How do you make time for your serious side project?

Happy to share.

Context: I’m 37. I’ve got three kids (aged 10, 6, and 3) and a full-time job (I’m a designer @Wildbit).

Mon-Thu I:

• try to go to bed by 10pm

• wake at 4:05 am

• work on https://tryhowdy.com until 6:30am

• Shower

• Start work at 7am

• Take an hour lunch at noon

• Take a break and ride my bike for 30min at 3pm, then shower again if needed (I live in NC, it gets hot here around 3pm 😛).

• Get another hours worth of work in at Wildbit

• Then stop all work (including side project stuff) at 5:00pm

• I try to never work after 5 pm, and keep that time reserved for my family.

• We have 4 day work weeks at Wildbit, so I’ll usually sneak some side project work in, in addition to chores on Friday.

• Saturdays I’ll usually wake up at 4am and work until 8am on my side project.

• Sundays I sleep in, and try not to work, or even think about work the whole day. I find it super refreshing and energizing to fast from work one entire day per week.

Come Monday morning I’m energized to start it all over again! 😀

To echo others, I’d find a routine that works for your unique circumstances and try to commit to it. Just like any behavior change, it may be hard to stick with at first, but should get easier over time.

I’ve found that while you could work overnight on your side project for several weeks on a row, it’s not viable in the long term for your health and will almost certainly burn you out rather quickly.

Instead try to save 1-2 hours a day for focused and scoped work - no distractions or reading articles of success stories or the latest trend.

Simply set a “next step goal” for your product and break it up into smaller steps which you need to get there. Then break them down further into 1-2 hour tasks which you can pick up as you go every day.

Constraints are good, you have no idea how much you can get done in little time when you can save some hours a day for good focused work.

For example (assuming this imaginary person can code): “I would like launch an MVP of my image resizing service. As a first goal, in one week I would like to have a simple landing page, users upload a PNG image and get a link to a resized one. Nothing fancy in the beginning, just the bare functionality.”

You need three things: a landing page, a service to resize images on the fly and a little UI component to interact with the service.

Landing page: start with a template, polish as you go. Allocate 2 days of work for this (2-4 hours total).

Service: you need to have an http endpoint to accept images, resize them on the fly and respond with the result. Probably also a UI where the user can drag and drop the image which calls this endpoint for him and downloads the results.

For the endpoint let’s go with firebase cloud functions or a $5 a month DO instance, if you’re a developer you could easily write this in a day or two of work (again 1-2 hours is the amount per day). Don’t try to get fancy with automated deployments or anything like that yet, you just want to validate your idea and have an MVP up and running. As a developer I know it’s tempting to do things “the right way”.

For the web UI, you can write a simple component using React or Vue if you wish, again shouldn’t take more than a day of work. You could host it on Firebase’s free tier or Netlify, probably 15 min from scratch to deploy.

Now that you have a basic MVP with a landing page, you can revisit where to go next, setup your new short term goal and repeat. Before you realize it 2-3 weeks have passed and you’ve achieved plenty working just and hour or two per day.

Most importantly you have something to show and probably have learned what works and what not without investing tons of time and money. You can move forward.

If you - like me - have a partner and kids - it is crucial to communicate when and how long you need to work on your stuff. Get a clear space in the room so the kids know you're working when you're there.

And - just like any routine helps yourself to stay on it - a routine will help your family to realize when you're working. ie: every tuesday evening from 20:00 to 23:00.

I tend to get up a little earlier to get my stuff done for an hour then go off to work.

If you read IndieHackers interviews, you'll see most had no "magic tricks". Basically, they worked over the night, or before work.

The best thing you can do is focus on "managing your energy, not your time". Read Tony Schwartz content on this.

I don't have any kid so it's easier I guess.

In short:

• Build habits with hooks (doing something on a regular basis always after something else, something precise)

• Avoid perfectionism or you will abandon everything

• You need realizable goals or you will abandon everything (again!)

• Chunk your side project in little parts

• The pomodoro technique is a tremendous help

• You need a plan

...

I wrote a two parts articl eon how to manage a side project in general, if somebody is interested: https://web-techno.net/side-project-successful/

Well I just told another startup which i was really interested in that I will help them out 2 days a week 8-10 hours per day , and they agreed to pay me some money which takes care of rent , food, travel and basic expenses . So now i can work on my side project or you could say main project rest of the days!!

