do something else productive while your procrastinating on this task.
Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
41–50 of 180 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#42The direct deposit notification I get every other Friday works wonders. If it was fun they wouldn't pay people to do it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#43We have an "accountability group" that is amazingly powerful at addressing this, for people who are willing to admit they have issues with procrastination and motivation, and are committed to addressing it and helping others address it as well. This is mostly for the self-employed especially those that otherwise work mostly solo so they don't otherwise get a lot of external stimulus, which is essential to many people…
Would love to see a "whole system in more detail" write-up!
It's in the works, really! But right now I am on a schedule and don't have time to do something for public consumption. :)
However, I'll add a few things.
Optimum group size is about 7-10.
Everyone has a monitor, that is, a person who is holding them accountable. These get randomly switched out every two weeks. You never are monitoring your own monitor.
Every monitor has a manager. Again, switched out randomly every two weeks. Everyone will tend to be a monitor of one other person else, and a manager of another, at any given time.
There is one person who is overall manager, and that person keeps private tabs on everyone, including how people rate one another in terms of committing to their tasks and following through, monitoring others, and managing.
If a person feels that their monitor is not doing their job, they communicate privately to the manager. That person will step in and try to address it. Diplomacy is important. Don't be mean or insulting, but also don't tolerate flaking. Fix problems immediately.
Everyone checks in several times a day with their monitor, via one on one video chat. It is important to have a direct discussion. Monitors always need to be vigilant for "avoiders."
Monitors should attempt to understand the project the person is working on, and everyone should attempt to make their project presentable to their monitor.
If you say "this is too much effort and is taking time away from my actual tasks," you are probably not ready for a system like this. Those who need it will recognize the importance of spending the time. Always keep in mind, there is an alternative, a life of "working for The Man." This is better.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#44As a fellow bootstrapper, I feel your pain. Especially payment providers are a terrible part of working on an online app (in my case, I live my horrors with Braintree — I heard Stripe is better, but they won't sell to me, as my business is "based" (?) in one of the "non-supported" EU countries).
In my case, the worst parts are a) payment provider, b) invoicing. I think it's because I keep thinking of this work as time wasted with zero added value: I am not making my product better for my customers in any way.
The way I find motivation: I look at my MRR graph (think of an imaginary one if you don't have revenue yet) and consider my life goals: why am I doing this project? How will the success impact my life and that of my family? Will this work move me towards my goals?
Also, if your provider is Braintree, I have some bad news for you: there will be worse times in your future.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#45For me personally, the only reason for doing something is always that if it is useful for others (solves a problem, creates real value in the world) it worth doing. Extra points if I could make money with it :). If not, I was not able to continue working on it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#46Arnold Levine. My mentor. Died about ten years ago. Here's how he taught me to stay motivated, and I'm going to tell it the way he would want it told, it won't be PC. Me: "I can do this anymore, I'm sick of it." Him: "Really?". Me: "Yeah, its mind numbing. I'm turning to jelly." Him: (cold stare like he was about to murder me. 60 years of rage, booze, cigarettes, diabetes and disappointment bearing down on my through…
It's not so much the destination but how you get there. I can't recommend this method to anyone.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#47If you hate working with a specific provider, then don't. It doesn't matter if everyone else loves them if it isn't working for you. Go find someone you do like, that meets your requirements, and you will likely re-gain motivation in the process.
The problem is that as far as I can tell, they really are the easiest to use (it is Stripe, I didn't want to bash on them but I guess it's important if this veers into recommendations). I don't have a particularly complicated setup, but basically every little thing is impossible (just stupid stuff like if I cancel the last item on a subscription it will fail instead of canceling the subscription, so I always have to make an API call to check if the subscription only has one item, and if so cancel that, and if not cancel the specific item the user is dropping. It's insanely irritating the amount of weird little workarounds I have to do for oddities in the API, or where one API concept isn't consistent with another, etc.
If there's something out there that's simpler and has documentation that isn't constantly just wrong, I'd love to hear about it.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#48Are you in a position to delegate or outsource the tedious parts?
No, unfortunately not.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#49Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm 22 with a spouse and newborn son. I have to say that this has done more for my emotional and professional development than anything else could have at this point in my life. Knowing my son will indirectly inherit my own habits has me focusing a lot on my productivity and accountability.
Enjoy your son, he will grow so fast. Spend moments you have with him totally focused on him, not on how to teach him to be productive, at least not in his early years. Teach him to explore, be curious and to love life. Productivity will come.
This is why I wrote 'indirectly'
The most valuable thing I can give him is passion. It's not my responsibility to direct it towards a preferred venue, rather to expose him to the world in a safe way that allows him to explore what makes him happy.
Accountability and candidness allows people to trust in you and forms the foundation of good leadership. Productivity allows one to drive their efforts towards their passion into tangible product or work produced.
If he can create value and convince others that he is consistent in his beliefs, then it is my hope that the world will allow him to grow to his fullest potential.
It's my hope that by observation of some of these core values being actively expressed by my own actions, it will make it easier for him to adopt them as he matures.
Re: Ask HN: How do you motivate yourself to keep working on a project?
#50One day, you will be dead. Each year that passes after your death, fewer and fewer people will remember who you were, what you did or what your face looked like. Eventually, you'll be completely forgotten. Who cares if that side project you put out sucked or not. Might as well put it out there and see what people think. There's a good chance too that the project won't even be remembered even by the time you die. The…
Very stoic of you. I like it !