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Always impressed by people who complete things. I've had terrible luck actually FINISHING a project. I guess maybe it's ADD... or my interest in rather boring d

by netrap 8y ago

Always impressed by people who complete things. I've had terrible luck actually FINISHING a project. I guess maybe it's ADD... or my interest in rather boring device drivers and the like. I've been able to modify large projects with many thousands of lines, but when it comes to write one from scratch it really is a lot of work. Props!

bananatron 8y ago
This seems really common. I categorize 'finishing' as a whole other skill/category than programming/hacking/building stuff. Recognizing that the last 10% is the hardest part is daunting and not as fun a lot of the time, but the reward and payoff can be worth it.
- mysticmode 8y ago
  Yup, that's true that finishing a project is more than programming skills. You would have to do a lot of boring work on the way. For me, the last 10% of the work which contains more polishing to what you have built so far and making it ready is the hardest part. But somehow I have successfully done that for my project https://github.com/joyread/server https://github.com/joyread/server when I launched v1.0 and it is indeed rewarding.
justherefortart 8y ago
The fun is in the dreaming and starting. The work is in the finishing. I'm terrible at finishing personal projects. For paying projects it's much easier ($$$).
- pjmlp 8y ago
  I do the same. For work there is a deadline and the compromise to meet expectations. And being paid, of course. Hobby projects hop at snail pace towards the years.
- AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
  One thing I think people discount about this is the subconscious cost/benefit analysis. When something is an interesting puzzle to solve, the benefit is really high and the cost of a POC version is really low. Once it comes time to turn that POC into a workable product the cost/benefit changes. It loses all the value it had for being interesting and the cost shoots way up. It's easier to not have this problem when the lost value is replaced by money.
eyeareque 8y ago
Being able to focus on one thing for long amount of uninterrupted time can work wonders. Put everything else aside and just work on one task. I’ve noticed that the most impressive engineers have this trait.
wvenable 8y ago
I've noticed that sometimes when I code for fun there is some tricky puzzle to solve. Once I've solved the puzzle, the fun is gone, and actually finishing the project is a lot more like work than fun. I think I'd probably finish a lot more projects if I wasn't a professional software developer -- I don't want to work in my free time as well.
- martin1975 8y ago
  Do you often procrastinate at your regular job? Just curious. Got that vibe from you, trying to confirm a certain reality (a bit of mine too).
- gowld 8y ago
  do you think you don't have enough free time to do boring part hobby work, or that you don't have enough reason? There so many things I would do before I'd do something unrewarding.
  - wvenable 8y ago
    I was thinking about that in response to the other reply below. I think it's definitely based on value; at some point you realize that you'd be happier doing something else. At work, you don't have the same calculation because it has to be done and personal rewards are not the only motivation. I've also found that how intellectually rewarding my day job is (and how much agency I have) has a direct affect on my hobby development. I have a lot of creative freedom and interesting projects at work right now so I care less about coding in my spare time. I only have so much free intellectual energy to devote to something.
- jerf 8y ago
  "Once I've solved the puzzle, the fun is gone, and actually finishing the project is a lot more like work than fun." Simple life hack: Next time you're planning on starting a project like that, declare that the goal in advance. If you're finishing projects at work, you know you could finish, if you wanted to, but whether you "finish" a project should be subject to cost/benefits analysis just like anything else. Your $COOL_PROJECT isn't a failure if it doesn't attain 15,000 stars on GitHub, unless you chose to make that a goal.
octorian 8y ago
I think the thing I struggle with the most is coming up with that initial idea to actually START a new project. On top of that, any project substantial enough to capture my interest is also way too large in scope for me to actually have the motivation to finish. One thing that sometimes helps is starting a couple projects in parallel. That way, if you get tired of one, you can switch to the other. Eventually one might take hold, and the other gets abandoned.
specialist 8y ago
It's important to have an audience, customers. I have only "finished" 1 project enough for re-use (publishing) when I didn't have an audience. The docs, examples, build, etc. took as long as the actual code. When I'm doing things for myself, thinking about solving it and then actually solving it is like doing it twice, and I'm already bored. Once I prove (or disprove) my notion, hunch, whatever, I generally move on to the next shiny object. Suboptimal, I know.

