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Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

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Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#11

Post by bloopernova »

littlecosmic wrote: post #9

You’ve already done step one: realise the pattern. Step two is don’t do the new project. See it for what it is, not a great new idea, but another step down the road you’ve been walking down for years. Just because an idea pops into your brain, doesn’t mean you owe it anything. Something that may help is picking a smaller project, so small you could do it in a day or two. Build up some endurance over time. Good luck

This is fantastic advice.

Just because we could possibly code some amazing concept project, doesn't mean we'd enjoy it. Or that it wouldn't end up causing us huge amounts of stress.

A lot of us are stuck at home, bouncing off the walls and feeling like we're not doing anything.

THAT IS OK!

We're in a world that is both scary and new, we don't know quite what is going on, and we need time and effort to process that. By "effort" I mean intellectual, spiritual, physical, and emotional. (If you're not religious, think of a workout in a gym: spiritual effort is stretching and flexibility, and emotional effort is strength/weights. Or perhaps that spiritual is subconscious and long-term, while emotional is conscious and shorter-term.)

tl;dr - too much heavy shit happening, don't overburden your head.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#12

Post by larzang »

I find side projects useless. At work I solve real problems for real people, often big problems. Some toy project doesn't feel the least bit meaningful, and any idea I have for something that isn't just a toy is something 100 other people have had as well.

So I help with their implementation instead. Instead of building useless tech demos or starting primitive games I'll never finish, I look up the projects I do actually find useful and see what they need help with.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#14

Post by papaf »

As someone who has been failing on side projects for over 20 years, I feel qualified to answer this question.

  - Have one private repository for random projects
  - Work in private repositories for random 
    projects that progress.
  - Move to public repositories when the project
    gets somewhere.
These tips above make failure cheap. Success is built on the many failures.

I also have general tips on side projects that make them more fun and less like work:

  - Use a different editor/ide to $job.
  - Use a different programming language.
I also have these general tips based on mistakes I made in the past:

  - Read other peoples solutions on github. Its inspiring.
  - If you get stuck take a break. Its not work and you can slack.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#16

Post by agentultra »

I’ve been employing a tactic I’ve picked up from artists/authors: don’t talk about your project.

Talking about it tricks your brain into thinking you’ve done the work and you lose motivation.

Sticking to a schedule can help as can ritualizing the process of working on your project: have a certain place you associate with the project or a particular genre of music that gets you excited (it’s important to not listen to that genre/album while doing anything else). These tactics exploit the power of association in our brains to form habits.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#18

Post by gonzo41 »

Learn a musical instrument. Guitar, Piano or Piano Accordion. You won't be able to do that last one if your currently in a relationship. YMMV. Once you start, you'll really suck at it for a very long time but it's fun and it's a relaxing way to build a skill that is calming and quarantine friendly.

Programmers program, writers write, doctors doctor? No doctors work hard most of the week and a bit of the weekends but they do that so they can have other stuff.

My job is Software and IT. It's less about code and more about clear rational decision making. Not thinking about it all the time makes it easier to think about it when it's time to do that work.

Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?

#19

Post by spodek »

You describe focusing on the solution. The inspiration to make your solution generally feels great, but doesn't endure. On the contrary, you'll get caught up in more and more solutions because you're mostly satisfying fleeting whims.

Focusing on the problem and the people who feel it will generally engage and inspire you longer. When you ask someone about what's missing in their lives or specifically what emotions they feel in the area you want to work in, they tell you, you offer possible solutions, and they say "when will you finish it, I want to buy it?", that inspiration lasts a long time.

Whom do you want to make your project for? What emotions do they feel that you want to address? Are they bored, frustrated, confused, misunderstood, lonely, etc? Each emotion is different and will lead to different solutions. Ask them so you hear in their words what they want. Ask them to clarify.

The inspiration to help others is deeper and creates meaning and purpose beyond just "I'm going to do something cool everyone will love."

I cover how to make this happen in my book, Initiative http://joshuaspodek.com/initiative based on project-based learning entrepreneurship courses I taught at NYU. If anyone is interested in doing the exercises after reading the reviews and watching the videos but cost is a problem, email me and we'll work something out. I suggest the book because of the results people get from doing the exercises.

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