6 ms·

Advice to my young self: put MORE effort into one of your 100 side projects, and stop messing around with other stuff.

by binarymax 6y ago

JoeAltmaier 6y ago
If only you knew which one!
- XCSme 6y ago
  Doesn't matter, just choose one that shows potential and do it. The only thing that matters is that you have an end-product in mind that will provide more value to the users than existing alternatives AND that you actually implement it AND the user finds your product.
- filoleg 6y ago
  >If only you knew which one! That one is actually pretty simple: pick the one that you have the most to learn from, because that's the whole point of doing a side project if you are trying to leverage it as something that would help your knowledge/career development (as opposed to doing a side project for some supplementary income, for example). And yes, I am aware that there are many unknowns, and when you are trying to pick a project with the goal to learn the most, sometimes the projects where you think you already know 90% of the solution end up being the ones where you know the least and have more for you to learn than projects that had initially more unknowns. But without the ability to know the future, picking the one that has the most "stuff to learn" (according to your first assessment) at the initial discovery phase is imo the most optimal strategy. It is fine if you discover later that the other project had a bit more to learn than the one you picked, because the goal is to learn a lot averaged down over a long period of time.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
- omginternets 6y ago
  Which one do you think about when you're in the shower? Usually there's one project that you just can't get out of your head. If you don't know which it is, try to take a break from all of them, and you'll quickly learn which one maters.
maverickJ 6y ago
How would you go about choosing that one project?
- enos_feedler 6y ago
  I would choose the one you can't stop thinking about. Or the one that many of the other side projects eventually lead to. If you feel similarly about all 100 side projects, probably none of them are worth doubling down on.
  - dasb 6y ago
    I can't stop thinking about creating my own operating system from scratch --similar to what Andreas Kling is doing with Sereneity OS-- but arriving at a usable state would probably take me 15 years, since I'm not even 10% as knowledgeable as Andreas. I often think I should forget about this project altogether and focus on a viable one.
- gredelston 6y ago
  This is the paradox of choice. In most cases, it doesn't pay to spend your time hemming and hawing about find the perfect project. It helps to just pick one, even if it's the stupidest idea of the lot. The alternative is to wind up as Burdian's Ass, who is equally hungry and thirsty, can't decide whether to eat hay or drink water, and so dies of hunger and thirst.
  - TeMPOraL 6y ago
    Yup. If you're really undecided, pick one at random, because at this point the marginal cost of thinking outweighs the marginal cost of being wrong. And if you choose wrong, you'll find out soon enough. Personally, I had a lot of projects I couldn't stop thinking about, but when I finally started working on them, I quickly realized it's a bad idea. The usual reasons were: a) I already found it done by someone else in a form that satisfies my needs, b) it became obvious that either the process or the outcome won't be as satisfying as I thought it would be, or c) after scoping it out, I realized I'm not in a position to invest the required amount of time and effort. Abandoning a side project early is not a bad deal. Your research and thoughts put into it stay with you forever, and it often happens that you'll get secondary value from them on some other endeavor.
vbezhenar 6y ago
Where did you get 100 ideas worthy of implementation? My imagination is so terrible, I can only imagine stupid ideas like Reddit clones.
- RIMR 6y ago
  100 side projects isn't "100 ideas worthy of implementation". 100 side projects is the chance at one idea worthy of implementation. If you have even one good idea, all of your bad ideas weren't only worth it, but amount to how you got there.
- davidivadavid 6y ago
  Think about things around you that could be better. You'll get 100 ideas per day.
- throwaways885 6y ago
  Reddit clones can still be novel.
- munchbunny 6y ago
  It doesn't take imagination. Rather than trying to imagine the issues, try to develop an eye to see the problems that are already in front of you. And don't start with grand ambitions. Start with the problem in front of you. One way is to have hobbies, side hustles, volunteer work, whatever. As long as you're doing something that requires solving problems that are different from your day to day programming job, you will find a constant stream of problems that maybe you can improve with a bit of code. Some of my side projects are directly related to my work, but most of them aren't. I'm working on something right now because someone in my life needed advice on digital security, and it turned out to be not an easy problem to address.
- read_if_gay_ 6y ago
  It doesn’t work if you sit down and try to think of something. Inspiration comes spontaneously, you always have to be ready to note any ideas you get. You’ll accumulate ideas over time. Somewhat relevant, PG has a post on startup ideas http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html
paffduddy 6y ago
The advice from the blog post is awful as general advice. Posting anon here for obvious reasons, but there are different types of jobs. Some jobs reward you with equity, some reward you with promotions, and some are dead end jobs. Even many senior positions are dead end jobs. I work at an A-round startup. Tons of people in FP&A, sales, accounting, and HR get promoted every six months. Engineers rarely get promoted. No refreshers. No raises. Guess what? Engineers are now clocking out at 4pm, they are working on side projects, and it is the most rational thing to do. On the flip side, I've worked at places where engineers are rewarded regularly for outstanding work. It makes sense to focus on your job. On size advice does not fit all.

