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0 pointslittlecosmic6y ago0 comments

You’ve already done step one: realise the pattern. Step two is don’t do the new project. See it for what it is, not a great new idea, but another step down the road you’ve been walking down for years.

Just because an idea pops into your brain, doesn’t mean you owe it anything.

Something that may help is picking a smaller project, so small you could do it in a day or two. Build up some endurance over time.

Good luck

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4 comments · 2 top-level

w0utert6y ago· 2 in thread

It's funny because I did exactly that (sticking to one project instead of jumping from idea to idea) because I had the same problem as the OP, but these days I'm getting the feeling this is also counterproductive. I spent a lot of time on a single project, learned a lot of things along the way, but progress was very very slow mainly because it started to feel like 'work'.

For me, these kinds of side-projects are all about learning new stuff, and sometimes to scratch some really small personal itch. So what I try to do now is to find projects that can be used a platform for trying out new stuff. For example, I've been working on an iOS game since 2014, but by now actually finishing it so people can play it is completely secondary to the personal satisfaction of incrementally refactoring and repurposing parts of the engine, using techniques and technologies that interest me right now. Becase even that started to feel like work at some point, I decided to also start some other side-projects that go in completely different directions, so I can switch depending on my mood and make slow but steady progress in each of them. I try to also incorporate some technology/techniques that pop up around my daytime job but which I never have time to explore at the office, some of that stuff is super interesting but I cannot justify spending company time on it.

I think the main advice I have for the OP is to find one or two interesting projects that are diverse enough to be a platform for experimentation, instead of some very narrowly focussed problem that will inevitably start to become boring sooner or later. Unless you really want to create a product or something to show off with, the main purpose should be personal development/intellectual satisfaction, not reaching some predetermined goal.

RMPR6y ago

> I spent a lot of time on a single project, learned a lot of things along the way, but progress was very very slow mainly because it started to feel like 'work'.

Can relate, my personal solution was to talk about the project to people around me (often non-technical), some would be interested to try, and when I feel like giving up, they are the one reminding me they are looking forward to use it.

corecoder6y ago

> find one or two interesting projects that are diverse enough to be a platform for experimentation

This seems promising, thank you!

Just a question: don't you risk to get stuck in a perpetual refactoring/rewrite cycle?

[edit: fix formatting]

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bloopernova6y ago

This is fantastic advice.

Just because we could possibly code some amazing concept project, doesn't mean we'd enjoy it. Or that it wouldn't end up causing us huge amounts of stress.

A lot of us are stuck at home, bouncing off the walls and feeling like we're not doing anything.

THAT IS OK!

We're in a world that is both scary and new, we don't know quite what is going on, and we need time and effort to process that. By "effort" I mean intellectual, spiritual, physical, and emotional. (If you're not religious, think of a workout in a gym: spiritual effort is stretching and flexibility, and emotional effort is strength/weights. Or perhaps that spiritual is subconscious and long-term, while emotional is conscious and shorter-term.)

tl;dr - too much heavy shit happening, don't overburden your head.

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