> Curious about what other people do to maintain the energy
I work on something that's actually fun.
Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
21–30 of 49 posts
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#22Want to learn more things and earn money
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#23Some things have made a difference for me:
- Working on side projects that have less overlap with work and scratch technical and creative itches that aren't a part of my day job.
- Getting in the habit of sitting down to do some small task every day. Some days that turns into a multi-hour super-productive hack fest, sometimes it's writing a piece of copy and that's it. Now that I'm in that habit, I put in a really productive session about 2x per week on average, but I try to not care about that statistic.
- Setting easily achievable goals every week, and trying to consistently surpass them (examples: add an 'about' section, write a query)
- Getting serious about working out and eating mostly right fixed the afternoon doldrums for me. I normally do weights and cardio in the morning before work and a jog/yoga/swimming after.
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#24Sometimes I do mornings, but then I don't have enough focus capacity left for work. Best so far is 4 day work week - Friday is exclusive for me, weekends for family. Pay-cut is 20% but I gain 50% more time off, time is money too.
I have asked for a 4 day week at my company but they wouldn't do it. This would be my dream.
Like I said elsewhere, it's possible (though not easy). This guy has done it multiple times over past 15 years: https://codewithoutrules.com/2018/01/08/part-time-programmer...
(I also wrote a book with more stories and advice, with a whole chapter on negotiating part time work based on my experience and that of others: https://codewithoutrules.com/saneworkweek/)
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#25I still confused about SEO.
my link
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#26An omnipresent underlying sense of anxiety and rage caused by something or other in my past that is useful for work but not useful for building relationships!
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#27I find that NOT turning on the TV and NOT cracking open a beer helps me to focus on the side project. ymmv
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#28learn to recharge whenever you want and you can. take powernaps, or go for a walk or a shower
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#29Don't try to do anything meaningful if you have less than 2 hours in a sitting to devote to your project. Block off a 4-hour window every weekend, and take a day off once per month where you put in a full day.
I find trying to work on projects after work just leads to a bunch of time wasted context switching, and 'not unwinding' can be seriously bad for your mental health.
Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?
#30I find that NOT turning on the TV and NOT cracking open a beer helps me to focus on the side project. ymmv
If I can hold my willpower together for the first 30 minutes after I get home, I usually do alright.
If I open absolutely any distraction within the first 15 minutes after I get home, my night is shot.
It's funny how much of my time is dictated by momentum alone. In a sad, "Do I actually have free will?" kind of way.