A note to myself • Hacker News Board

Re: A note to myself

#31

Post by platz » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:15 PM UTC

adrianhoward wrote: post #9

The single biggest mental hack I have for getting around this is this. Just write it down. As soon as I write it down and stick it on a list of product ideas it's out of my head and I can focus again. As a bonus you've got a nice list 'o' stuff that you can go poke through whenever you get some spare tuits. At the moment I have (pause to look at trello) 57 items on the company "Product Ideas" backlog. Two have come o…

I feel like once I write something down in a list it will dissappear into the 'backlog' forever.

Re: A note to myself

#32

Post by platz » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:19 PM UTC

jvilalta wrote: post #7

Sounds familiar :-) but sometimes quitting is the right thing to do. Found this interesting on this topic: http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/09/30/new-freakonomics-radi...

Reminds me The Dip by Seth Godin.

Re: A note to myself

#33

Post by calhoun137 » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:27 PM UTC

Finishing stuff is nice, it took me awhile but i finally got there. The new problem i have is: now that i finished a project, how do i get people to know about/use it?

Re: A note to myself

#34

Post by purplelobster » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:27 PM UTC

jborden13 wrote: post #19

Ideas are a dime a dozen. Execution is the only thing that matters.

Ideas that seem good on the surface are a dime a dozen. More refined and more specific ideas aren't. However, execution is needed to iron out and refine even great ideas, it's an interplay.

Re: A note to myself

#35

Post by digikata » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:54 PM UTC

anoncow wrote: post #8

Always wanted to build something. Tried my hand at a few projects. Worked at it for 3 years, odd jobs kept the money flowing. Recently took up a corporate job. Signed the company contract which takes away my right to work on anything else(profitable or non profitable). Still want to build. Bidding my time.

In some states, like CA I believe, this might be in your contract, but if you live within the right constraints (e.g. use your own equipment, on your own time, away from your employers facilities, not competing with the employer), then your work is is your own. Of course you should verify with a lawyer if you're really going to pursue anything serious or if your side hobby suddenly promises to become profitable..

Nitpick PS: I think you meant "bide"

Re: A note to myself

#36

Post by johndcook » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:56 PM UTC

tvon wrote: post #12

moxie wrote: post #4

I like that this note about discipline has itself become a distraction. To be true to the note would have meant finishing an idea in progress, rather than browsing to HN and posting.

Well, unless OP thought it was useful enough to share.

He said it was a few weeks ago. Maybe he finished his work before posting this to HN.

Re: A note to myself

#37

Post by m12r » Sat, May 11, 2013, 9:58 PM UTC

Finishing things impossible. When do you know it's finished? When it's dead? It's not bad to start something and table it. The amount of time "that thing" comes back to you is probably the best filter for you get it moving. If it does not come back to you, it probably means it's not important to you, or not important to anyone else. Just use pattern recognition to spend the right amount of time on the right idea.

Re: A note to myself

#38

Post by georgemcbay » Sat, May 11, 2013, 10:38 PM UTC

thomaseng wrote: post #30

jchulani wrote: post #11

Sadly, I know a lot of hackers that suffer from not finishing. If there is one thing I've learned from working many years as a PM, even average ideas can become big with a team that executes well and know how to finish. It's what separates great entrepreneurs.

'PM' usually denotes 'Prime Minister'. I suspect this is not your actual occupation. Furthermore, great entrepreneurs should be separated.

If you work in tech in the USA, 'PM' usually denotes 'Project Manager'.

Re: A note to myself

#39

Post by james4k » Sat, May 11, 2013, 10:41 PM UTC

Whenever I've tried leaving an insightful note for myself like this, over time it seems to completely lose its meaning. Definitely never as profound as when you read it the first couple times.

Perhaps that would make a great app. Periodic anecdotes from yourself. /me checks the app store

Re: A note to myself

#40

Post by thomaseng » Sat, May 11, 2013, 10:45 PM UTC

georgemcbay wrote: post #38

thomaseng wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

'PM' usually denotes 'Prime Minister'. I suspect this is not your actual occupation. Furthermore, great entrepreneurs should be separated.

If you work in tech in the USA, 'PM' usually denotes 'Project Manager'.

Well, thats a demotion, isn't it?