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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?

#91

Post by corecoder »

ryeguy_24 wrote: post #34

I’m just like you. I stumbled upon a book called Refuse to Choose and it’s about a personality type (that is definitely not ADHD) that happens to want to do a lot of things (sometimes in parallel or in sequence). It was very comforting to know others struggle with this and this book helps you to be ok with it. I wouldn’t say it “cured” me but I think about it differently now and use it more to my advantage. Worth a r…

I'll definitely get the book.

> “If you are no longer interested in a project you started, maybe you already got what you came for”.

I don't know. It's one thing to leave a project unfinished, or to loose interest when it's time to fix the UI, but it's another thing to not be able to make progress at all.

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

#92

Post by mrfusion »

I think it would really help me to have a partner in any project I do. Someone to hold me accountable and to be excited about breakthroughs.

It’s just so hard for me to motivate myself. I used to think this was a failing of self discipline. But working with people makes things fun.

Look at the show “the office”. They thought of the most boring, unfulfilling type of work but it actually looks fun to work there. It’s all about the people.

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

#93

Post by brudgers »

When you're imagining a rogue-like use a piece of paper and some fat markers and make some of its artwork. That's where it starts. Not with downloading a graphics library. Not with configuring Travis-CI. Not with >git init. Those are pretend work. They are non-progress. They are not creative work. They are not hard. The hard thing is doing something poorly. The hard thing is barely making progress. The hard thing is opening yourself up to someone saying "that's inefficient." That someone is usually you. Good luck.

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

#94

Post by LeonB »

corecoder wrote: post #89
LeonB wrote: post #20

Have you considered the possibility that you may have ADHD-inattentive-type? There are online tests based on DSM criteria that can show you if it’s worth looking deeper into, such as this one: https://psychcentral.com/quizzes/adhd-quiz/

I do score quite high (total 44, inattentive scale 19, hyperactivity/impulsivity scale 25), yet I'm not convinced: at work I almost always manage to get things done well and in time, and I'm generally considered accomplished by my peers and managers, though maybe strange and over the top.

Yeh. That’s a significant finding. Honestly.

People with ADHD can most definitely be productive and generally considered accomplished. They just tend to have put a lot of effort in, their whole lives, in order to get there, and may have developed a lot of cool techniques to get there. Treatment itself is about improving these techniques (and finding helpful medications, the two parts work together.)

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

#95

Post by corecoder »

CodeGlitch wrote: post #60
ryeguy_24 wrote: post #34

I’m just like you. I stumbled upon a book called Refuse to Choose and it’s about a personality type (that is definitely not ADHD) that happens to want to do a lot of things (sometimes in parallel or in sequence). It was very comforting to know others struggle with this and this book helps you to be ok with it. I wouldn’t say it “cured” me but I think about it differently now and use it more to my advantage. Worth a r…

My "projects" folder on my PC is scattered with numerous projects that I've started and never finished. These range from games, tools and webpages - written in every language that I found an interest in. I think you're right in that it's the journey that matters to some, not the destination. As I've gotten older, I feel less pressured to finish these side-projects. When it comes to actual day-job work. The final 20%…

> The final 20% of a project is always the hardest for me.

I'd be more than happy to get to the 80%. It seems like I used to be able to do that when I was younger. It could be that I aimed lower.

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

#96

Post by vinyll »

As many I experiment the same with some projects. Though I've been working on a side project for 7 years now!

The difference? It's purposeful to me and a long challenge for be and the foundation that needs it. Because people depend on the work I do, I must do it. Because these people can't do it, I must do it. Because the purpose they serve is something that means a lot to me too, I want to do it.

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

#97

Post by shostack »

melvinroest wrote: post #36

I can tell what I figured out about myself so far. Sorry for the long post, it's tough to write concise. It also doesn't help that I'm describing insights that took me 10 years to get sharp. I have thoughts and intentions. I have behaviours. It's always puzzling to me how bad I am at predicting my behaviour purely with my thoughts and intentions. I guess people who are addicted to something that want to quit can rela…

Definitely blog post worthy. Thanks for sharing.

I've noticed similar triggers and hooks and such with myself as a fellow introspective individual.

I suspect some of this is related to the dopamine hits that come from easy/early successes in things. It's why I've noticed when I get run down, the only games that really appeal to me are idle clickers because they are essentially just dopamine buttons with a front end.

I think you're on the right track with first identifying these things and then figuring out how to harness them. In essence, you have to understand an API's inputs and outputs before you start calling it, and that's what you seem to be describing by thinking of yourself as a framework.

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

#98

Post by brlewis »

corecoder wrote: post #91
ryeguy_24 wrote: post #34

I’m just like you. I stumbled upon a book called Refuse to Choose and it’s about a personality type (that is definitely not ADHD) that happens to want to do a lot of things (sometimes in parallel or in sequence). It was very comforting to know others struggle with this and this book helps you to be ok with it. I wouldn’t say it “cured” me but I think about it differently now and use it more to my advantage. Worth a r…

I'll definitely get the book. > “If you are no longer interested in a project you started, maybe you already got what you came for”. I don't know. It's one thing to leave a project unfinished, or to loose interest when it's time to fix the UI, but it's another thing to not be able to make progress at all.

In my side projects I always keep todo.txt. There's a line for each thing I need to do, in order. Putting new things in that file and removing ones that get done becomes a kind of game. Try that on whichever idea you find yourself coming back to again and again.
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