DEV Community

Side project success 🎉

Sdu on December 15, 2018

Ahh, side projects, side projects... We code and code but the damn things never get done 😌. When you're just about to finish, a great feature idea ...

Read full post

Michael Lee 🍕 • Dec 15 '18

Congrats on shipping Beautus! That's a great feeling and I hope you continue to see momentum as you finish and ship projects.

Sdu • Dec 15 '18

Thanks a lot. I can't wait to ship again, hopefully something profitable now.

Michael Lee 🍕 • Dec 15 '18

🙌

Warner Onstine • Dec 1 '20

That's awesome! Congrats on shipping, that is the best feeling. If I could I'd like to make a few recommendations for future work so that you get the most out of it.

Have a specific goal in mind of why you want to build this thing
Once you have your goal, then I would time box it to 4 - 6 weeks. What is it that you think you can deliver in that time frame?
Once you've got your end goal and you have your specifics for a deliverable then you need to work on that project every single day. Not just on the weekends, not just when you think you have time, carve out at least 30 minutes a day and work on your project.
Document as you go. What are you learning? What is stumping you? Make sure you keep this up to date so that when you come back to your project the next day it is fresh in your mind and is easy to pick up again.
Run into a problem? Ask for help. Find the right forum or group and ask detailed questions about the issue you're facing. Most communities are very open and willing to help those who are learning.

Some of this I have distilled into a flowchart to help people pick a side project. Other sections are actually part of a course I teach called 30 Minute Project.