How to allocate time for side project?
Recently, I posted about how to allocate time for side project in one of the twitter conversation. I am posting it here. I would like to know thoughts of other indie hackers on it.
Simple math-
Allocate minimum 2 hours everyday after job and 4-6 hours during weekends for side project.
total avg. 20 hr /week
50 weeks in a year (~2 weeks for holidays)
50*20 = 1000 hours for side project every year.
The requirement for growth is simple: if you can consistently put a minimum amount of time into something, it will grow.
Habits, personal relationships, commercial/art/social projects, knowledge, ...
The lesson is about consistency more than it is about sacrifice (giving up something else, e.g. full-time job) or how long you work per day.
If you can get an average step done in 30 minutes, then 30 minutes a day will get you towards your goal. Perhaps just not as fast as you would like.
Definitely. consistency is a key here.
I HAVE to dedicate at least 10 minutes a day. I found that doing that keeps me warm and on a streak and makes it easier the next day. I also found that I tend to spend more time after I get rolling.
For sure. Even if that 10 minutes is spent on something quite basic, it's still a step forwards. Putting in that time early in the day is often better too.
e.g., get up early and do an hour while you're fresh rather than struggling to do anything productive after 10pm.
Yes, it is easy to achieve more with fresh mindset.
2 hours after work is not the same as 2 hours when you are fresh. However it is possible try to use morning time.
Slow progress is demotivating.
Switching context between work and side project also drains some energy.
So it is a challenge for sure
I consult a couple of days a week so that I can dedicate 3 days a week (at least) to building Pilotfish.io.
I know that might be more time than what most people can manage but I sacrificed a lot of income so that I can spend more time on growing the product business. If it fails, I can focus on picking up more clients/work. I really have squeezed my living expenses by adopting a long-term mindset. That wasn't easy but the change in mindset is possibly the most important thing I did.
Keep it up buddy
Thanks dude!
I find I need to be aggressive about timeboxing, I freelance & have 2 small kids. I have to make the time, not wait for spare time. Taking the occasional week off to focus has been really productive. Burnout is a thing you need to protect yourself from. So be mindful of your energy levels.
Decent formula. This has got way more complicated as I've aged, got married, and had two kids.
These days it's maybe 1hr of low effort tasks at night during the week e.g. fixing bugs, writing blog posts. Then negotiation with my wife for a weekend afternoon once a month to accomplish something more significant e.g. new feature.
Less time available has definitely has me being a lot more leaner and breaking features down into smaller initiatives I can achieve in a few hours.
This comment was deleted 9 years ago