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

Also, think about what you really want to achieve. When you think “I’ll make a roguelike in X!” do you actually want to make something you or other people want to play? Or do you really want to just have a cursory understanding of how a roguelike works? Or to get a slight familiarity with language X? Do the initial research without committing too much to it and see if you maintain interest.

Here’s what worked for me:

1) pick a language (it doesn’t matter, C, python, ocaml) and just start writing small things in it. Do this so much that your inner monologue starts speaking the language, that you have an uncontrollable urge to sit down on Saturday and barf our thousands of lines of bad code in it the way you might write a rambling post on tumblr.

2) understand problem decomposition: practice OOP for the broader application (you don’t need an OO language just use it to break the problem down, write UML if it’s your first couple times) and FP for smaller problems.

3) practice discipline. Clean your room, do your laundry, make your bed, wake up at the same time every morning, go for a walk every day, keep a house plant alive. It’s almost unbelievable how much this discipline with small things can make you more focused and less compulsive.

I think you would attach more value to a project if you plan it first.

Use something to test your idea first. If by meaningful project you mean something that others can use and solve a real life problem, maybe take a look at The Startup Owner's Manual (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13557008-the-startup-own...).

If your idea withstand the first tests and you want to commit to it, describe in general lines what is to be done, describe some general, doable deadlines, maybe use a Kanban board. You should have at least an idea of the scope of the project before you start. Do not think about a finished, polished product. Think about something functional, that is shippable. You can polish it later.