by netrap 8y ago

bananatron 8y ago

This seems really common. I categorize 'finishing' as a whole other skill/category than programming/hacking/building stuff. Recognizing that the last 10% is the hardest part is daunting and not as fun a lot of the time, but the reward and payoff can be worth it.

mysticmode 8y ago
Yup, that's true that finishing a project is more than programming skills. You would have to do a lot of boring work on the way. For me, the last 10% of the work which contains more polishing to what you have built so far and making it ready is the hardest part. But somehow I have successfully done that for my project https://github.com/joyread/server https://github.com/joyread/server when I launched v1.0 and it is indeed rewarding.

justherefortart 8y ago

The fun is in the dreaming and starting. The work is in the finishing. I'm terrible at finishing personal projects. For paying projects it's much easier ($$$).

pjmlp 8y ago
I do the same. For work there is a deadline and the compromise to meet expectations. And being paid, of course. Hobby projects hop at snail pace towards the years.
AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
One thing I think people discount about this is the subconscious cost/benefit analysis. When something is an interesting puzzle to solve, the benefit is really high and the cost of a POC version is really low. Once it comes time to turn that POC into a workable product the cost/benefit changes. It loses all the value it had for being interesting and the cost shoots way up. It's easier to not have this problem when the lost value is replaced by money.

eyeareque 8y ago

Being able to focus on one thing for long amount of uninterrupted time can work wonders. Put everything else aside and just work on one task. I’ve noticed that the most impressive engineers have this trait.

wvenable 8y ago

I've noticed that sometimes when I code for fun there is some tricky puzzle to solve. Once I've solved the puzzle, the fun is gone, and actually finishing the project is a lot more like work than fun. I think I'd probably finish a lot more projects if I wasn't a professional software developer -- I don't want to work in my free time as well.

martin1975 8y ago
Do you often procrastinate at your regular job? Just curious. Got that vibe from you, trying to confirm a certain reality (a bit of mine too).
gowld 8y ago
do you think you don't have enough free time to do boring part hobby work, or that you don't have enough reason? There so many things I would do before I'd do something unrewarding.
- wvenable 8y ago
  I was thinking about that in response to the other reply below. I think it's definitely based on value; at some point you realize that you'd be happier doing something else. At work, you don't have the same calculation because it has to be done and personal rewards are not the only motivation. I've also found that how intellectually rewarding my day job is (and how much agency I have) has a direct affect on my hobby development. I have a lot of creative freedom and interesting projects at work right now so I care less about coding in my spare time. I only have so much free intellectual energy to devote to something.
jerf 8y ago
"Once I've solved the puzzle, the fun is gone, and actually finishing the project is a lot more like work than fun." Simple life hack: Next time you're planning on starting a project like that, declare that the goal in advance. If you're finishing projects at work, you know you could finish, if you wanted to, but whether you "finish" a project should be subject to cost/benefits analysis just like anything else. Your $COOL_PROJECT isn't a failure if it doesn't attain 15,000 stars on GitHub, unless you chose to make that a goal.

octorian 8y ago

I think the thing I struggle with the most is coming up with that initial idea to actually START a new project. On top of that, any project substantial enough to capture my interest is also way too large in scope for me to actually have the motivation to finish. One thing that sometimes helps is starting a couple projects in parallel. That way, if you get tired of one, you can switch to the other. Eventually one might take hold, and the other gets abandoned.

specialist 8y ago

It's important to have an audience, customers. I have only "finished" 1 project enough for re-use (publishing) when I didn't have an audience. The docs, examples, build, etc. took as long as the actual code. When I'm doing things for myself, thinking about solving it and then actually solving it is like doing it twice, and I'm already bored. Once I prove (or disprove) my notion, hunch, whatever, I generally move on to the next shiny object. Suboptimal, I know.