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How I stay motivated as a solo creator

herman.bearblog.dev

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Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#61

Post by michaelteter »

gagege wrote: post #19
whartung wrote: post #2

First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…

I have the same problem. I see all these hackers out there making (something like) the millionth travel blog and sticking with it for years and somehow ending up making a decent income off of it. But I'm sitting here wondering if my potentially cool game idea that has never been done before is something that the world really needs, then I quit after about a week because of those thoughts. What drives people?

I think most people do better with a partner or small team. It can still be very much like solo, in that each person really has their own domain of activity and expertise. But unlike solo, you have one or more people to help you stay motivated and on track.

Of course it's possible to learn techniques and behavior patterns which can help you be a successful pure-solo creator, but it takes time and persistence (and motivation :) ) to learn and stick with those behaviors.

So my conclusion, as someone with a few dozen parked ideas (some of which got 80% near to MVP complete), is to find a partner or at least goal-buddy to help you stay motivated... and occasionally to help you remember why you're doing the thing.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#62

Post by michaelteter »

gagege wrote: post #20
thewizardofaus wrote: post #5

A crucial point the post misses is the distinction between motivation and discipline. Ultimately it's easy to work on things when they are fun and exciting; but motivation will only last for so long... once that happens it's the discipline that needs to take over for you to keep progressing forward.

I can have discipline, if I'm doing something for a purpose. Losing weight, getting a job, etc. My problem I always lose what the purpose of my solo project is. Or, I shoot so many holes in my own idea that I can't imagine it being useful to anyone.

So get an accountability "partner" - perhaps another person who is doing their own thing and having the same challenges you're having.

Or do the public progress showmanship thing (recurring blog or vlog posts about your project and the current status). I admire the people that go this route, but it frankly scares me since we're talking here on a forum of talented people, some of whom could just hear the project idea and probably get it built faster. So sharing seems to create a lot of risk.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#63

Post by mentos »

After 10 years remote I’ve rented an office space to force myself to go in to work. If I don’t go then it feels like I’m wasting money. If I go and don’t work it feels like I’m wasting money. So far I’ve gone almost every day for the last 4 months and worked hard to justify the expense. I’ve done my best work because of it. Would recommend giving it a try.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#64

Post by michaelteter »

Scubabear68 wrote: post #28

I think it’s interesting that the author has the following mindset about non-solo jobs: “You're going to work. The choice has been made. The structure around that work, and the underlying purpose are set by others and you just need to make it happen”. This is not always the case. For example, I work in a midsized consulting firm at a fairly senior level. While I have a line manager, he’s only there to give me corpora…

Until you reached the level and experience you're at now, your jobs probably were more similar to what TFA describes. All those years leading up to where you are today probably had less freedom.

The problem is that many of us didn't have the fortune or wisdom to park in one company long enough to reach that high level. Or we did and got bored, and left for new challenges.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#65

Post by michaelteter »

gavinhoward wrote: post #52
all2 wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What are your major road blocks to making money right now?

My software isn't done because I'm a perfectionist. :) When it is done (and I've gotten to the point where it's only months away), the roadblock will be my inability to make a sale.

You know what they say: Software is never finished; you just stop working on it at some point.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#66

Post by gavinhoward »

michaelteter wrote: post #65
gavinhoward wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My software isn't done because I'm a perfectionist. :) When it is done (and I've gotten to the point where it's only months away), the roadblock will be my inability to make a sale.

You know what they say: Software is never finished; you just stop working on it at some point.

Yeah, very true. I had to set firm maximum targets of functionality.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#67

Post by j7ake »

whartung wrote: post #2

First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…

Covid really pushed my mental state into “why bother” and I realised how easily I can spiral out of control into doom scrolling and gaming.

Loss of structure can be devastating to productive habits.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#68

Post by dv35z »

dmitrybrant wrote: post #9

> I stay active on a Slack community of devs and creators in my country, as well as go to meet-ups and events in interesting communities How does one find these supposed Slack groups and meetups? I live in a major metropolitan area, but the meetups I've been able to find have been underwhelming.

