Everyone has side projects. Few actually finish them.

The trap I fell into

For years, I treated side projects like second jobs. Late nights, weekend marathons, constant guilt. Result? Burnout and abandoned repos.

What changed

Now I follow strict rules:

1. One hour a day, max — consistency beats intensity
2. One project at a time — no juggling
3. Ship ugly, ship fast — perfectionism kills projects
4. Public accountability — tweet progress, not promises

Finding time

• Morning before work (my brain is freshest)
• Lunch breaks (25 minutes of focused coding)
• Not weekends — that's family time

Choosing the right projects

Ask yourself:

• Does this teach me something new?
• Does this solve my problem?
• Can I ship v1 in 2 weeks?

If you answer "no" to any of these, reconsider.

My graveyard of projects

I've killed more projects than I've shipped. That's okay. Every abandoned project taught me something:

• What I don't enjoy building
• What the market doesn't want
• When I'm overcomplicating things

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The goal isn't to finish every project. It's to finish the ones that matter.