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The blissful Zen of a good side project

joshcollinsworth.com

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Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#101

Post by jazzcomputer »

I'm in my 50s and I'm currently mulling the conundrum of being an artist and designer with art and design side projects, and now having them sidelined by a new-found interest in p5js. I'm getting little glimpses of observing myself and how I'm responding to my side-project time being increasingly compacted by parenting, work and also a recent flush of training for a mountain run (in order to maintain some fitness) - I also had a temporary obsession with learning wheelies on my bike, which further compacted time available for javascript learning outside of work hours.

Anyways - this article was a good read, and I've enjoyed the observations in the comments - especially about the body and the ebb and flow nature of time spent on side projects.

I had a kind of burn-out last year where I'd work 'til 1am and then feel drained and grouchy the next day. A new found interest in sleep has been paying dividends, but I need to lean into it further.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#102

Post by theF00l »

dilawar wrote: post #61
keyle wrote: post #39

It's an interesting read. I'm in the complete opposite camp. I can't pick up a game controller for more than 5 minutes without feeling like I'm wasting time. This has lead to many, many side projects throughout the years, which I tend to like a zen garden[1]. Pruning, refining, improving, and sometimes rewriting. As soon as I work out the game mechanics of any game, I just see it as just content now, and there is not…

> somedays I want netflix and chill. I call them a zero day.

I wonder if it's always a zero day. I think that things and ways of thinking create momentum. The more you netflix and chill, the likelier you are to netflix and chill.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#103

Post by b2w »

Xmd5a wrote: post #85
aaarrm wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the same, and it has kind of ruined me. No one I know thinks the ways I do. I keep wondering if it's just due to anxiety or a fear of death, or an inability to feel present or what. But I really wish I could figure this aspect of myself out so that I can relax and enjoy in a moment. Whenever I realize that I was lost a moment, I get anxious about what I should be doing with my time instead.

Whenever I feel like I'm losing time, I go watch this and I feel much better https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lZbfNtDCHdM @sappho3000 11 months ago stop glamorizing "the grind" and start glamorizing whatever this is

That's a very funny video! I'm curious to see if I can get my swim club to do something like this :-)

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#104

Post by Philpax »

leoedin wrote: post #82
jlcases wrote: post #79

Documentation quality has been the determining factor in the evolution of my side projects. I've developed a structured documentation system that has completely transformed my workflow with AI assistants.

Can you share more about this? I think that's often the thing that kills my side projects. I'll make reasonable progress, lose interest for a bit, and then when I come back to it all the working memory is gone and so I spend a few hours just getting up to speed again. Better ongoing documentation to allow quicker self-onboarding is what I need!

I've had reasonable success with taking diary-style notes on whatever project I'm working on within that project's page in Obsidian, and then when I need to come back to it, either reading over it or passing it through a LLM to summarise / ask me targeted questions to prod my memory.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#105

Post by jordanmorgan10 »

The interesting thing with my side projects is that they are ever so close to being a full-on business, but they are slightly under the threshold where I could go all in (stay at home wife, three kids, American healthcare costs). So, it’s hard to think of them as “side” projects when in reality they’ve become a “side” business. It’s like I have no choice but to take them a bit seriously, though I do hope to find the time for a “love of the game” side project. Great post.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#106

Post by cushychicken »

jordanmorgan10 wrote: post #105

The interesting thing with my side projects is that they are ever so close to being a full-on business, but they are slightly under the threshold where I could go all in (stay at home wife, three kids, American healthcare costs). So, it’s hard to think of them as “side” projects when in reality they’ve become a “side” business. It’s like I have no choice but to take them a bit seriously, though I do hope to find the…

I’m a bit behind where you are with my side businesses, and the way I feel about them is more acutely aware of the time tradeoff I have to make to work on them.

To side hustle on my job board, I have to give up hanging out with my kid.

That’s just not a trade I’ve felt like making recently.

