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Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

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Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#41

Post by blihp »

Work on things you enjoy/want/need and don't feel like you have put any more effort into it than you find rewarding (from whatever metric matters to you: fun, money, etc.) It is a side-project after all and not your main gig.

If you're feeling too exhausted/no time/other is getting in your way, identify what exactly the issue is:

- is it other personal stuff/hobbies? (ask yourself why your side projects rate below these... are you willing to re-prioritize?)

- is it family? (unless you have buy-in/support from them, you may be screwed esp. if you have a S.O./kids... sorry)

- is it the day job? (ask yourself if its really work maxing you out or pressure you're putting on yourself. If it's truly external pressure from work, devote all of your free time to getting the hell out of there ASAP: life's too short)

- etc. etc.

The bottom line is to figure out where your time/energy is going. Assuming that the side-project is something you want to do, it should not be too difficult to find at least some time for it or understand exactly why you're not making progress.

Having covered all that, here's what I'm thinking might be going on from the way you phrased the question: do you really want to do the side-project(s) or do you just feel like you should because it seems like everyone else has theirs? If that's the case, you really shouldn't be bothering with a side-project... it's not for everyone.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#42

Post by maerF0x0 »

potta_coffee wrote: post #16

My strategy is just to push myself to get _something_ done, even when I don't want to. So, the other night I wrote an SQL query. It was probably 20 mins of work, but it brought me closer to finishing the project. Other days, I'll end up "feeling it" and putting in several hours on a project. So, small increments plus the occasional big push.

Funny, I find this more or less works with everything.

Getting out of bed early. Getting something done on a side job. Getting to the gym.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#43

Post by ha-shine »

A hack I found that's useful for me is to keep a daily log. I list down what I have achieved in a day no matter how small they may be, e.g adding contents to company wiki, clearing a jira ticket, reading an interesting article, etc. I keep the log in a simple text file for each day, in a repo on github. I always find the urge to add something to this log whenever I get back home.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#44

Post by [deleted] »

anon8794578 wrote: post #19
kwhitefoot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you are in the wrong job or the wrong company. If the day is that bad every day you need to consider moving.

Either that, or it's just mentally exhausting to be productive for a full day. It might not be that the job is bad, but rather that the amount of energy for certain kinds focus and tasks is limited. In that case, if the desire to do side projects is great enough, I suppose the correct solution would be to try going for a somewhat shorter work week.

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#45

Post by schappim »

mpfundstein wrote: post #32
potta_coffee wrote: post #16

My strategy is just to push myself to get _something_ done, even when I don't want to. So, the other night I wrote an SQL query. It was probably 20 mins of work, but it brought me closer to finishing the project. Other days, I'll end up "feeling it" and putting in several hours on a project. So, small increments plus the occasional big push.

true. my whole side project output yesterday was a shell script that monitors if another process is running and lights an led on the raspi if yes :P 40 min work. But one step closer to the goal

What is the goal?

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#47

Post by dookahku »

I don't usually go home. I stay in the office and use a separate laptop or go to a coffee shop. I know if I go home I'm just going to sleep immediately. Then Ig et up in the middle of the night and get more tired.

Using S.M.A.R.T. goal system (https://www.yourcoach.be/en/coaching-tools/smart-goal-settin...) is helpful, too.

"I will resolve this 1 bug." "I will scope out this feature" "I will wireframe this UI" "I will start and tabulate this survey with these 2 questions"

These are all helpful and can be easy to finish.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#48

Post by hanselot »

anon8794578 wrote: post #19
kwhitefoot wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like you are in the wrong job or the wrong company. If the day is that bad every day you need to consider moving.

Either that, or it's just mentally exhausting to be productive for a full day. It might not be that the job is bad, but rather that the amount of energy for certain kinds focus and tasks is limited. In that case, if the desire to do side projects is great enough, I suppose the correct solution would be to try going for a somewhat shorter work week.

I think I have reached a critical point in my career where I have to choose whether I work to live or live to work. I prefer the prior, so I will be going that route. I'll be resigning on Wednesday.

Re: Ask HN: How do you keep up the energy to work on side-projects after work?

#49

Post by mpfundstein »

schappim wrote: post #45
mpfundstein wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

true. my whole side project output yesterday was a shell script that monitors if another process is running and lights an led on the raspi if yes :P 40 min work. But one step closer to the goal

What is the goal?

Self riding rc car :-) i thought it would be a ‘simple’ side project... 2 months ago
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