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In many ways I've simply accepted it. The main reasons why I start projects are 1) to have fun coding and 2) to learn something new. At some point I realized th
by veddox 10y ago
In many ways I've simply accepted it. The main reasons why I start projects are 1) to have fun coding and 2) to learn something new. At some point I realized that neither of these actually require the project to be "successfully concluded".
I know people always tell you that you ought to finish what you started, and in general I would very much agree with that. However, one should also ask oneself whether the thing one is currently working on is worth finishing - and in the case of my side projects, the answer is oftentimes "no". And I don't think that's wasted time: if I've had my fun and learnt something new along the way, then it was worth it. In the end, it would be more of a waste of time if I were to force myself to finish off the project. After all, it isn't like they would have changed the world if I had completed it...
- partisan 10y agoGreat advice. The stress from this can be debilitating. Instead just allow yourself to grow and learn from each experience. If you can take something away from these incomplete projects, then you have gained something.
- eudoxus 10y agoI love this! As I take the very same approach. Side projects for me are often just an excuse to try something new, learn a new discipline (language, framework, etc...). Moreover, you can often change what "finishing" the project means to yourself. Maybe it means just gaining enough knowledge to do something else (maybe something related to your day to day work). At the end of the day I get value out of my side projects. The only one who suffers is Github for having to host code indefinitely that I usually won't go back to :p.