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Having gone through the same problem, I think it's important to develop a mental framework on how to evaluate ideas. I no longer feel excited by the prospect of

Having gone through the same problem, I think it's important to develop a mental framework on how to evaluate ideas. I no longer feel excited by the prospect of a new language, or a framework, because it would be an uphill battle to drive up the adoption. Once you start thinking critically, you'd have fewer competing ideas, and hopefully, a longer lasting motivation. Instead of acting upon the idea by coding it right away, write it down and evaluate it against a fixed set parameters. YC Application questions are a great starting point [1]. Few questions I routinely ask myself: 1. Will this make money? If yes, how soon? 2. If you've to tell people about it, where would you go? 3. Are there existing solutions that solve the same problem? How are you being different from them? 4. How long will it take to ship the first version? 5. Are you solving a problem that you've personally faced? 6. Does the solution save time/money? Having said that, I think it's a okay to act on a burst on inspiration once in a while. The problem is that we have often direct our energy to inconsequential stuff—name, design, or dreaming how this could be next big thing. Just worry about shipping and everything will fall in place if the idea has legs. [1]: https://technode.com/2011/03/18/y-combinator-application-questions/ https://technode.com/2011/03/18/y-combinator-application-que...

jschveibinz 3y ago
This is a very good answer, and it can be summarized with the word “value.” I would just add that value is shared between the user and the maker: it needs to be a win for both sides. So that “maker value” has to be included in the evaluation. Cheers!
ryanjshaw 3y ago
Been there, done that; +1 from me that this is the right answer. Two thoughts: 1. Writing things down is critical for me. You can use paper, Obsidian, Notion, AirTable, whatever works for you. But I must get every little thought around the idea on paper otherwise it swirls around my head and distracts me. Sometimes this can take hours. At the end of this process I have comfort that I can always pick up the idea in the future, when my situation has changed, without having lost anything. This eliminates much of the anxiety that drives the "I need to work on this now!" behaviour. 2. Sometimes you need to allow yourself time to explore certain ideas to answer these questions better. For example, I've had an idea for a game for twenty years that my brain still bugs me about from time to time. Recently I decided to spend a few days watching solo game devblogs - that made it clear to me I'm not in a position to work on this game idea, or any game ideas, and now I can get back to focusing on the ideas that are better suited to my present circumstances.

jschveibinz 3y ago

This is a very good answer, and it can be summarized with the word “value.” I would just add that value is shared between the user and the maker: it needs to be a win for both sides. So that “maker value” has to be included in the evaluation. Cheers!

ryanjshaw 3y ago

Been there, done that; +1 from me that this is the right answer. Two thoughts: 1. Writing things down is critical for me. You can use paper, Obsidian, Notion, AirTable, whatever works for you. But I must get every little thought around the idea on paper otherwise it swirls around my head and distracts me. Sometimes this can take hours. At the end of this process I have comfort that I can always pick up the idea in the future, when my situation has changed, without having lost anything. This eliminates much of the anxiety that drives the "I need to work on this now!" behaviour. 2. Sometimes you need to allow yourself time to explore certain ideas to answer these questions better. For example, I've had an idea for a game for twenty years that my brain still bugs me about from time to time. Recently I decided to spend a few days watching solo game devblogs - that made it clear to me I'm not in a position to work on this game idea, or any game ideas, and now I can get back to focusing on the ideas that are better suited to my present circumstances.