Advice to my young self: put MORE effort into one of your 100 side projects, and stop messing around with other stuff.

JoeAltmaier 6y ago

If only you knew which one!

XCSme 6y ago
Doesn't matter, just choose one that shows potential and do it. The only thing that matters is that you have an end-product in mind that will provide more value to the users than existing alternatives AND that you actually implement it AND the user finds your product.
filoleg 6y ago
>If only you knew which one! That one is actually pretty simple: pick the one that you have the most to learn from, because that's the whole point of doing a side project if you are trying to leverage it as something that would help your knowledge/career development (as opposed to doing a side project for some supplementary income, for example). And yes, I am aware that there are many unknowns, and when you are trying to pick a project with the goal to learn the most, sometimes the projects where you think you already know 90% of the solution end up being the ones where you know the least and have more for you to learn than projects that had initially more unknowns. But without the ability to know the future, picking the one that has the most "stuff to learn" (according to your first assessment) at the initial discovery phase is imo the most optimal strategy. It is fine if you discover later that the other project had a bit more to learn than the one you picked, because the goal is to learn a lot averaged down over a long period of time.
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
omginternets 6y ago
Which one do you think about when you're in the shower? Usually there's one project that you just can't get out of your head. If you don't know which it is, try to take a break from all of them, and you'll quickly learn which one maters.

maverickJ 6y ago

How would you go about choosing that one project?

enos_feedler 6y ago
I would choose the one you can't stop thinking about. Or the one that many of the other side projects eventually lead to. If you feel similarly about all 100 side projects, probably none of them are worth doubling down on.
- dasb 6y ago
  I can't stop thinking about creating my own operating system from scratch --similar to what Andreas Kling is doing with Sereneity OS-- but arriving at a usable state would probably take me 15 years, since I'm not even 10% as knowledgeable as Andreas. I often think I should forget about this project altogether and focus on a viable one.
gredelston 6y ago
This is the paradox of choice. In most cases, it doesn't pay to spend your time hemming and hawing about find the perfect project. It helps to just pick one, even if it's the stupidest idea of the lot. The alternative is to wind up as Burdian's Ass, who is equally hungry and thirsty, can't decide whether to eat hay or drink water, and so dies of hunger and thirst.
- TeMPOraL 6y ago
  Yup. If you're really undecided, pick one at random, because at this point the marginal cost of thinking outweighs the marginal cost of being wrong. And if you choose wrong, you'll find out soon enough. Personally, I had a lot of projects I couldn't stop thinking about, but when I finally started working on them, I quickly realized it's a bad idea. The usual reasons were: a) I already found it done by someone else in a form that satisfies my needs, b) it became obvious that either the process or the outcome won't be as satisfying as I thought it would be, or c) after scoping it out, I realized I'm not in a position to invest the required amount of time and effort. Abandoning a side project early is not a bad deal. Your research and thoughts put into it stay with you forever, and it often happens that you'll get secondary value from them on some other endeavor.

vbezhenar 6y ago

Where did you get 100 ideas worthy of implementation? My imagination is so terrible, I can only imagine stupid ideas like Reddit clones.

RIMR 6y ago
100 side projects isn't "100 ideas worthy of implementation". 100 side projects is the chance at one idea worthy of implementation. If you have even one good idea, all of your bad ideas weren't only worth it, but amount to how you got there.
davidivadavid 6y ago
Think about things around you that could be better. You'll get 100 ideas per day.
throwaways885 6y ago
Reddit clones can still be novel.
munchbunny 6y ago
It doesn't take imagination. Rather than trying to imagine the issues, try to develop an eye to see the problems that are already in front of you. And don't start with grand ambitions. Start with the problem in front of you. One way is to have hobbies, side hustles, volunteer work, whatever. As long as you're doing something that requires solving problems that are different from your day to day programming job, you will find a constant stream of problems that maybe you can improve with a bit of code. Some of my side projects are directly related to my work, but most of them aren't. I'm working on something right now because someone in my life needed advice on digital security, and it turned out to be not an easy problem to address.
read_if_gay_ 6y ago
It doesn’t work if you sit down and try to think of something. Inspiration comes spontaneously, you always have to be ready to note any ideas you get. You’ll accumulate ideas over time. Somewhat relevant, PG has a post on startup ideas http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html http://www.paulgraham.com/startupideas.html

paffduddy 6y ago

The advice from the blog post is awful as general advice. Posting anon here for obvious reasons, but there are different types of jobs. Some jobs reward you with equity, some reward you with promotions, and some are dead end jobs. Even many senior positions are dead end jobs. I work at an A-round startup. Tons of people in FP&A, sales, accounting, and HR get promoted every six months. Engineers rarely get promoted. No refreshers. No raises. Guess what? Engineers are now clocking out at 4pm, they are working on side projects, and it is the most rational thing to do. On the flip side, I've worked at places where engineers are rewarded regularly for outstanding work. It makes sense to focus on your job. On size advice does not fit all.