How I stay motivated as a solo creator
herman.bearblog.dev
How I stay motivated as a solo creator
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Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#2First, I'm easily distracted.
But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting.
It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't.
But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to persevere, not say "F it" and fire up "distraction du jour" (HN, YT, video game, etc.).
My recent project, that I actually released, documentation, cross platform installers, and everything, took a year of calendar time (but not a year of effort, it was idle for some months). It felt good to get it out, put it in the hand of other (I think only one person has actually used it). But, that actually doesn't deter me (sure, I'd like folks to use things, that's why I finished the project to make it, ideally, easy to pick up).
But, still, there are those times when that hopelessness of "why bother" creeps in and takes the wind out of my sails.
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#3> I'm not on traditional social media so don't have that eating away at my attention, but Hacker News is pretty good at derailing my day.
How relatable!
" - Coffee and a walk with my partner - Gym for about an hour - Journal and write - Work block 1 (about 3 hours) - Lunch and chill - Work block 2 (also about 3 hours) "
That looks fantastic!
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#4Been working on my own, writing software since 2005. Currently having a bit of a motivation slump. But I'm sure I'll push through, the same as I've pushed through all the previous ones.
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#5A crucial point the post misses is the distinction between motivation and discipline.
Ultimately it's easy to work on things when they are fun and exciting; but motivation will only last for so long... once that happens it's the discipline that needs to take over for you to keep progressing forward.
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#6First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
I'm sure you've already heard/read it said a bunch of times, but you shipped a thing out there. The vast majority of people/projects don't.
You probably actually enjoyed it too, just not the whole time. That's fine, that's the treadmill.
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#7Nothing motivates more than empty bank account. It's beyond imagination how much person is able than do in 8 hours
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#8First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
Same boat here. I've yet to find something that I feel warrants full attention. It's sort of opposite to the common SV "throw shit at the wall and see what sticks" attitude. Maybe I'm just too distractable and pessimistic.
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#9> I stay active on a Slack community of devs and creators in my country, as well as go to meet-ups and events in interesting communities
How does one find these supposed Slack groups and meetups? I live in a major metropolitan area, but the meetups I've been able to find have been underwhelming.
Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator
#10First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…
Your scenario makes me think of The Lean Startup. It's a book but you can find podcasts, talks, etc. It's worth thoroughly understanding it as it makes it much harder to ship something people don't want, but also pushes you to engage with people earlier so you're co-building. I'm also older :P and this is the biggest idea to change my approach to this game.