Definitely agree with setting a deadline. I set a 3 month deadline recently for a large side-project and we're just about ready to launch on schedule :)
Where do you find the time for side projects?
121–130 of 136 posts
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#122There 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…
Don't waste time writing dude... browse reddit instead.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#123Earlier quoted context omitted.
Link might not be relevant for me, only been doing OT for a couple months, before that had an EMG done and nerve damage was shown to exist. Yeah, I had multiple EMGs done on both hands. Nerve damage in both. You know when you're doing an EMG and it is supposed to raise up super fast and then drop down super fast in a very thin inverted V? Well mine was a plateau of a couple inches wide, that's how much nerve damage I…
Eating two pieces of toast for breakfast is no way to live. Eating them while driving and you've given up.
Tell us, oh wise one, how we may enter Breakfast Nirvana with you. Teach us, oh enlightened Breakfast Master, how to enter into the Kingdom of Breakfast Heaven.
I eat two pieces of toast in the morning for breakfast because I want to eat two pieces of toast in the morning for breakfast. Just like I haven't eaten red meat in 26 years because I don't like red meat. I am not starving myself, I am not sacrificing my tastes, I am eating exactly what I want to eat.
Should I list other things I enjoy doing that happen to be healthful that you can disparage?
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#124> 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.
actually, i feel like a taking a little time to read non-technical stuff (like fiction or history) and exercise makes the time i spend coding more productive. of course, it's possible to overdo it and go on a reading jag that eats up a lot of time or (i would imagine, anyway) exercise for a substantial portion of your day.
tv clearly sucks, tho, and the main point here is that i'm surprised to hear someone equate time spent watching tv with time spent reading or exercising.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#125Where do you find the time for side projects?
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#126I can tell you how I do it, but I wouldn't necessarily recommend my path to anyone else. I'm not even 100% sure I'd recommend it to a younger version of myself, although I'm also not sure I'd recommend against it either. Basically, I'm single and childless, and darn close to my every free minute goes into the startup project. When I was working full-time, that meant "after work" M-F and the majority of my Sat and Sun…
Wow, I'm reminded of the saying "be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it" (i.e. at the expense of everything else). You just might be successful in your startup, but what is that worth if there is nothing else in your life, and no one to share it with?
Valid question. All I can say is "it's complicated". I'm pretty content with where things stand though. The being single and childless thing also isn't just about the startup thing... it's also a function of me never having met anybody that I felt that strongly about, to want to settle down, get married and have kids, blah. And it could still happen, I'm just not defining my success in life, or happiness, by whether it does or not.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#127Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
That happens to me, I have a 20 minute commute too. I do it by motorcycle and it makes me wake up in the morning and be ready to do whatever I want to do in the afternoons.
I find motorcycles amazing for this. Even a ten minute ride completely energizes me. It might have something to do with the total focus required.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#128Earlier quoted context omitted.
I made the decision not to get married or have children so that I would have time for side projects. Same here. Unfortunately, single people are often expected to stay later to enable those with family obligations to leave earlier. I just don't do that shit... to hell with expectations. You only get one life, and I don't know about you, but I have my own dreams I'm chasing.
Maybe parents are just more likely to have the guts to stand up to this kind of abuse. You're expected to work overtime? Refuse. Quit. There are no other healthy options. I do occasionally work overtime, but it's my own choice, and I get the time back when things cool down again. Becoming a father didn't change my approach one bit.
This. When I became a parent the decision to say know got easier to make. I didn't really notice a difference in what was asked of me. I just wouldn't put up with shut anymore. My time became wayyyy too important. Literally every extra minute at work was a minute I wasn't raising my son to be awesome.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#129Earlier quoted context omitted.
Wow, I'm reminded of the saying "be careful what you wish for, because you might just get it" (i.e. at the expense of everything else). You just might be successful in your startup, but what is that worth if there is nothing else in your life, and no one to share it with?
Valid question. All I can say is "it's complicated". I'm pretty content with where things stand though. The being single and childless thing also isn't just about the startup thing... it's also a function of me never having met anybody that I felt that strongly about, to want to settle down, get married and have kids, blah. And it could still happen, I'm just not defining my success in life, or happiness, by whether…
I understand the "it's complicated" thing. My best to you.
Re: Where do you find the time for side projects?
#130Great discussion here. I particularly like the debate over whether of not there is merit to the notion of conservation of mental energy. I did a side project https://github.com/gengstrand/clojure-news-feed over the winter holiday. It was not exhausting to me because it was a learning project so I found it to be fun instead of tiring.