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>Brag until you Fail >Share your idea, it’ll validate (or invalidate it), shape it and most importantly, commit you to it. We don’t want to let people down and

by mafuyu 12y ago

>Brag until you Fail >Share your idea, it’ll validate (or invalidate it), shape it and most importantly, commit you to it. We don’t want to let people down and we do want to save face, so tell people what you’re working on. I'm not sure if I agree with this last point. Studies have consistently shown that discussing a goal with others reduces your motivation to actually meet the goal[0]. I've found this to be true in my own experience with side projects. I'll spend a few days excitedly discussing the details of some idea with my friends online, and then never end up finishing the project. Social pressure does work, but it's likely better for more definite goals. You could tell your friend "You know, I think I'll run that marathon with you next month," and be obligated to prepare for it. However, side projects are mostly self-motivated and there's no use sharing all your excitement with friends instead of working on something tangible to show. [0]: http://www.newsweek.com/does-announcing-your-goals-help-you-succeed-79645 http://www.newsweek.com/does-announcing-your-goals-help-you-...

cheatsheet 12y ago
>>Brag until you Fail AKA "How to lose friends and annoy everybody"
sago 12y ago
Over my quota, so can't read the NW article, but your point matches my experience strongly. I think of it as a delayed gratification problem. There's a bunch of gratification that comes from building something cool, and having people around you appreciate it. If you can get a lot of that based on just the idea of the thing, then you've got much less motivation to actually build it. If you're going to get 1000 plaudits for finishing, that might keep you going through 10 ergos of work. But if you cash in 800 plaudits right off, now you're faced with 10 ergos of work for only 200 plaudits: and that's an exchange rate it is difficult to justify. A similar thing happens with releasing little and often, for the same reason. It is massively motivating, until the 4th or 5th release, then you hit the wall of rapidly diminishing returns.

by mafuyu 12y ago

cheatsheet 12y ago

>>Brag until you Fail AKA "How to lose friends and annoy everybody"

sago 12y ago

Over my quota, so can't read the NW article, but your point matches my experience strongly. I think of it as a delayed gratification problem. There's a bunch of gratification that comes from building something cool, and having people around you appreciate it. If you can get a lot of that based on just the idea of the thing, then you've got much less motivation to actually build it. If you're going to get 1000 plaudits for finishing, that might keep you going through 10 ergos of work. But if you cash in 800 plaudits right off, now you're faced with 10 ergos of work for only 200 plaudits: and that's an exchange rate it is difficult to justify. A similar thing happens with releasing little and often, for the same reason. It is massively motivating, until the 4th or 5th release, then you hit the wall of rapidly diminishing returns.