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I'm a serial over committer

swanson.github.com

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Re: I'm a serial over committer

#11

Post by swanson »

persona wrote: post #6

There is a cost in overcommitting as there is the opportunity cost. But I believe there is a way to overcommit with the "under commit, over deliver" line of thought. That will allow you to still look at the new opportunities and present an option ("sure - let's talk first"..."could get done by xx".."too late? well next time perhaps"). One thing I've found - while handling many side-projects is to know each one has a…

I like the idea of prioritizing, but I find that even small projects that I abandon have a disproportionately large negative effect on my emotions/confidence/drive. It reminds me of what someone once told me about the stock market - getting $100 feels good, but losing $100 feels so much worse.

Re: I'm a serial over committer

#12

Post by persona »

swanson wrote: post #11
persona wrote: post #6

There is a cost in overcommitting as there is the opportunity cost. But I believe there is a way to overcommit with the "under commit, over deliver" line of thought. That will allow you to still look at the new opportunities and present an option ("sure - let's talk first"..."could get done by xx".."too late? well next time perhaps"). One thing I've found - while handling many side-projects is to know each one has a…

I like the idea of prioritizing, but I find that even small projects that I abandon have a disproportionately large negative effect on my emotions/confidence/drive. It reminds me of what someone once told me about the stock market - getting $100 feels good, but losing $100 feels so much worse.

have you tried "selling the idea" to someone else? Perhaps someone that wants to learn to code, or work with design, or write - depending on the type of project, even small ones, its good to energize someone to try it than to drop it.

A shared success is better than no success.

Re: I'm a serial over committer

#14

Post by swanson »

persona wrote: post #12
swanson wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I like the idea of prioritizing, but I find that even small projects that I abandon have a disproportionately large negative effect on my emotions/confidence/drive. It reminds me of what someone once told me about the stock market - getting $100 feels good, but losing $100 feels so much worse.

have you tried "selling the idea" to someone else? Perhaps someone that wants to learn to code, or work with design, or write - depending on the type of project, even small ones, its good to energize someone to try it than to drop it. A shared success is better than no success.

That is an awesome idea. And if no one wants to "buy" then probably no one cared about it in the first place so I shouldn't feel bad about letting it die. I'll have to try it out - I've got a good project in mind that this approach might work for.

Re: I'm a serial over committer

#17

Post by ubi »

IMO the most valuable is knowing when to walk away from a side project. Start a side project or hack on an idea you enjoy but when you start becoming stressed by it or realize it's not panning out as you expected, take a breath and kill the project. Harder to do with work projects but still possible. Scope the MVP to somthing that can be "done" and then allow management to iterate and see if this is the direction they want to go in.

Re: I'm a serial over committer

#19

Post by rje »

stoph wrote: post #16

I think the key to recovering from over-commitment is to increase your rates. If you are over-committed, you are giving away your time for too little money.

The article is about someone who works a steady non-contract job who signs up for personal side projects and research stuff at work, I'm not sure how you think "increasing your rates" applies in the situation.

(FWIW, if you're a contractor who has more work than they can complete, I absolutely agree with your analysis)

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