Procrastinating on coding a product I know solves a real problem
This one is weird.
I actually did everything “right”:
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found a real pain
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validated it
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researched the market
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checked similar products
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shamelessly borrowed some design ideas here and there to make building easier
On paper, this should be the fun part.
Normally, when I decide to build something, I go full goblin mode:
10-hour days, several days in a row, pure flow, zero resistance.
But this time… nothing.
I’ve been procrastinating since December.
The product is not finished, and I just can’t force myself to work on it. No excitement, no drive — just avoidance.
I’m trying to understand why:
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winter hibernation?
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burnout from building too many things?
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or maybe the uncomfortable truth: I don’t actually like this product, even if it “makes sense”?
I honestly don’t know.
Has anyone experienced this?
When you know the idea is solid, but your brain just refuses to ship?
Would love to hear how you dealt with it (or if you just abandoned the project and moved on).
Been there. The third possibility you mentioned — "I don't actually like this product" — is often the uncomfortable truth.
Here's a diagnostic I've found useful: imagine the product is already live with 1,000 users. Do you feel excited about supporting them, reading their feedback, iterating? Or does it feel like a chore?
If it's the latter, that's your answer. The validation was correct, but validation tells you the market wants it — not that you're the right person to build it.
Some options that have worked for me:
Shrink scope ruthlessly. Maybe you don't need to build the whole thing. What's the smallest version that proves the concept?
Find a co-builder. If the idea is solid but you don't want to code it, someone else might.
Sell/license the validation. Your research has value even if you don't ship.
Just stop. Sunk cost is real — but so is opportunity cost. December to now is already a signal.
What would you build instead if you gave yourself permission to drop this?
Thank you for your reply — that was really great feedback.
I actually need this product for myself too; it’s an affiliate comments assistant Chrome extension for Reddit. I’m genuinely excited about shipping it, but whenever I sit down to start updating it, I end up procrastinating.
Today, though, I managed to break through that a bit: I wrote down all the updates it needs and organized them into clear sections (frontend and backend). Hopefully, that will make it easier to actually get some work done tomorrow.
Thanks again for the insights — they’re incredibly smart and spot-on for this kind of problem.