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Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

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Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#1

Post by sinnet11 »

So I recently got engaged and in order to make some extra money I decided to take a moonlighting gig. Orignally scope was small, simple design changes etc etc. But since then a lot of things have come into scope to blow my original expectations on how long this project would be.

I love what I do, and I love developing. The problem is I can't get over this constant stress of having to come home and maybe letting someone down by falling short of an initial commitment. I thought I'd enjoy it but this moonlighting gig is on my mind for most of the day.

This is my first time moonlighting, so maybe its because of that. But has anyone else felt overwhelmed for doing something like this?

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#3

Post by Justen »

I'll just give you my take on the situation. You can back out and maybe offer up another developer you know to replace you as a gesture of good will. Or, since you mentioned feature/scope creep, sit down with your client and come up with some precise details for what they want and what you can deliver. Right now it's just this abstract mess of a project and that can seem daunting not knowing exactly where the boundaries are.

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#4

Post by paulhauggis »

Moonlighting may not be for you. I was a freelancer full time for a couple of years and situations like this happened all the time.

What happens if you need to work extra hours for your day job? The moonlighting gig will suffer and the client will most likely be breathing down your neck to get the job finished asap.

You also can't get used to the new income (IE: spending more), because it's going to be difficult to maintain these hours.

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#5

Post by josephjrobison »

I 1000% know how you feel. While I haven't figured it out myself (transitioning to only consulting because I couldn't do both for more than a few hours a week of moonlighting), there are a few things I've learned.

To answer your question - absolutely I've felt and feel overwhelmed. After coming home at 5, knowing you have 3 more hours of work to do after dinner, for 3-4 weekdays and 1-2 weekend days sucks!

A few tips that have worked for me: -Is there any way you could get help for some of the lower level portion of the work, and hire someone that costs 50-70% of your rate so that you still make a profit? -Can you tell the moonlighting people that you work on their projects on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday so that you mentally know which days to focus on them and you don't have to think about it 24/7? -Can you let them know on those days that you check your email every 2 hours so that you can focus on the work (that way you're not refreshing your inbox every 5 minutes)

Hope that helps in any way.

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#6

Post by ChuckMcM »

I had a very similar experience when I moved to the bay area. Since money was tight I used "extra" work to earn money for 'fun' stuff. A simple weekend here, a few days there, kind of thing. And of course it got bigger and bigger as people asked for more and more stuff. And one day I realized the stress of not having anywhere in my life that was 'not work' was really getting to me. I wrapped up everything, handed the big project that had pushed me over the edge off to a friend, and switched to only self driven projects (mostly freelance writing) as my 'beer money' supply. I found that for me, it was important that if I chose not to work on my side project the only person it should impact should be me. And that removed the stress for me.

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#7

Post by Milner08 »

I had something similar happen when doing an industry project for Uni. This was a project with a strict deadline that counted for something like 40% of the year. And they kept piling in features beyond the agreed upon scope. Not wanting to let them down and also wanting a more impressive project I tried to deliver them, but in the end I had to sit them down and explain that it wasn't what we agreed upon and I couldn't feasibly implement them (Remember this was for a Uni project, I wasn't being paid, in fact I was paying for the privileged).

Id consider sitting down with the client and talking out the scope. It sounds like the real problem is feature creep. Try to clamp down on this, maybe get them to come up with a decent spec, sign off on it and attempt to keep as close to that as you can. Any other features they want can then be considered extras for future implementation rather than extra stuff to worry about now.

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#8

Post by colinbartlett »

wmichelin wrote: post #2

Have you been communicating with your client that the project scope exceeded your expectations? You'd be better off being honest earlier on rather than failing when they thought everything was going according to schedule.

I'd say this is the key to reducing stress. Just expectations that you can easily meet on your terms. If you can't meet them, don't take them on and find another client you can satisfy. There certainly are clients and projects out there who are willing to deal with longer turn arounds in exchange for a lower price. And everyone is happy.

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#9

Post by roneesh »

I have a feeling you're overwhelmed because you didn't do the proper work up front to ensure scope creep wouldn't happen, and that you'd always feel compensated for your work. A lot of freelancers publish guides for this type of work, and I think you should read one. Also make sure the contract/tax stuff is handled properly too! So you're not stressing next April.

Try reading this guys book, seems legit, maybe he offers strategies for handling scope creep and such: http://texmexconsulting.com/

Then drink a beer, do some Yoga, and relax before the evenings work!

Re: Ask HN: Getting stressed out moonlighting

#10

Post by 2bluesc »

ChuckMcM wrote: post #6

I had a very similar experience when I moved to the bay area. Since money was tight I used "extra" work to earn money for 'fun' stuff. A simple weekend here, a few days there, kind of thing. And of course it got bigger and bigger as people asked for more and more stuff. And one day I realized the stress of not having anywhere in my life that was 'not work' was really getting to me. I wrapped up everything, handed the…

> And one day I realized the stress of not having anywhere in my life that was 'not work' was really getting to me.

Same story for me. The extra money was for toys or some start-up down the road. Went home for the Christmas holiday one year, relaxed for the first time in a while and realized I wasn't enjoying the work anymore. After that I had a chat with the start-up I was helping out and eased out of the project. They were very understanding and we're still friends to this day.

Now I spend more time on side projects and lately my own start-up. Learned alot in the process and wouldn't trade it.

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