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Getting too absorbed in side projects

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Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#81

Post by bawigga »

sureshn wrote: post #20

I feel all of this boils down to how much of self discipline we can show in sticking to our schedules, I have faced this challenge multiple times and it has been hard,, I believe companies should give friday afternoon's to pursue our side projects , but there are many who disagree with that too

I recently read Atomic Habits and there was a great chapter in there about people with a strong ability to self discipline. It raised the question: are people who have a strong sense of self discipline, better about architecting their environment for success? The would lead to less distractions and more work towards their intended goal.

It's a great book, highly recommend.

https://www.amazon.com/Atomic-Habits-Proven-Build-Break/dp/0...

James Clear's (the author) blog with a ton of great content: https://jamesclear.com/articles

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#82

Post by ravenstine »

Carpetsmoker wrote: post #48

This sounds familiar, but I don't really see the issue. Sometimes I get absorbed in a side project, and I'm being creative and having fun. Why put a brake on it? I think that some of the best things I've done (professionally) were when I was in a "being completely absorbed in a project"-mindsets. Sometimes I don't works on side-projects for months at a time. I just don't feel like it and I'm doing other stuff. That's…

> some of the best things I've done (professionally) were when I was in a "being completely absorbed in a project"-mindsets.

I've been surprised at how many employers and engineers scoff at the idea of being "in the zone". Apparently you aren't a "rockstar developer" if the needless distractions in a corporate atmosphere bother you.

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#84

Post by Aeolun »

ravenstine wrote: post #82
Carpetsmoker wrote: post #48

This sounds familiar, but I don't really see the issue. Sometimes I get absorbed in a side project, and I'm being creative and having fun. Why put a brake on it? I think that some of the best things I've done (professionally) were when I was in a "being completely absorbed in a project"-mindsets. Sometimes I don't works on side-projects for months at a time. I just don't feel like it and I'm doing other stuff. That's…

> some of the best things I've done (professionally) were when I was in a "being completely absorbed in a project"-mindsets. I've been surprised at how many employers and engineers scoff at the idea of being "in the zone". Apparently you aren't a "rockstar developer" if the needless distractions in a corporate atmosphere bother you.

Are you trying to say that my 4 hours of meetings a day actually hurt my productivity instead of help it?

We’re always meeting to find out how to be more productive though, discuss the scrum status, update our timelines or a variety of things that give the illusion of things progressing when nobody actually has any time to work.

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#85

Post by cjarrett »

oarsinsync wrote: post #5
IloveHN84 wrote: post #3

I'm too absorbed by parenting that I dream about side projects I will never do. Enjoy the free time

Enjoy the time with your children too. The memories you build with them today will last a lifetime, and will be much more valuable than any side project you're dreaming of

Agreed. I wish I could have spent more time with my parents when they were younger. At least they were able to retire early and we're making up for it in adventures nowadays.

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#86

Post by JunaidBhai »

In my experience, I think the problem with side projects is that it starts with a certain timeline. But eventually, due to unforeseen circumstances or improvising over a period of time makes the project even more time-consuming.

The whole purpose of the side project is on-the-go learning and therefore you get this feeling inside that the side project is not optimal, or the project is not what it should be or that something is lacking. Whatever the reason, but somehow the side project is delayed on the timeline. Once the project is delayed;

a) Try to finish the side project ASAP by removing some of the important parts of the project and now it doesn't turn out to be the way you initially imagined it

b) Since the assigned timeline has passed, the project gets delayed forever as new priorities kick in

c) You finish it for the sake of completing the project because you have invested far too much time in building it

As a founder of http://draftss.com; I get to interact with alot of other founders who are struggling with completing and making their side projects beautiful. They want us to undertake the complete project for designing being Apps UI design or creating landing pages. Some founders ask us to handle complete projects as we think right, while others provide inputs for every minor inclusions and deletion. Conclusively, I'd say that it totally depends how dedicated you would be to your project from start to end. And that would define how your project is going to turn out in the end.

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#87

Post by lukaszkups »

taneq wrote: post #52
lukaszkups wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've learnt side-projects are possible you only just have... sleep less :) I'm a father of 2 (4yrs old + 6mo old) and I start doing side-projects when kids and wife go to sleep (we spent time together as well, she doesn't go to sleep at the same time as kiddos). So around 22:30 I've work on something for myself for 2 - 3hours. Then repeat :) But I'm blessed that my kids are sleep through 99% of the night time.

How on earth do you function with so little sleep? ...or do your children not wake up at 6am sharp every day? :P

haha not really, but around 7AM, sometimes even 8AM (so I'm really blessed I think :D )

But what I say is - I'm not doing that 7days per week - if I'm tired I watch some Netflix or just play games or just go to sleep (but I feel really guilty that I've wasted free time to go 'just to sleep' - I know that's a bad mindset, I'm trying to fight with it, because sometimes your body needs to recover a bit more)

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#88

Post by unimpressive »

ratsimihah wrote: post #80
bbx wrote: post #40

I've got the same issue, but only for the first 80% of the project. At that point, the project becomes a burden I have to finish, otherwise I would have wasted my time. The initial burst of inspiration is always exciting: you've got a novel idea, there are no restrictions, no deadlines, no requirements. You don't care about bugs or beauty, just about making things happen. You could even abandon the project and it wou…

Completing the remaining 20% is a learnable skill in itself. Like everything else, the more you do it, the better you get at it.

In that case it would make more sense to try and isolate the tasks comprising the last 20% and train on them separately, so that you get more practice.

Re: Getting too absorbed in side projects

#89

Post by abrugsch »

cujo wrote: post #17
albertgoeswoof wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like this is an excuse (sorry to be blunt). I’m a new parent and managed to build and release a side project in the first few weeks, as well as keep up with a bunch of other side projects. I’ve just had to adapt the way I work on them. Eg I’m spending significantly more time planning than before, I’m using tools that have been consistently applied to solve similar problems, I’m ruthlessly prioritising features…

> I’m a new parent I found to have a good amount of free time during that first year or so. The weird sleep schedule provides it, I think. If you're like me, you'll find your schedule filling with more and more kid activities as they get older. Then it gets harder to fit all the things in, and you have to make some interesting choices.

This a million times over. In my first son's first few months I got loads of side stuff done. Now he's 7 and his brother is a toddler and every day is filled with one or other's requirements. from various sports activities (training and or competitions) to just getting regular day to day stuff done, the exhaustion factor is way above what it was when 1 was a baby and only sleeping in 2 hour chunks... I'm trying to get side projects done but opening a laptop at 11PM knowing it all starts again at 6AM is in itself sleep inducing. Though that doesn't stop the occasional sprint to 3AM... finding a physical departure from the house helps. once a week I go to a local hackerspace and rarely feel tired there.
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