I'm a maker, AND I have a 9to5 boring job (needs to pay the bills!)
I have a simple routine to work every day on my side projects: I woke up at 6 am and worked on my side until I went to work.
But This is not a perfect situation: I need at least 1 or 2 hours to get really focused on my side project, and when I'm starting to work on it ... it's time to go to work.
It completely breaks my workflow.
If you are in the same situation, what's your personal advice?
I’m a big fan of of “switching hats” when working.
At step 3, it’s easy to pick up and put away the work (to me at least), because you have a plan and you have already designed the solution and tasks. The hard part of deciding what to do is already done.
Never wear multiple hats at once. It’s a constant distraction, leads to self-doubt and causes decision fatigue.
The real trick is to make the cycle as small as possible. That way, you get lots of small wins and a sense of progress.
You can get a lot of work done in a short amount of time this way.
Here are things that help me handle it: