Staying focused?

Straightforwardly, you need some mix of passion for the work, vision for the future, discipline, and other people. Probably not all. But the more the better.

Passion for the work is what keeps you going when nobody's looking, when nobody knows, when nobody cares. You still care. In fact you love what you do. Nobody has to tell you to code. You just do it.

But passion isn't everything. Because unless you're extremely lucky or clever, there will be tasks you need to complete to reach your goal that, quite frankly, aren't all that enjoyable. If passion is your only fuel, you'll hit a dead end.

This is where vision for the end goal comes into play. Why are you doing this? If you know your ultimate destination, it gives you a reason to push through the bad parts. You need that reason, because next comes the hard part: discipline.

If passion is your internal motivation to do things you enjoy, discipline is your internal motivation to do things you don't. Discipline runs on vision. You're not going to do hard things without some reward in the end. Why would you? The stronger your vision, the better.

To be disciplined, there are also some practical tips. (1) Verbally accept that certain things aren't that fun, (2) pledge to prioritize them anyway, and (3) schedule them directly into your calendar. If you don't plan these things, you're basically pledging to do them when you feel like it. And that will never happen, because by definition these are things you don't feel like doing. I'm not a fan of routine, but I grudgingly admit that routine is important for doing tasks that require discipline.

Lastly, there's other people. They can give you a discipline boost, usually in the form of obligation, status, or companionship. Obligation means not wanting to let down your advisors, investors, cofounders, or customers. This is a huge driver of much of the productive work that gets done worldwide. Status looks like wanting to impress others. And companionship is when tough tasks suddenly seem better when others are working alongside you.

A couple other tips that have worked for me:

First, it's usually getting started that's the hard part. Most tasks I think I'll hate doing end up being somewhat enjoyable once I get started. So make it easy to get started. Your routine should begin with really simple tasks so you can get yourself into the groove. For example, "Read one blog post about marketing."

Second, pick an idea that makes things easier for you. I knew before I started Indie Hackers that I had a tendency to code all day and neglect marketing. Thus I picked an idea that required very little code (IH was essentially a glorified blog to start), knowing that even if I gave into my normal temptations and coded a ton, eventually I'd run out of stuff to code and have nothing but marketing left. Luckily, I also picked a collaborative idea, where I'd feel obligated to follow through and publish people's interviews.

momentum feels good when you have it but terrible when you don't (and you know when you do or don't).

but, learning to break through the project "doldrums" is really important. it's hard to know "how important" but i know that every project, at some point, flatlines.

... so, learning how to deal with those points and seasons is important for you as a builder.

keep shipping. trust me, it does get better.

it's not about focus. it's about intent.

As an indie, I have a rule that I only work on one project at a time. I make a commitment to work on this project for at least X months or a specific milestone, after which I’ll reevaluate. I can either renew my commitment, or switch projects. When I switch projects I’m acknowledging that I’ve decided to stop working on the previous project.

For example, my last project AdiPosse https://www.indiehackers.com/product/adiposse, I committed to getting the app launched and in the app store with some basic functionality. I then renewed my commitment to it and launched an Android version and pivoted to challenges. After that, I re-evaluated and decided the app wasn’t going to succeed, based on metrics, so now I’m working on something new, BurpeeHero https://www.indiehackers.com/product/burpeehero. With this app I’m committed to getting it into the app store and completing the basic single player experience so I can measure the users reaction. Once I hit this milestone I’ll re-evaluate again.

Of course I’m always thinking of exciting new app ideas. I have a separate trello board for these ideas. I allow myself to daydream a bit, and even do a little research, but I don’t write code until I make a commitment. Most of these ideas really excite me for a week or two, but eventually kind of fade into the background. However if an idea keeps coming to the forefront of my mind, and I can’t stop thinking about it over the course of months, that’s a sign that maybe I should go after it.

One of the horrible exchanges in life is "potential" (read options) that converts into a (single) choice.
When you're in high school the whole world is your oyster, then you choose a major and suddenly your world has narrowed down considerably, then you take a job, then you find a partner, then, then, then...
One of the harder lessons I had growing up is that all my "potential" was worthless!
It made me jump from project to project and never really commit because the limitless opportunities are exciting when the grind really wasn't.
Then, I started loving my craft, loving the day-to-day, and shower thoughts of grandiose options started seeming like a distraction.
Now I'm excited by every day that comes and bored by grandiose dreams that change on a daily basis.
For me, it was a matter of growing up and it took me waaaay too long.
Find you path from the paralyzing inability to move and your life will be more rewarding both internally and externally.
That came out very philosophical! LoL
Hope this helps,
Jonathan

I often find that motivation is tightly tied to my emotions, especially when they are hiding under a few layers of thoughts. Jumping from one project to another could be a unconscious response to fear. It might be fear of rejection, or a fear of being overwhelmed with demand, or a fear of regret for spending a lot of effort on something that didn't succeed or maybe a combination of all three. While fear is running the show it's very difficult to make good choices or any choices at all for that matter. It's also pretty hard to see the fear because of a pradoxical fear of being afraid, which depending on how you were raised may send subconscious signals of being weak for not being able to suck it up.

The key to overcoming fear is to realize that courage isn't the lack of fear, it's actually the fully emboodied, fully felt and fully realized fear. We don't like intense movies, fast driving and extreme sports because of the lack of fear - we like them because of it. Fully fealing our fears and looking them in the eye makes us feel alive, and holy cow how much fear and excitement we can find in starting a business!

Everything you need to find your focus and passion is hiding inside your fear if you can only tap into it, listen to it and engage with it.

Not very accidentally my app Wuju (wujuapp.com) helps process and release fear and other emotions so we can do what we really want to do.

Hang in there brother, the future is scary, but worthwhile and bright.

I struggle with this too. It's so easy to get caught up in the rush of a new idea.

What's been working relatively well for me is to basically just keep written record of any new project ideas. I'll do a little research and exploration of the idea (feasibility, tech required, existing products etc) and write it down, but avoid starting any actual development (or buying domain names...).

That's usually enough to get me past the initial excitement for an idea, and I can then pull my focus back to my existing project - knowing the ideas will still be there next week/month/year.

I thought it was only me, shiny object syndrome is real!

All work have parts that are not interesting, are boring, are a pain in the ass. To be successful you have to do that bit. You can't depend on terribly interesting to stick around. I sometimes feel the advice of "follow your passion" is dangerous. If you want to be a great basketball player, you need to eat your vegetables and do your push ups. There's no way around it.

When it comes to dealing with the actual problem, I personally have ideas all the time. I have more ideas than I could make in a lifetime in any given month. A lot of the time, I don't care, they come and go. If they are too persistent, I write them down. There's also a constant challenge of making the current thing betters, that requires a lot of creativity and realism. It's much harder than dreaming in vacuum.

The reality is that you have to put up with it, it's hard, and doing it is part of being successful.

Book "indistractable" is good. (currently, I am reading)

lol I'm in the same boat!