DEV Community

Discussion on: What Should I Make Next? Quick Project Ideas

Collapse
 
j_at_canosie profile image
J C

Instead of trying to reinvent the wheel, make a simple site that has some functionality

You could do that. But, is there some app that you would find useful? Or maybe you use some app, but it's not 100% fullfilling your needs.

In my experience, ppl who work on projects that put value into their lives have more motivation to push though issues they might encounter and actually get something done.

Things I've seen are like:

  • A web scraper (you did mention that), but scraps various public transit sites for info to help their own commute.
  • Simplified personal finance app (more than one person I know has done that, including myself!)
  • A site to manage bets by a group of friends on sport events (Superbowl).

"TODO apps" are ok to learn, but are boring to work on 😑. They have become so ubiquitous on portfolios that many interviewers don't like seeing them either...

Another thing for about working on something you might personally use is that it really makes you think and struggle about how to use a particular framework/language to solve a real problem. With toy apps, you can modify the requirements to 'get around' difficulties you might encounter.

That's my $0.02 it works for some, but everyone is different.

Collapse
 
aschmelyun profile image
Andrew Schmelyun

I'll parrot the above as well! The projects I was engrossed in the most and felt the most motivation toward the last year have been ones that directly give something back to me. Budgeting app, notifications platform for Laravel, and now a crowdsourced site about construction.

Scratching your own itch always helps!

Collapse
 
j_at_canosie profile image
J C

crowdsourced site about construction

What's that?

Thread Thread
 
aschmelyun profile image
Andrew Schmelyun

It's basically scratching an itch I've had for an online map showing what's being built around my area. I usually see something going up and do some quick research about what's under construction, so I figured other people might want the same information or be able to contribute to it as well!

If you want a (super) simple basic video about it, I've been posting some updates on my Twitter: twitter.com/aschmelyun/status/1164...

Collapse
 
andrasbacsai profile image
Andras Bacsai

I think a TODO app could be pretty satisfying to work on, if you add extended features to it, for example:

  • Real-time synchronization between active devices
  • Offline/online support
  • Check which is the latest version of a todo & update all devices accordingly - in case of a todo is updated in offline mode and the device goes online.

Or maybe only I enjoy it.

Collapse
 
j_at_canosie profile image
J C

hey,
That's a pretty cool todo idea...also, I totally didn't mean to speak down on TODO :)

Your idea is pretty cool though, I'd enjoy trying that out. But really, even if you enjoy the normal todo, thats cool too.