On top of that, I just changed jobs, and got a very appreciable salary bump for it. It makes the grind of the side business seem pretty paltry in comparison: the returns on my main career track are just so much bigger thanks to my compounding experience and skill there.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#107

Post by josephburnett »

mahoumaigo wrote: post #52
aaarrm wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the same, and it has kind of ruined me. No one I know thinks the ways I do. I keep wondering if it's just due to anxiety or a fear of death, or an inability to feel present or what. But I really wish I could figure this aspect of myself out so that I can relax and enjoy in a moment. Whenever I realize that I was lost a moment, I get anxious about what I should be doing with my time instead.

I'm also like this. Some part of me feels that any moment spent not honing a skill / advancing in some way is a wasted one. I know it's a bs perspective, but still I find myself taking it constantly. I do manage to force myself out of this way of thinking from time to time, but it requires conscious effort to do so. I imagine this forum has its fair share of people who fall for this "overachiever fallacy". I'd be cur…

In terms of side projects, I’ve deliberately curated a smaller set that meets multiple criteria. Social connection, simplicity and elegance, and the ability to start and stop at will.

At work I am always looking for ways to do more than one thing at once. Learn a new skill. Teach something. Solve a small problem. Make myself feel good. Take the solution to the next level.

I think it’s okay to want to always be honing and advancing. Humans are always seeking lower energy paths. Maybe you just need to expand the scope of the skills you’re seeking. One of the most valuable skills in my work is the ability to stop and think about what I’m actually trying to do. That is honed through stopping and observing (meditation).

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#108

Post by jacamera »

theF00l wrote: post #102
dilawar wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> somedays I want netflix and chill. I call them a zero day.

I wonder if it's always a zero day. I think that things and ways of thinking create momentum. The more you netflix and chill, the likelier you are to netflix and chill.

Yeah I definitely struggle with this. You need downtime to relax but it's easy to "over relax" just like it's easy to oversleep or overeat or overdo any other number of things that are healthy and necessary but only at the right amplitude and frequency. I think that's why it can feel so good to be in a rhythm. You get a nice oscillation going that rides the wave of momentum instead of some monotonic rise or fall that is going to lead to burnout or stagnation.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#109

Post by sgarland »

prox wrote: post #78
wonger_ wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I've noticed that when I have lots of stressors, I don't have any creative energy. I have to give myself permission to let go, that it's ok to forget about a side project. It's more important to focus on self-care and tackling irl problems at that point. But when life is good, it's hard to stop tinkering. Weekend-sized projects are the best. For me, it's an urge to create and see the core 20% come to life, not…

One of the hallmarks of people who get stressed, and especially people with burnout is that they don’t have any creative or any relaxive or active outlet anymore. They get kind of stuck in their stressloop. Say a people who enjoyed playing an instrument stops playing, etc. The best companies I worked allowed for a bit of game/social activity between work sessions.

My current problem is that I feel like I’m only barely managing to not completely burn out via relaxation at night. I used to have a ton of excitement over my side project, but for the past several months, I can’t muster the energy. I play a board game on Steam (Wingspan: 10/10 would recommend the physical and digital version) that has a soundtrack I like, and that’s about it. This keeps me sane, but I often find myself wishing I felt confident enough to extend myself further.

Hopefully when my current large work project wraps up I’ll be able to take a breather.

Re: The blissful Zen of a good side project

#110

Post by Globz »

wonger_ wrote: post #49
keyle wrote: post #39

It's an interesting read. I'm in the complete opposite camp. I can't pick up a game controller for more than 5 minutes without feeling like I'm wasting time. This has lead to many, many side projects throughout the years, which I tend to like a zen garden[1]. Pruning, refining, improving, and sometimes rewriting. As soon as I work out the game mechanics of any game, I just see it as just content now, and there is not…

Yeah, I've noticed that when I have lots of stressors, I don't have any creative energy. I have to give myself permission to let go, that it's ok to forget about a side project. It's more important to focus on self-care and tackling irl problems at that point. But when life is good, it's hard to stop tinkering. Weekend-sized projects are the best. For me, it's an urge to create and see the core 20% come to life, not…

I’ve noticed this trend in my life where during winter times my consumption goes way up and as soon as spring time is here then my creativity crawls back from hibernation and I quickly regain motivation to continue my side projects. I wish I could be 100% focus year round but for some reason it very hard to keep the inner flame of creativity going during winter times. At least I did noticed this pattern and being aware is the first step to remedy this problem.
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