Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#11

Post by hunvreus » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 4:56 AM UTC

Same as for working out or cooking, you can always find time.

I cut alcohol years ago and tend to go to bed at reasonable hours: the feeling of waking up at 5:30, getting a good workout and two to three hours of work before you even start to get ready for the office is pretty empowering. It feels like you already had a day worth of productivity in.

So, to recap:

1. Don't drink (or drink in moderation). It leads to late nights, difficult mornings and wasted hours on (often) empty discussions/interactions.

2. Go to bed early. Avoid screens in the bedroom (they keep you awake) and work out in the morning (helps to feel tired at the end of the day).

3. Wake up early.

Where there's a will, there is a way.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#12

Post by throwaway4338 » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:06 AM UTC

chambo622 wrote: post #10

throwaway4338 wrote: post #6

Use your paycheck to directly pay a braindead coder with zero creativity or ambition who does nothing more than meet requirements, like you're fucking dictating to them. for added oomph they can be in a low-income country, but people with no creativity or initiative or ability to translate requirements into code aren't worth much anywhere. So rather than code anything yourself, just give htem requirements that read l…

Serious question: has any product or service of lasting value and success ever come out of an approach like this? It runs counter to most commonly-held beliefs on how great ideas turn into great products.

absolutely, but nobody talks about this. This is simply handing off requirements, contracting them out. Your question can be rephrased as "has any product or service of lasting value and success ever had any part of it contracted out" and clearly the answer is yes. Not everything is built in-house. People don't usually mention it however.

(it's not accepting my edits on the original comment, I am trying to change "aren't worth much anywhere" (which sounds like a value judgment) to "don't command a high rate anywhere.")

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#13

Post by dikaiosune » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:27 AM UTC

hunvreus wrote: post #11

Same as for working out or cooking, you can always find time. I cut alcohol years ago and tend to go to bed at reasonable hours: the feeling of waking up at 5:30, getting a good workout and two to three hours of work before you even start to get ready for the office is pretty empowering. It feels like you already had a day worth of productivity in. So, to recap: 1. Don't drink (or drink in moderation). It leads to la…

Regarding your second (sub) point about screens, I've found that f.lux and redshift (on linux) have been a huge help for me being able to get to sleep quickly after an evening of side-projects and homework.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#14

Post by epicureanideal » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:30 AM UTC

Post some contact information and I'll be happy to discuss in more detail. Meanwhile, do you have family or anything else that takes up time outside of your 40 hours? If not, you should easily be able to find 16 hours on the weekends by "working" a 7 day week.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#15

Post by meric » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:33 AM UTC

Weekday: Wake 9am, Work & Lunch 10-6, Dinner 7-8, Side Project 8-11, Sleep 12-9, Repeat.

Weekends are for chores and socialising.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#16

Post by meritt » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:34 AM UTC

There's 168 hours in a week. Get up earlier. Stay up later. Sleep less. Put in time on weekends.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#17

Post by hn9780470248775 » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:36 AM UTC

Another question: How do you develop a side project when your employer insists that it owns all intellectual property you produce?

Edit: As far as I know this is a very standard clause in tech company employment contracts, and is perhaps the legal default even in the absence of such a clause. For example, see "Employed to invent" under http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/pre-invention-assignm... .

California is an exception to the above: here employees may retain the rights to IP they create on their own time, not using resources of their employer (including company laptop), and, importantly, not in the same line of business as their employer. In the tech field, the "same line of business" caveat can be killer.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#18

Post by bostonvaulter2 » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:37 AM UTC

hunvreus wrote: post #11

Same as for working out or cooking, you can always find time. I cut alcohol years ago and tend to go to bed at reasonable hours: the feeling of waking up at 5:30, getting a good workout and two to three hours of work before you even start to get ready for the office is pretty empowering. It feels like you already had a day worth of productivity in. So, to recap: 1. Don't drink (or drink in moderation). It leads to la…

Just curious, what time do you go to sleep to get up at 5:30? Do you get around 8 hours? I'm guessing at least a little bit less.

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#19

Post by dkokelley » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:37 AM UTC

A (the left-brain/logical approach):

There are 168 hours in a week. If you work 40 of them (+ 10 hours for inconvenient lunch breaks and commuting) and sleep 56 of them, you have 62 hours left. There you go. Figure out where those 62 hours are and spend them wisely. Organize your schedule so you have enough hours when and where you need them.

B (the right-brain/emotional approach):

Yes, you have ~62 hours from the above example, but you probably want a social life, need to eat and exercise, and it would certainly lead to burnout if you spent every free moment cramming side projects where you can. Instead of (or in addition to) managing time, manage your mental energy. Find a pace and rhythm that work for you to make regular progress on projects you deem worthwhile.

It's very important that you know yourself for this to work. Here's what has worked for me:

* Go to the gym on lunch breaks during the week. I reclaim that pesky break in the day, stay healthy, and generally feel refreshed and energized after a visit.

* It's cliched, but I don't have a cable subscription. (I spend my time on HN instead, so I suppose it's a wash)

* Absolutely make time for guilt-free relaxing. For me relaxing is going on a hike or camping trip, grabbing dinner with friends, or playing an instrument.

* Spend time reading. There is a lot of good material on time management or lifestyle design. What's important is that you read and learn to isolate the signal of what matters to you from the noise (and there is a lot of noise).

* Live by this mantra, "If it matters to you, then you'll find a way. If it doesn't you'll find an excuse."

Re: Ask HN: How do develop a side project when you have a 40hr/week job?

#20

Post by spullara » Mon, Nov 30, 2015, 5:37 AM UTC

The real question is what you are doing the rest of the time you are not at work. If you have a family, that might take up another 32 hours a week. If you sleep 8 hours, there goes another 56 hours. Hmmm, you still have 40 hours left...