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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?

#111

Post by LeoTinnitus »

I've found keeping a spreadsheet of a lot of tasks and how they're related helps. So say you have 3 projects, all with varying types of task. I would make the spreadsheet as follows:

Due Date, Goal Date, Project (or class if student), Assignment, Status.

Due date is definitively when I need to achieve it by (this can be artificial if you want). The goal date can change as my day/week gets hectic so I adjust according to the miscellaneous things that are impossible to account for. Project is like the Grouping of all tasks below it. Then the tasks are the incremental things that need to be done in order for the entire goal to come to fruition. Status tells me if it's completed, partly, or not.

This has helped me because if I'm feeling very committal one day, I can just crush a lot of stuff out. Then I can go "Well looks like I have a week before I have to get that done" so then I can freely budget fun time. It keeps me on track and helps me with balancing pleasure and work.

I've recently started tracking my hours too. It's weird but I think it helps with showing you how much you screw around when you work from home.

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

#112

Post by vorpalhex »

Most of the advice you're getting here is to monetize it, find what inspires, you, etc.

While well intentioned, that advice has been incorrect for me at least. What has worked has been to work on small, fast side projects. If you can only work on a project for two days, then pick projects you can finish in two days. Cut scope aggressively.

Frankly, my most successful projects are the ones that have been amonst the easiest.

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

#113

Post by pdr2020 »

zulban wrote: post #86

I've finished loads of hobby projects, despite full time jobs, and I've been told that I'm a bit of an expert on this. I see there's lots of comments already so I'll keep it short. 1) If you can't focus on a project longer than two days, then pick a project you can finish in three days. Honestly evaluate how big such a project can be. I also see this as students learn to code. They learn the basics then think they're…

Point 2 is such a golden piece of advice and so obvious in hindsight, yet this is the first time I've encountered it online.

If you have any online written pieces or blogs, please share them.

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

#115

Post by simonw »

Ship early, ship often. Ship a version you are embarrassed by and try and convince some people to use it.

I've had far too many side projects which languished in the "it just needs one more feature..." zone. My productivity with side projects shot RIGHT up once I learned to avoid this.

Remember: if you are disappointed that your project doesn't do something you had planned and you ship it anyway... no-one else will ever know!

Perfect is the enemy of shipped.

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

#116

Post by japhyr »

zulban wrote: post #86

I've finished loads of hobby projects, despite full time jobs, and I've been told that I'm a bit of an expert on this. I see there's lots of comments already so I'll keep it short. 1) If you can't focus on a project longer than two days, then pick a project you can finish in three days. Honestly evaluate how big such a project can be. I also see this as students learn to code. They learn the basics then think they're…

> I prefer not to talk about my future dreams for a project.

I feel this way as well, but my reasoning is different. I do much better work when I feel like I don't have to do something, but I can choose to do something. I've almost always done more efficient work on my own side projects than on the things I've been assigned to do.

When I talk about an idea that I haven't really built out yet, it creates a sense of obligation to do that work. That sense of obligation makes me not want to do the grunt work required to get the project done. I do better if that obligation is all internal. In that sense, writing in a journal about my ideas and vision is much more beneficial to me than talking with people about it.

That said, I try to be careful about recognizing when I do need to talk with others. If I went too far in the internal approach, I'd end up doing years-long projects without ever validating that they're meaningful to other end users.

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

#117

Post by vcool07 »

I read this somewhere that, instead of focusing on "what to do ?", shift your focus to "why do you need to do it ?". If you focus on the why and can convince yourself on the importance of it, maybe it would get done. On the other hand, if your "why" is shaky, then most probably somewhere in the back of your mind it's marked as "not important". It's like one of those things that you just want, but don't really "need", so no wonder you lose interest pretty soon.

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

#118

Post by rjspotter »

I'd suggest you try spending a little more time up front defining the what and why of the project before you start. If you don't define what winning looks like ahead of time it's easy to quit 5 minutes in when you're confronted with making tradeoffs but, don't have any context to under-pin those decisions.

Additionally, don't start with big hairy audacious side-projects. If all you've ever gotten to with one project is two days. Define a project that will teach you something that you think you can finish in three days.

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

#119

Post by rootusrootus »

zulban wrote: post #86

I've finished loads of hobby projects, despite full time jobs, and I've been told that I'm a bit of an expert on this. I see there's lots of comments already so I'll keep it short. 1) If you can't focus on a project longer than two days, then pick a project you can finish in three days. Honestly evaluate how big such a project can be. I also see this as students learn to code. They learn the basics then think they're…

With regards to point 2, I seem to remember reading once that if you allow yourself to think too much about success in the future, it steals away your motivation to complete the task in the present. It gives your brain that satisfaction without actually having succeeded at anything, and then you stop trying because you are no longer motivated.
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