Earlier quoted context omitted.
Uhhhh http://cl.ly/image/3l1h251S060B
Perhaps some validation would be useful, but 20 days per week?
Oh I thought it said 20 HOURS per week.
Where do you find the time for side projects?
41–50 of 136 posts
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#42> The short answer is: I work on side-projects whenever I have a spare moment. I sacrifice other things (watching TV, reading the newspaper, playing video games) so that I can do creative work. This is the real answer. You do not find time, you make it.
Time is important, but another factor is mental energy. I have only a certain amount of mental energy for each day. Things like TV, reading, and exercising are good when I'm in a low mental energy state. If I have a hard day at work, it doesn't matter how much free time I have since I just won't have the mental energy left to work on a side project.
I find that I get energized on my short (20 minute) drive home. Maybe it's the change in context, but even if I'm mentally fried at 5 I find that I can at least get another hour or two.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#43Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#44My problem is not that I don't have 2 spare hours a day. The problem is this time is severely fragmented , with 15 or 20 minutes being the largest fragment. Working on code takes some concentration which is hard to attain in 30-60 seconds; it's closer to 10-15 minutes, but then the time is up.
What takes up the majority of the time in your day?
Try these:
* Sleep one hour less a night.
* Don't drink alcohol.
* Prepare all food for the week in advance.
* Cut down your time from awake to shaved, showered, dressed to 15 minutes.
* Work less at your day job.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#45Earlier quoted context omitted.
Perhaps some validation would be useful, but 20 days per week?
Oh I thought it said 20 HOURS per week.
Sorry for the confusion! I'll clarify the wording.
I emphasize working with days (vs hours) because I find it really pleasant to have days dedicated to one project instead of more than one.
In my organization, each day is dedicated to one main topic (consulting, or my own product, or something else etc).
Hope this helps!
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#46I know exactly where Justin is coming from. I'm married with 4 kids. I'm glad my wife supports my side-projects. After the kids are put to bed (around 8-9 p.m.) I will work until midnight. My wife will hang out in the office with me while I work. On the weekends I wake up at 6:30 a.m. and work until around 10:30 a.m. From there I will spend the rest of the day with the wife and kids.
I tend to set a goal for what I want to achieve in a given period (for me it's about 4 hours). It's easy to be all over the map when you don't have a full day to commit. With a strict schedule and a goal anything can be achieved.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#47I know exactly where Justin is coming from. I'm married with 4 kids. I'm glad my wife supports my side-projects. After the kids are put to bed (around 8-9 p.m.) I will work until midnight. My wife will hang out in the office with me while I work. On the weekends I wake up at 6:30 a.m. and work until around 10:30 a.m. From there I will spend the rest of the day with the wife and kids. I tend to set a goal for what I w…
Thanks: yes, having a supportive spouse really helps.
In some ways, having the constraint of a family is helpful: you know you only have x number of hours. There's no time to fool around.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#48My problem is not that I don't have 2 spare hours a day. The problem is this time is severely fragmented , with 15 or 20 minutes being the largest fragment. Working on code takes some concentration which is hard to attain in 30-60 seconds; it's closer to 10-15 minutes, but then the time is up.
What takes up the majority of the time in your day? Try these: * Sleep one hour less a night. * Don't drink alcohol. * Prepare all food for the week in advance. * Cut down your time from awake to shaved, showered, dressed to 15 minutes. * Work less at your day job.
* Sleeping less than the norm makes you stupid, I try to avoid this.
* I don't drink alcohol at all.
* Nice idea about food, which I mostly follow. Not all food can stay palatable for a week, though.
* Faster startup is a nice idea, too.
* Working less on my day job would be nice, but probably my employer won't be happy. I'm not overworking.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#49My problem is not that I don't have 2 spare hours a day. The problem is this time is severely fragmented , with 15 or 20 minutes being the largest fragment. Working on code takes some concentration which is hard to attain in 30-60 seconds; it's closer to 10-15 minutes, but then the time is up.
What takes up the majority of the time in your day? Try these: * Sleep one hour less a night. * Don't drink alcohol. * Prepare all food for the week in advance. * Cut down your time from awake to shaved, showered, dressed to 15 minutes. * Work less at your day job.
I would say sleep is the single most important thing. Never cut that corner if you don't absolutely have to.
My best moments of clarity are on my hour long morning drive after a good night's sleep, not when I'm actually doing the work.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#50> The short answer is: I work on side-projects whenever I have a spare moment. I sacrifice other things (watching TV, reading the newspaper, playing video games) so that I can do creative work. This is the real answer. You do not find time, you make it.
I dont know if I buy it completely. When you have a full time job and 4 kids you dont play video games, watch tv, etc... you just constantly do things that have to be done.
Either his kids are older or he has someone else doing most of the parent work.