It helps a lot if you pick something you think is important, not just start working on some random ideas.
Or maybe you can accept that you like jumping from project to project and that's okay too.
Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
261–270 of 372 posts
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#262I've been working on a side project now for about 8 months. By far the longest for me. Whats worked this time is I don't work on it every day and sometimes I'll only write a few lines of code if only to keep the momentum going. I think anything you do for your side project is a positive step. Once you give up its done.
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#263Another angle, maybe you have to churn through many (hundreds?) of ideas before you get to one you really want to see through.
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#264Earlier quoted context omitted.
> If you are no longer interested in a project you started, maybe you already got what you came for This line alone got me to go buy the book. As someone who's constantly churning through ideas, and who feels afflicted by ADHD just enough to worry about it but not quite enough to actually think I have it, I've found myself abandoning a bunch of projects when at a 'mostly done' state. Generally, I tackle the interesti…
> I'm probably not the guy that would have devised a strong marketing plan, beat doors down or cold-called for sales Ever considered pairing up with someone from a nontechnical background?
I've tried a variety of things. The first big step once I realized that I was sloughing off the boring bits was to try tackling the boring bits first. Start with a basic app that included user registration, an empty FAQ page, etc., but that generally meant quitting the project earlier rather than later. Then I thought well, maybe I'll just build up a library of reusable components for that, but hey guess what? That stuff is boring
So, that's the long way around, but yes, I have partnered up with people who might compliment my lacking skills, but it's tough finding people motivated enough that I feel like I'm letting them down if I don't keep up. I'm generally great at getting projects going through the hard bits, but in my experience, most other people fall off or lose interest in the project before it even gets to the point that I might.
To date, the only thing that reliably ensures I'll complete a project is paying me to complete a project. Weirdly, if I'm getting paid for something, my mind doesn't suffer any of these ailments. I will still cherrypick the most interesting work to do, but if there are features with deadlines, so long as there's money in it, I have no problems getting myself back on track.
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#265Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was reading a book called "You're Not Crazy - You're Codependent" (not relevant, except the source of what comes next in my comment) wherein the author made a distinction between "dreaming" and "fantasizing", the latter being destructive (in some cases) or unsatisfying. I feel the distinction is valuable for me, but I've also been helping my teenager work through his challenges wherein he hits the first speed bump…
Interesting distinction between "dreaming" and "fantasizing". Does the author define the two as the same process with the only difference being the effect the action has on you (e.g. destructive/unsatisfying)?
I don't have access to the text right now, but when you consider the literal definition of "fantasizing", it's pretty heavy: "to imagine things only possible in fantasy"
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#266Earlier quoted context omitted.
FWIW I've found that there is a cross section between excitement of a new project and the momentum of that project. Most projects fizz out when the excitement wears off before the amount of work you've already done on it has enough momentum to push you to do one more task. When I push though that motivational hurdle, I find the amount of work already done incentives to continue on with it. The next task is obvious an…
Agreed, I have found that as well. I have tried to define how much momentum I need to stay engaged. For instance, I started a YouTube channel. The process of creating videos was a short enough feedback loop (a few days max to start/finish a video) that I was able to stay engaged for longer than normal. I fed off of each finished video as the momentum to keep working on the project of "growing an audience around a top…
That's a great example. I experienced something similar with my side project, which was a music magazine app, similar in concept to the (failed) iPad interactive magazine projects that were all the rage back in 2012 or so.
It was very challenging to build something that scaled to phones and tablets while having a magazine-type aesthetic (compartmentalized information on each discrete page).
In the end, I abandoned it, and decided to create mini-zines and post them to Instagram as slideshows. Zero interactivity, but they're orders of magnitude faster to make, layout is constrained to IG's 1:1 aspect ratio and and I already have the artboards as I used Sketch to build my static mockups.
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#267Get people using it. Period. Result: with every user interaction you will get a refreshment of motivation. I've done it for 5 years. Long version: I was all about starting projects and never finishing, until one day I actually put one online and started spreading the word through discussion boards. So step 1) Launch and spread the word. You get 1 thing out of this immediately: you WILL finish it to the bare minimum,…
I second that.
To combine with "starting small" it can be a simple single-page app, or a blog post, or anything. At least for me, feedback is the fuel (even negative feedback >>> no feedback).
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#268It's great to see so many people sharing the same challenge I have as well.
As developers, we always want to build things. Things we find interesting.
Maybe we "finish" some of them. Maybe we don't ever finish something because there's always improvements to be made.
"Meaningful progress" also is hard to define. One day you feel it's "save humanity level" meaningful. The other day is just lines of codes that don't work.
Some companies like JotForm evolved from a side project, but not all side project will become an actual business.
I think the reason why we even call side project a side project is because we have options.
It's ok to fail. It's okay to explore, experiment, and create. As long as it doesn't deeply offend your core values, side projects are supposed to be fun.
If it blossom into something that you can't ignore, then you will come back to it no matter what.
I wrote an article back in the days when I documented why I couldn't start a side project here: https://medium.com/swlh/this-is-why-you-will-never-start-tha...
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#269Check out the book "Little Bets: How Breakthrough Ideas Emerge from Small Discoveries"
In a way it's the concept of MVP but really from the point of view of picking up projects.
Re: Ask HN: How can I pick a side project and stick with it?
#270I have a side project for you. There is currently a very functional prototype and yet I need a technical co-founder to build beyond this proof of concept.