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Where do you find the time for side projects?

justinjackson.ca

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Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#101

Post by agentultra »

mikkel wrote: post #65
agentultra wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

http://dungeonmastersdelight.com/ Thanks for taking a peek. Let me know what you think of the site. If it's something that really interests you, get in touch. I really like to get reviews/feedback. :)

This looks really cool. However, my first inclination was to close the tab because I didn't get it. I love playing board games (Dominions, Pandemic, etc) and have always wanted to try D&D. Am I your target audience? Then I found your value prop at the bottom of the page: "Dungeon Masters Delight is a series of books that aims to collect useful hacks and tricks for the discerning dungeon master. It aims to fill in the…

That looks much better. Thanks!

Update: Changed the subtitle text and added links to the "Buy" and "Subscribe" pages.

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#102

Post by elwell »

marvin wrote: post #87

There is no shame in not having the time and mental energy for side projects. Working full-time is hard, and not everyone is born with the capacity to be an intellectual superhero. It's good that some people are, but I think the relentless focus on people who achieve great, nearly superhuman things sets an unrealistic standard for the rest of us. If you can't find the time, energy, inspiration or focus to do other am…

A lot of people project an image of themselves as an "Intellectual Superhero". This may make everyone feel lesser because no one actually is an intellectual superhero.

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#103

Post by misiti3780 »

If you do not have kids - I really do not see how you can say you do not have time for side projects. I live in manhattan, work between 50-70 hours per week, have a girlfriend, exercise 5 days a week for 1 hour, drink a lot, and watch some tv (HBO only), and have multiple side projects.

Here is what I do not do: watch sports (huge time suck), watch TV (unless im programming at the same time), commute to work (5 minute bike ride), go to bed early, have kids, program because I have to.

I would love to see a csv with one column that is "Have side projects (Y/N)" and "Watch sports weekly" in the other .... I think you would see a trend

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#104

Post by akilism »

For those of you who write code for your side projects how long does it take for you to get ramped up and going. Sometimes it can take me 30 minutes before I feel like I'm in the full swing of things and if I only have an hour total of free time that means next to nothing gets done. Somedays I find it particularly hard to flush out problems I've been thinking about at work switch gears and work on problems for my own projects. My mind will just get stuck in a state of trying to crunch on the work issue.

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#105

Post by yaddayadda »

pc86 wrote: post #42
cpprototypes wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I used to have a less than 5min commute and it was perfect for "resetting" my mind. I now have about an hour commute; most nights it doesn't matter how much energy I had when I walked out of the office, by the time I get in the house I barely have enough energy to put something in the microwave and eat before passing out.

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#106

Post by dba7dba »

evanspa wrote: post #53
latj wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

This. I have 2 kids, ages 6 and 9, and there's always something to do (help with homework, help with piano, take to soccer, make a cake from scratch together, etc). When everyone's asleep, that's when I work on my side projects. If I'm lucky, I get 2-3 solid hours before my body physically shuts down. I made a decision years ago to do away with tv, video games, etc during "me time," and instead work on projects / cat…

Glad to hear there are people who are productive with side projects even with family and kids.

One thing I've almost stopped doing is just watching TV. Actually TV completely. I do watch documentaries from netflix and youtube on tablet while exercise-biking, washing-dishes, folding laundry etc.

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#107

Post by arca_vorago »

I usually sacrifice sleep. You can't do it too long or it can get to you, so I will do a week of little sleep and then one or two weeks of a good nights rest. In my mid 20's though, I sacrificed social interaction for my "side projects". To be frank, sometimes it's my work. (a whole other rant about lack of incentive)

Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?

#110

Post by mindcruzer »

gregcrv wrote: post #75
ozh wrote: post #66

Manage your own 20% at work. Depending on your environment (colleagues, management expectations, your personal levels of productivity), this can be doable. Not necessarily 20% (that's a lot), can be 10, or even 5, but that's still something.

is it really possible ? I think whatever you do during your work hours becomes property of your employer, not you.

* if they find out
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