If you are serious about your project, then one of the best things that you can do to follow through is to create a routine that helps you build consistency with effort over the long term. Motivation and willpower work in the short term but will quickly fizzle out.

As any coach or athlete will tell you, consistency of effort over the long run is everything...even more than the effort a gritty person puts in on a single day, what matters is that they wake up the next day, and the next, ready to get on that treadmill and keep going. - Angela Duckworth, Grit

Know your why

Your why will help you keep going through the tough times. Inevitably, when your motivation dips and you are wondering why you are investing your energy and time, then your "why" will help move you forward.

Derek Sivers wrote an excellent article about getting specific: https://sivers.org/get-specific

Once you've figured out your why, then write it down and keep it some place visible. For example, if you work remotely from a home office, then place it on your desk, so you see it every day.

Others in the community have touched on waking up early, and I want to expand upon that as it is flexible.

Revisit your schedule to make time for your project

We are creatures of habits so rearranging your schedule can be overwhelming, and that probably won't work if you have responsibilities like a family. Instead, take a look at your routines at night and in the mornings.

Identify those activities that are most important to you and for the others estimate how much time you could save each day by dialing them back. Create a goal to save one hour a day for your project. You can increase that time by waking up early.

If you've been part of the Indie Hackers community for a while, then you've likely seen an interview where sleep was mentioned as a priority (https://www.indiehackers.com/interview/generating-25-000-mo-offering-wikis-to-company-slack-teams-f7e811e0c2). It is easy to gloss over that so let's touch on that for a bit.

Rather than sift through a big list of things for sleep, I recommend starting out by focusing on creating consistency around your sleep.

That simply means going to bed at the same time each night and rising at the same time in the mornings. When it comes to sleep, consistency is the consensus. Going to sleep at the same time each night and waking up at the same time each morning creates a routine for your body. As you stick with it, then your biological clock builds a habit around the routine.

Before you can learn to wake up early, you have to create a new sleep routine. And once that is working, then you can dial it back so you are in bed earlier so you can get up early the next morning with the result being extra time for your project without affecting existing obligations. The sounds easier said than done and it is challenging but do you see how waking up early almost seems to fall into place once you’ve worked on consistency around your sleep?

Embrace failure and learn from it

When you are trying to change your behavior, there is going to be a period of difficulty and struggles. During this time, things might be fragile for you as your mind plays tricks on you like a sort of crazy rollercoaster ride. Your "why" will help you through these tough moments.

You might work on consistency with your sleep for a few days and then stumble. This is where people often quit. Instead of quitting, remind yourself that its a minor setback in your journey and pick yourself up and move forward. And if you stick with it, then you'll get momentum going, and soon you'll be rising early in the mornings just before your alarm clock rings excited to work on your project. Just take a look at the feedback from other members in this discussion as proof of that.

I'm researching sleep and remote professionals. If you've had challenges with your sleep and feeling rested in the mornings, then I'd like to have a quick chat with you.

You just make time. I end up working in a side room with a desk at my house after our three kids are asleep. I think back to when I had no kids or family and how busy I was as well. There is always something to get in the way. It is your focus and determination and drive (and coffee) to fit the necessary work in and focus on the work when working on it, not messing on social media or other distractions.

waking up at 5am, spend at least 1 hour before I start my day job.

I'm fortunate to enough to have a fulltime job that's remote, but I try to make sure I'm working on my side project(that will become a business) every single day. I do not take days off from it. 2-3 hours every single day adds up. I don't watch TV, I don't waste time doing anything that is not contributing to my side project's vision. I have a remote team of 3 freelancers helping me bring it together, and them seeing me work every day also motivates them to keep at it too. It's all about momentum. Stop or slow down, and you're dead in the water. Get to MVP launch at least, then step back and reassess if necessary. But go full throttle to MVP!

Go to bed early. Wake up at 4:30am.

don't sleep :P

Sleep faster

For me, I hate being distracted by my freelance work so I simply set aside time to pursue the longer software sprints. I setup a pretty strict schedule with some simple goals. At the moment, I have two weeks before my next freelance project starts so I'm attempting to create an MVP of two simple concepts which I can then obtain feedback from. I like to think I can build some nice things in five 8 hour days. Good luck!

