Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#1

Post by quizbiz » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 6:43 PM UTC

I have two clients with nearly finished websites ready to do but pesky issues and small annoying bugs are preventing the site from going live. I am to the point where I want to find someone I can pay to finish the job just so I don't have to look at the projects anymore. This problem is reflective of my habit of always moving on, many times too early. I love new ideas and peruse them until the fun of the early creation and exploration is over. Then it gets stale and when I do keep working on it, it is passionless work.

Any advice?

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#2

Post by zephyrfalcon » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 6:58 PM UTC

I would like the answer to that question as well... Although I have this problem with my personal projects (that are supposed to be "fun"), not so much professionally.

The problem is that when I get bored with (which might happen very soon, as in, after a few days), it stops being fun... so then your choices are to go on anyway, in which case you're doing drudge work instead of something enjoyable, or move on to a different project, which will likely meet the same fate.

I haven't found a solution for this yet, although I suspect that it might help to have a few other people working on the project as well.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#3

Post by nudge » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:11 PM UTC

There is no easy fix for this. You need to be disciplined enough to keep working when you've done all the fun parts.

The good news is that if you can get better at being disciplined just by practising it, and the rewards are very high, because you become a finisher, and people like and value finishers.

Also, the act of finishing is immensely enjoyable, and is therefore its own reward. With practice your mind will begin to be motivated by that reward, once the little rewards of the early parts of projects have gone.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#4

Post by doki_pen » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:14 PM UTC

For me, interacting with actual users motivates me to "polish" a project. I can imagine it is very tough if you can't go live. Not launching until things are perfect seems like a problem in and of itself.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#5

Post by gte910h » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:19 PM UTC

When I have issues of this ilk, I look for the next, absolutely concrete, thing I can do that will result in a payment.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#6

Post by exline » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:20 PM UTC

ToDo lists. I find that when I get bogged down for any reason, if I create a todo list of items that have to get done I'm more likely to do the items on the list. I tend to pick up momentum as I cross items off the list. Make the list a manageable size, finish it off and create a new one.

For product related tasks, getting actual users and feedback from them is a huge motivator as well.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#7

Post by dasil003 » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:20 PM UTC

What I do—and this is definitely easier in a startup where you have a greater ownership stake—is to take pride in efficiency. The number of bugs fixed. The number of tweaks produced.

Having a nice low-friction issue tracking system can help with this. I like Pivotal Tracker.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#8

Post by mkramlich » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:21 PM UTC

money

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#9

Post by locopati » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:21 PM UTC

The work is not only the flash of the new shiny. Those pesky issues and small annoying bugs are part of the work. Try to raise your perspective from 'what's new' to 'what's great' and 'what's great' requires focusing on what the client needs rather than on your excitement. Delivering what someone needs will, in the long run, give you more enjoyment than the fun of exploring the unknown.

Re: Ask HN: How do you stay motivated when the project gets stale?

#10

Post by mkramlich » Fri, Jul 23, 2010, 7:22 PM UTC

dasil003 wrote: post #7

What I do—and this is definitely easier in a startup where you have a greater ownership stake—is to take pride in efficiency. The number of bugs fixed. The number of tweaks produced. Having a nice low-friction issue tracking system can help with this. I like Pivotal Tracker.

> The number of bugs fixed. The number of tweaks produced.

possibly even better: the number of bugs not produced