenty time with 11 year old son and my wife - who has a much more high-pressure job than I have (I do all of the cooking).

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#34

Post by iampims »

fookyong wrote: post #10
ojbyrne wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I do like, and have done, the idea. But don't you find yourself dragging in the mid-to-late afternoon at your daytime job?

it's different for me since I am also a partner at my "dayjob", so my motivation is very high for both of these projects :) that said, I think it's normal to feel a little drag now and again - whether it's on a side project or your day job. just take a break and come back to it after a few days.

I thought you had quit everything to work full-time on Peashoot… now everything makes more sense!

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#35

Post by booster »

I think the short answer to your question is that it is difficult but it can be done.

The biggest problem I have is finding large enough blocks of time (> 30 mins) to concentrate on the task in hand. The only two blocks that I've managed to secure are early in the mornings before the kids get up and on my commute to work. I use the return journey of my commute to plan what I'm going to do the next day. Although this strategy only provides me with a few hours a day, I find that this is sufficient to give my project some sort of momentum.

I tend to avoid evening development as the quality of the work I produce isn't optimal and it would eat into the time that I want to spend with my very supportive wife and children.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#36

Post by hopeless »

Thanks for asking this. I've been struggling with exactly the same sort of problem.

For a while I was working late nights and making good progress but since having our 2nd kid it has been very difficult to get back into it. Being depressed over the day job and money definitely doesn't help.

It's interesting that so many people recommend the mornings. I can see the logic but from a practical point-of-view, I don't think it will work. My kids are v. good and sleep from ~7pm to 7am but they're awake earlier in the mornings and just happy to stay in bed. If I get up at 5 or 6am then I'm going risk waking not only my wife but also rousing the 2 children too. Maybe I'll give it a try next week but I'm sceptical.

One thing to bear in mind... when working in the evenings I've found progress is roughly: 1 week of evenings == 1 full-time day. Things take an extraordinarily long time to complete.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#37

Post by Dramatize »

fookyong wrote: post #4

Don't build in the evening. In the evening, wind down the day, have a beer and plan out how you're going to use two hours in the morning tomorrow most effectively. Set one clear goal. Then... 1) Go to sleep 2) Wake up early (I recommend 6am) 3) Do the work you thought up last night I find myself remarkably productive in this cycle. If you've planned well, you'll whiz through the tasks. Focus on "doing one thing" each…

That's how I taught myself how to design for Magento and setup my first ecommerce store. Getting up at 3am, working to 7am, then heading into the city for my day job.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#39

Post by Dramatize »

ojbyrne wrote: post #8
fookyong wrote: post #4

Don't build in the evening. In the evening, wind down the day, have a beer and plan out how you're going to use two hours in the morning tomorrow most effectively. Set one clear goal. Then... 1) Go to sleep 2) Wake up early (I recommend 6am) 3) Do the work you thought up last night I find myself remarkably productive in this cycle. If you've planned well, you'll whiz through the tasks. Focus on "doing one thing" each…

I do like, and have done, the idea. But don't you find yourself dragging in the mid-to-late afternoon at your daytime job?

Yes, it's really hard. Lots of coffee helps.

Re: Ask HN: How do you find time to code/build your business in the evening?

#40

Post by leftnode »

swombat wrote: post #31
fookyong wrote: post #4

Don't build in the evening. In the evening, wind down the day, have a beer and plan out how you're going to use two hours in the morning tomorrow most effectively. Set one clear goal. Then... 1) Go to sleep 2) Wake up early (I recommend 6am) 3) Do the work you thought up last night I find myself remarkably productive in this cycle. If you've planned well, you'll whiz through the tasks. Focus on "doing one thing" each…

Agreed. I did 9 months of waking up at 4am and working until 7am to build my first startup's product. Then I would nap for an hour, go to work for 9am, work until 6pm, have as much of an evening as I could salvage, and then go to bed around 10pm. It's very hard. I think it was worth it to escape from the corporate world.

Yes, this is what I do everyday, punctuated with time with my son and wife in the mornings. I try to spend most of the evening with them.
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