There is always time.

Problem is motivation and perseverance. Find balance. Make sure you have balance in your sports, friends, family and finance.

It's good to create a routine, and if your routine is to build 2 times a week for x-hours and that works better then every day y-hours, then do that.

I work on my side project in the evening from 8:30 to 9:00 while my wife is putting the baby to bed, and in the morning from 7:00 to 8:00 between getting dressed and leaving the house.

the golden hour of the every developer is one hour after wakeup, this energetic state persist about 2-3 hours until afternoon. i'm planning everything in my mind on the road, bus, elevator even on toilet and putting into code after wakeup. then leaving the building to go my fulltime job.

taken a look to other comments, seems everyone agree on this.

I split my days.

Monday + Wednesday for Conulsting Work

Tuesday + Thursday is for Product / Side Project Work.

Friday is for reflection and learning.

I have a lot of unclaimed time off at work so I just take half a day off every now and then and fit it in during my work day. I also work every night after my kids go to sleep.

I work part time because I found that squeezing side projects in was impacting my health and relationships.

If you can financially swing working three days a week at a job and two days a week on your business then I'd recommend it.

That is also a struggle I have. How to keep motivated, disciplined and out the hours in. And how to find time also.

I've always tried to create components that I can reuse (import or copy/paste) into projects so that I spend as little time as possible rebuilding the parts of applications that are generic so that I can focus on building the parts that are useful. It's also the case that I spend lots of small downtime (time before meetings start, while cooking dinner, etc.) with a paper notebook doing design exercises. This may mean database design, API design, page layout, etc. This noodling is rarely ever innovative- I generally don't make big "breakthroughs" this way- but the repetitive practice means that when I am sitting down to code, I can generally do it very quickly because I've already practiced how the designs can work.

I have two main businesses, ie. the ones that make me the most money, i.e. my full-time job.

I did found time to launch 💰 Startup Costs 💰. How? Keep the scope really, really small, set myself a tight deadline (1 day). I succeeded in this using the tools I know, copy-pasting code-snippets and don't sweating the details.

Once the legwork is done, it is easier to spend an hour every now and then to grow the project.

I get into the office an hour or two before I need to start the 'day job' to work on my projects, and then pull out my laptop in the evening after the baby is sleeping for another 1-2 hours (usually we are just watching shows, anyway)

That's 10-20 hours per week without compromising weekends; we always reserve one weekend day to go out and do something fun.

The morning hours are definitely the most productive. Two morning hours seem to be equivalent to 3-4 evening hours.

I find that the less time I have (especially after my first born), the more I have to focus on what's impactful.

I used to crunch and work crazy hours. Now I don't have the luxury, I have to think hard about what work can produce higher outcome.

There is a concept called Seiryoku-Zenyo in Judo - meaning "Maximum Efficient Use of Energy". It's easier said than done - I am still working on how best to identify these and manage my time. But it is a principle I hope to get better at over time.

Get a remote job.

Can work at lunch, and right before and after work as there's no commute. If anything major happens you can quickly switch to your project, and if you finish your work early the rest of the day is free.

I tend to work more at night. I'm anything but consistent though, and I've learned x hours / y won't likely ever work for me (at least not while i have my job). I tend to be more rollercoasterish... i'll push myself hard for 1 to 2 weeks, then back off for 1 to 2 weeks.

Along with that, be open to taking advantage of every opportunity for spare time you have available to you (leave of absence, paternity leave, vacation days, holidays, etc).

Also, its worth saying, make sure you're saving $$$. Things like a leave of absence might be available but only work financially if you've prepared.

You could try this, chopping off 15 minutes out of every activity you engage in every day.If you do this for 4 activities, you'll basically have 1 hour out of nowhere per day. Then take it to 20 minutes, keep it to a maximum of 30 minutes.Before you know it, 3 hours have popped out of nowhere for your side project!

Work any time time you can, as long as you stay productive. Try to work everyday to stay motivated on your side project. Try to have a todo list full of simple and easy-to-complete tasks, when you only have a short time to work on your side project.