I am doing web development for over 10 years. It all started with a free university license of Photoshop that got me into web design. I came to rea...
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I think another thing to remember about side projects is that they are YOUR projects. You don't have to design an architecture which would make Uncle Bob shed tears of joy or ensure perfect test coverage or anything else for that matter. If you want to do so, by all means do so. But do what you want with it. It's your masterpiece, so have some fun with it!
Maybe I read into this a bit too much, but it seems like you feel compelled to blog sometimes even when you don't want to. What's the worst thing that could happen if you stopped blogging to work on a totally random project that excites you?
I realized I originally started learning to program to make video games and I never have even tried to do so. I want to learn to write some retro games that would run on an N64 or a Wii. I think it's time to chase that vision...as soon as I get these damn bills paid :(
In my case blogging itself was not the thing holding me back, it was the jump to setup the entire website around it. I like having a website and tinker around, but many aspects were holding me back. As described, creating a WordPress website that felt really like my website years ago was quite a time-investment. Just because it was total overkill for my own use-case. I really enjoy doing web-development, especially CSS or even creating my own visuals. So when I create a website I don't just want to take some template and change stuff, I want to create it from scratch (as much as possible). Because this took much more time back then (especially because it was a side project), my ideas for my website already changed before I finished the previous idea. This would ensure that I would loose motivations on two aspects: because I had no website, there was no point in writing blogs, and because I had new ideas, I lost motivation to finish the old idea.
Great post - starting small is more important than most people realize. Just start with something fun, silly, and unassuming! If you get really interested in it, then it will quickly grow anyway - so don't worry about that from the start.
And never be scared to throw it away. If you had fun and/or learned from it, it was definitely worth it. But if your interest fades, throw it away (or put it on hold, which is a little less dramatic) and seek something else to start with
Absolutely! That's one reason I like messing around with new ideas in codesandbox or codepen instead of making a new github repo each time... github repos stick around forever by default! So you always feel bad about that one side project you started 2 years ago that's still in your repo list.... :)
I think we tend to overthink our side projects because of fear. I suffer from this too.
The architecture and planning parts are a safe playground for our ideas where we can feel like we're accomplishing something when we're not (in most of the cases). This attitude also has the side-effect of making us lazy, procrastinate more, accomplish nothing, feel guilty and let the project. Then we start a new one repeating the same mistakes and never break the cycle.
As you mention, starting small, prioritizing, rearranging continuously, and doing at least a minor part a week, a month is better than nothing and will help our momentum to continue pushing the project forward. And if you fail to complete the task at hand for whatever reason (because always something will happen that can deviate us), remember don't be hard on yourself.
Completely agree!
The first 33.3% duration: I am motivated because I am almost always solving my own problems. Also, the thought that one more side project means more mistakes really excites me! (I really look forward to making mistakes)
The next 33.3% duration: The joy of seeing a solution getting build in front of my eyes, the design and experience decisions etc keep me going.
The next 33.3% duration: The excitement of getting a product out in front of others! The excitement of getting feedback!
Very cool way to look at it, thanks for sharing your view!
Small wins are super important to keep the momentum going on a project. I try to tell people about my project and sometimes involve them as collaborators. Anytime there is someone who's waiting to see what I'm working on, I find myself more motivated to work!
I think sharing work at all levels is really great for feedback, I'm definitely trying to get better at that myself.
Thanks for writing this!
This is an amazing post. I have been experiencing the very same issues you were in the beginning. I'm going to try to implement your methods and see how I get on.
Thanks!
Thanks! Curious to know how it will work for you!