The way I see side project is that they're much like how software engineers in large corporations always have things to do - they're never 'complete'.
Any project but the simplest always keep finding more things I want to add to it.
Finishing a side project
11–20 of 154 posts
Re: Finishing a side project
#12From my personal experience, it took me years of discipline to build up the skillset to finish a project. It took me years to be able to learn what I can do and what I can't do given a specific timeline and be able to set tangible and achievable goals and focus on that to complete them. (And tangentially, if you ever want to offload your side project, here's a place to submit if you like :) https://www.sideprojectors…
For me it was learning to limit the scope of the projects, each time making it smaller until I planned projects small enough that I could finish them in under 3 months.
Re: Finishing a side project
#13My solution is probably bad advice, but I found effective to commit either financially or to someone so I have to do it, I put myself in a position where I don't a way out other than deliver.
Re: Finishing a side project
#14I find that the best way for me to finish a side project (for some definition of "finish") is to work on something that I want to use. Sometimes my motivation will flag for a few months until I want to use it; then the motivation kicks in and I'm productive while I improve/fix the project to make it work better for me.
Relatedly, it’s about working on something that will be useful quickly and you can polish after you’re already using it every day.
E.g. I got really fed up with how clunky the AWS assume-role workflow was at work with multiple AWS accounts so I wrote a little tool using Lispworks’s CAPI for a GUI that would handle authentication and embed a webkit browser so I could control the cookies more precisely. I got an MVP that improved my workflow working in a weekend and I’ve been iterating on it over the last several months. I find this sort of process works much better than spending months working on something that I may eventually use.
Re: Finishing a side project
#15I find that the best way for me to finish a side project (for some definition of "finish") is to work on something that I want to use. Sometimes my motivation will flag for a few months until I want to use it; then the motivation kicks in and I'm productive while I improve/fix the project to make it work better for me.
That's a great call.
I often get into side projects that start from "it would be cool if this exists", but, if I actually think about it, I have no interest in them beyond yeeting them off into this vague coolness.
Re: Finishing a side project
#16I find that the best way for me to finish a side project (for some definition of "finish") is to work on something that I want to use. Sometimes my motivation will flag for a few months until I want to use it; then the motivation kicks in and I'm productive while I improve/fix the project to make it work better for me.
Relatedly, it’s about working on something that will be useful quickly and you can polish after you’re already using it every day. E.g. I got really fed up with how clunky the AWS assume-role workflow was at work with multiple AWS accounts so I wrote a little tool using Lispworks’s CAPI for a GUI that would handle authentication and embed a webkit browser so I could control the cookies more precisely. I got an MVP th…
[deleted]
Re: Finishing a side project
#17I find that the best way for me to finish a side project (for some definition of "finish") is to work on something that I want to use. Sometimes my motivation will flag for a few months until I want to use it; then the motivation kicks in and I'm productive while I improve/fix the project to make it work better for me.
Relatedly, it’s about working on something that will be useful quickly and you can polish after you’re already using it every day. E.g. I got really fed up with how clunky the AWS assume-role workflow was at work with multiple AWS accounts so I wrote a little tool using Lispworks’s CAPI for a GUI that would handle authentication and embed a webkit browser so I could control the cookies more precisely. I got an MVP th…
I’ve also just decided that it’s ok to have a dozen incomplete projects I work on occasionally over the course of several years.
Re: Finishing a side project
#18At least for myself, I found it detrimental to set milestones that were based in features. The main reason was I'd rush to finish a feature, get all excited about shipping it in "only 1 week!", then tell myself I deserved a week off. That week turns into a month, then you lose mental context.
What I found key was making it a habit to work on it. Side projects, especially solo ones, take a long time to complete. If working just a little on one is part of your daily habit, you'll have ongoing steady progress that won't come with burnout.
Re: Finishing a side project
#19My solution is probably bad advice, but I found effective to commit either financially or to someone so I have to do it, I put myself in a position where I don't a way out other than deliver.
[deleted]
Re: Finishing a side project
#20I've found myself stuck in that endless cycle for years. I find myself highly motivated for the first few weeks, thinking about a future where I can work on this full time.
As the project shapes up, I lose interest and start to doubt my idea, wondering why people would ever pay for this. Eventually I work on it less and less until one day I decide to not work on it anymore.