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How I stay motivated as a solo creator

herman.bearblog.dev

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Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#31

Post by k1ns »

Scubabear68 wrote: post #28

I think it’s interesting that the author has the following mindset about non-solo jobs: “You're going to work. The choice has been made. The structure around that work, and the underlying purpose are set by others and you just need to make it happen”. This is not always the case. For example, I work in a midsized consulting firm at a fairly senior level. While I have a line manager, he’s only there to give me corpora…

It may not be your boss/manager setting it, but your work structure is still being dictated by others (e.g. "within constraints if engagements of course").

You can put this to the test by just ceasing all work on your current projects, without telling anyone, and seeing what happens.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#32

Post by ChadNauseam »

gagege wrote: post #19
whartung wrote: post #2

First, 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 have the same problem. I see all these hackers out there making (something like) the millionth travel blog and sticking with it for years and somehow ending up making a decent income off of it. But I'm sitting here wondering if my potentially cool game idea that has never been done before is something that the world really needs, then I quit after about a week because of those thoughts. What drives people?

I think they write the travel blog because they enjoy it. Most people aren’t doing things like that because they think the world “needs” more of it

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#33

Post by dimmke »

I relate to this so hard. It can be really, really tough building software by yourself. I am planning on launching a much reduced version of something I have been working on soon just to get it out the door so I can iterate on it. Luckily I have a somewhat close friend who is doing the same thing who I can talk to about it.

Having a schedule helps, but sometimes I just sit down with the best of intentions, get brain fog and say fuck it and lose a day.

One of my best "tricks" is if I feel like I am facing a wall on something, to work on a different task, even perhaps a non coding one that I know I have to get done at some point.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#34

Post by gavinhoward »

Also a solo creator. I'm not making money from it, but I would like to eventually.

My motivation is two-fold:

1. I am a perfectionist and can't leave things undone.

2. My creation work is my sanity preservation against my actual obligations.

Needless to say, my motivations won't apply to 99% of people.

Everyone is going to be different. Find your motivations, but don't assume they'll be the same as some viral blogger.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#35

Post by SoftTalker »

actionfromafar wrote: post #17
c7DJTLrn wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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. Similar for me. I'm generating and validating ideas at the moment, but it takes almost no time for me to convince myself an idea is rubbish, not worth exploring, or already done.

You probably already heard this, but if you are doing a product, not “research”, that something has been already done, needn’t be a deterrent. It just as well may indicate there’s room in the market for yet another twist on a similar thing.

In fact if something like it is already in the market, that's a very good sign. It validates that there is a market.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#36

Post by pcdoodle »

greybeardednyc wrote: post #21

How do you generate enough income to survive?

Multiple streams of income / selling your skills until you can work exclusively on what you want.

Lowering overhead helps too: Learning to love what you have and another thing i learned on HN: for everything you buy, you buy it twice.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#37

Post by KennyBlanken »

I can't remember who said it recently during the SAG strike - but they're fed up with being called a "creator"; the corporate-invented term is tiresome, non-descriptive, and feels devaluing - emphasizing their output, not their craft or them as a person.

https://theaggie.org/2020/10/23/for-the-love-of-god-stop-cal...

https://www.reddit.com/r/unpopularopinion/comments/14sqoig/t...

https://braindoggies.medium.com/i-hate-being-a-content-creat...

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#38

Post by SoftTalker »

thewizardofaus wrote: post #5

A 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.

In our industry, it's also very easy for the undisciplined person to succeed. You get a new job, it's exciting and the problems are new and motivating. After a few years the shine wears off, it becomes boring, you understand all the problems and they start to seem tedious. You find it difficult to really engage. But fortunately, the demand for software developers is so great that you can easily find a new job, and the cycle repeats.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#39

Post by SoftTalker »

mtrpcic wrote: post #30
6stringmerc wrote: post #26

I do not approve of the use of the term “creator” here when they may believe they are creating but they are actually working inside a box (machine) or job parameter which inherently is derivative. As in, I can whistle a song I created on the guitar because I pull it out of thin air - can he do the same with his “creation” as it were? Stay in your lane.

Let's not gate keep the word "creator". Writing new software is just as much "creating" as whistling a tune, writing a song, drawing a new piece of art, painting a miniature, carving a stone, or anything else. Something exists now that didn't exist before. It has been created.

I think most of the time "maker" is a better word but it's a quibble.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#40

Post by Scubabear68 »

k1ns wrote: post #31
Scubabear68 wrote: post #28

I think it’s interesting that the author has the following mindset about non-solo jobs: “You're going to work. The choice has been made. The structure around that work, and the underlying purpose are set by others and you just need to make it happen”. This is not always the case. For example, I work in a midsized consulting firm at a fairly senior level. While I have a line manager, he’s only there to give me corpora…

It may not be your boss/manager setting it, but your work structure is still being dictated by others (e.g. "within constraints if engagements of course"). You can put this to the test by just ceasing all work on your current projects, without telling anyone, and seeing what happens.

This is true. But it’s not command and control the way the author indicated, either.

And the aspect of choice matters a great deal. The ability to say “no” to an engagement is very empowering.

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