Check out if a university near you has a startup incubator / entrepreneurship program. They often have events, probably socialized most on their Instagram account. From expert talks, to hackathons - go to the next event. While there, tell the organizer what type of community you’re looking for, and ask if there is a group chat.

For example, I’m in a city, and there are at least 2 or 3 very active WhatsApp groups - a mix of tech devs, creative entrepreneurs (one of those groups has 800+ members). Every day - there are 2-3 events posted, talks, seminars, workshops, code jams, pitch workshops, digital marketing how-tos.

Idea: Co--working spaces often have a formal or informal group chat (often WhatsApp). You could take a tour and ask around.

Business incubators - Business incubators, often have a Slack channel (with channels like #dev, #design, #3d-printing). They often have a networking site where you can book free office hours with vetted experts / founders / engineers / executives / angel investors). The one I participate in has a Slack group containing 2,800 creative entrepreneurs, founders, investors, etc. At the co-working space, they host events, social mixers, etc. You’ll aways find some interesting people there. Find the group chat, get on it. Eventually you’ll get “dragged” into an interesting social group of startup / entrepreneurship / growth minded people. I jokingly say dragged, but what I mean is - if you go to an interesting talk on CNC routers, you’ll likely meet someone interesting there, they’ll tell you about a cool upcoming event, you book it - over time, you’re just spending more time per week with interesting people.

I know you just asked about WhatsApp groups, but I wanted to just share some of what I’ve learned, within 1 year of moving to a new city.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#69

Post by sph »

whartung wrote: post #2

First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…

Thanks, it helps to see that I'm not the only one struggling.

I've been building a business solo over the past year, reached 80% in late spring, ready to a closed invite launch and... lost all motivation. Between the fear of seeing savings go down without anything to show for it, the utterly demoralising job market during which it took 6+ months to get one solid freelance opportunity, and the constant nag that I am wasting my time and should just find a job like a normal person... meant that I completely lost steam, just staying afloat with a good freelance client, shelving the business idea for months.

Only a couple weeks ago, after seeing that my financial situation isn't getting better, and I still am allergic to a regular job, I managed to overcome the massive inertia and got back riding the wave of launching a business. I adore the freedom of working for myself, the challenge, but until I start seeing good money coming in, I'll always believe I am wasting my time and following fanciful ideas instead of just going back to trying to win the interview lottery and working for someone else on something I don't care about. It's hard.

Re: How I stay motivated as a solo creator

#70

Post by sph »

c7DJTLrn wrote: post #15
whartung wrote: post #2

First, I'm easily distracted. But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. It's not like I have some other burning passion to work on instead, some "if you do this you'll make lots of money instead of those toys you make thing". I don't. But, especially being older, it can be a trick at times to perseve…

>But, the real issue in working on something, for myself, that is engaging, and pushing back the "WTH are you wasting time on this for?". It's all very fleeting. Similar for me. I'm generating and validating ideas at the moment, but it takes almost no time for me to convince myself an idea is rubbish, not worth exploring, or already done.

The way I frame it, is that practically any business idea is viable. It doesn't have to be novel, or world-changing, unless your goal is to create a multi-billion dollar monopoly on day 1. There is space for more than one thing in the world.

The difference between a successful business and a failed startup is how much effort you put into it, considering that a solo or a startup is exponentially more nimble than an established player at identifying and focusing on a novel approach to an old problem.

The classic Silicon Valley/Paul Graham advice of "validate an idea and don't write a line of code until you have signed 10 clients" is a good approach only iff your job is creating ideas and putting the least possible effort in each one. This is the Twitter indiehacker approach. But if you only have one good idea that you believe in, that scratches your own itch, just build it. Don't spend ages to build it, try to market it ASAP, but how much effort you put into it is more important than how game changing your idea is.

This is my plan at least, and no successful business just yet to say if this approach is valid, but it agrees with my reading of the business, indie hacker and startup world.

Just don't create another productivity app. That's the most saturated field in the entire space, and for some reason 90% of indie hackers have built yet another calendar/todo hybrid, wondering why no one cares.

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