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I find I'm most productive in the morning so I try to dedicate the first hour to two hours of my day to my side project. So I would try boxing time early in th

by saluki 8y ago

I find I'm most productive in the morning so I try to dedicate the first hour to two hours of my day to my side project. So I would try boxing time early in the day before your full time job, focus on your side project then. Work your full time job come home for family time, get a good nights sleep. Occasionally I will work on it late in the evening if the family is out and I'm home, and sometimes on the weekend. I just find it easier to get things done early before everyone is up and going about their day. Giving up TV shows and Video Games can give you extra time for your side project. Although everyone needs some down time so I wouldn't say you need to give those up completely if you enjoy them.

jones1618 8y ago
I agree. Working early on your side-project is kind of like the "pay yourself first" principle of saving money. It is also the same habit practiced by most writers before and after they publish their first book. I've had the most success with this formula: 1. Every day, wake early and work on your project 1 - 2 hours. 2. Work your "day" job. If your job allows it, spend your breaks planning your side-project work. 3. Spend time with family and work some after dinner. In my case, I can usually code and watch TV out of one eye while spending time with my wife. 4. Rinse and repeat I used to strongly believe that side projects could only be done in four hour blocks of time without distraction but, often, that kind of time is in rare supply. However, when I got a job that required an hour train commute, I found that I could knock out some useful code even when my time between laptop-open and laptop-closed was 30-45 minutes. The tricks to making use of short blocks of time are: 1) Break the project into short, deliverable bits 2) Build placeholders/stubs as you go for things to flesh out later 3) Leave yourself lots of "do this later" comments with ample specifics. Don't just say "finish this." Say "Use ABC parameter to lookup XYZ value to override the default." Structuring the work for "resume-ability" makes it possible to squeeze short bursts of productive work into your day.
- AznHisoka 8y ago
  "In my case, I can usually code and watch TV out of one eye while spending time with my wife." I'm surprised your wife doesn't complain you're not giving your full attention to her.

by saluki 8y ago

jones1618 8y ago

I agree. Working early on your side-project is kind of like the "pay yourself first" principle of saving money. It is also the same habit practiced by most writers before and after they publish their first book. I've had the most success with this formula: 1. Every day, wake early and work on your project 1 - 2 hours. 2. Work your "day" job. If your job allows it, spend your breaks planning your side-project work. 3. Spend time with family and work some after dinner. In my case, I can usually code and watch TV out of one eye while spending time with my wife. 4. Rinse and repeat I used to strongly believe that side projects could only be done in four hour blocks of time without distraction but, often, that kind of time is in rare supply. However, when I got a job that required an hour train commute, I found that I could knock out some useful code even when my time between laptop-open and laptop-closed was 30-45 minutes. The tricks to making use of short blocks of time are: 1) Break the project into short, deliverable bits 2) Build placeholders/stubs as you go for things to flesh out later 3) Leave yourself lots of "do this later" comments with ample specifics. Don't just say "finish this." Say "Use ABC parameter to lookup XYZ value to override the default." Structuring the work for "resume-ability" makes it possible to squeeze short bursts of productive work into your day.

AznHisoka 8y ago
"In my case, I can usually code and watch TV out of one eye while spending time with my wife." I'm surprised your wife doesn't complain you're not giving your full attention to her.