How to Build While Having a Full-Time Job
Hey everyone,
Clemente from Ramen Road. If your project is just starting out, you probably have other obligations: full-time job, freelancing, school or just life in general.
With these come horrible weeks where you can’t find time to do anything for your side-project.
I just had one of those weeks.
My day job has been a nightmare (+10 hour workdays, founder micromanaging without any context) so I’ve also lost time looking for jobs.
How do you deal with these weeks as an indie hacker?
After asking other founders and googling, here are some strategies I found to get your side-project going even while having a full-time job.
Lock-in a productive schedule
Find the right time to advance on your side-projects. This could be an early morning session before your job starts, when it ends, after spending some family time or it could be a set amount of hours during your weekend.
It may even be a mix of all.
Having a structured and planned out time forces you to focus and get stuff done. Block your calendar and make sure your only focus is your side-project.
I’m personally trying out having a block every weekday from 19:30 to 20:30 and 11:00 to 13:00 on Saturdays.
Choose high-impact tasks beforehand
One of the biggest blockers when getting stuff done is deciding on what to work on.
You probably are already short on time and your to-do list is huge.
The solution is to plan your week ahead of time and choose your highest impact tasks. To do this, I’m focusing on three steps:
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Keep an idea bank with things you want to do (new ideas, marketing strategies, bugs, etc.). I personally just use a Notion database, but your notes app works great.
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Rank your ideas by highest-impact. You can use ICE method, DIE, RICE or just your gut.
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Once a week, revisit your ranking and plan for the next week
On your next work slot, you’ll have a task defined and can focus on getting it done.
Get the ball rolling and keep it rolling
Habits are tough to break once they gain momentum - so make working on your side-project a habit!
Commit to a frequency and have a visual check whenever you get it done. It could be your Github contribution graph, a calendar or a streak counter.
Breaking a streak sucks - visualize it to make it harder to break it.
Getting your side-project off the ground while also dealing with a full-time job and having a life is tough.
Whatever it is that motivates you, remind yourself of it. Keep a photo on your desk, meditate and make it your mission statement. Just focus on reminding yourself of it.
Thanks Cleme. To build on that, here's also what helped me:
Love this framework Elliott! Thanks!
Sweet! Glad it felt helpful @vicentegarcya
Nice, thanks for sharing. Love 1-4, very good tips and I'll give them a try.
I'm not so sure about 5 though, is it worth it to make it but have lost everything else? Feel like I'd rather have friends and fam, but it's a personal choice :)
Great point, and thanks for your reply. I think your question depends on how much pain the current job is causing. For me, it was that important. That being said, I still met up with buddies, but less than I normally would have. The cool thing is that friends and fam will be there again for you when you return : )
Yep, I agree. As with all things in life, it's about balance. Don't have your side project become the only thing in your life, but it's perfectly fine to focus on it from time to time.
This is now the balance I'm also trying to find as a solopreneur. I have my main project, but there are so many side projects I want to do, and I am now getting to a point that I focus on my main project as if it is a 9-5 job, and schedule an hour each day for my side projects.
Still need to find the right balance, but as mentioned repeatedly, it's a continuous process.
Thanks for this piece, Cleme!
Nice, thanks for sharing your approach. I haven't reached the point of my side project becoming my main one, but that's awesome :)
Cet article regorge de conseils pratiques pour gérer un projet parallèle tout en travaillant à temps plein. J'apprécie particulièrement l'idée de structurer son emploi du temps et de se concentrer sur les tâches à fort impact. Ces stratégies peuvent vraiment aider à surmonter les défis d'une semaine chargée !
Basically, learn to sleep less, and that's about it, haha!
Regardless, congrats on the great platform, amazing feat!!
To build while working full-time, focus on time management by creating a clear schedule and setting realistic goals. Prioritize tasks and use small, consistent efforts to make steady progress without overwhelming yourself.
Pretty hard to manage. it is either having it as second job and sacrificing 90% of your free time or you won't get too far any time soon. I am experiencing this now and it is like working 8am-11pm straight. Working on a trip planner so pretty chunky space for a single person to do all. But I see the light at the end of the tunnel.
A lot depends on what the side product is - are you building it as a hobby for fun or will it be a business for money. If you build it as a hobby - it's like a rest from the main job. If you build it as a business - it's just a second job, and quite a hard one.
Sadly it makes the timeline for completing the side project to lengthy and unpredictable
If you have a big idea, the first thing you should do is validate it to ensure you’re not investing a lot of time or effort into something useless. If your side project is small and fun, it's fine—you can even spend your weekend building it
How do you determine when it's time to stop working on the current project and start a new one?
It may take a while before you see growth or revenue, so it's often unclear when to stop developing the product.
Yes, I agree. Having a smaller scope makes it much easier to juggle many things at the same time