

Ask HN: How do people work on their side projects with regular full-time jobs? - hhimanshu

- I am interested in learning how people manage their time between official commitments and their side projects
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rsaarelm
I only have so much energy after waking to get started with anything creative
like project design, so it comes down to managing that. One trick that works
is waking up at 5 AM to work on a personal project, then going to work at 9
AM. This might lead to being pretty slow at work once afternoon rolls in
though. Another way is to do an early workday, 8 to 4 or 7 to 3 even, then
take a 20 minute power nap after work. Even a momentary falling asleep can
restore a surprising amount of mental energy.

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padseeker
For me it has not that hard if you have a lot of passion for what you are
building. dworrad's post the other day is a great example of how he does it.
It feels like a bit of a obsession - check it out.

<http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4217985>

I am starting to think I have some sort of OCD with this project. Maintaining
motivation is the hardest when you get discouraged.

For me I had to give up all my other hobbies. I take care of my family
(including 2 kids) do the best I can for my job but try not to work much more
than 40 hours, and then its my side project after the kids go to sleep, from
9-1am at least 4 days a week. Wake up early or stay up late. If you are
obsessed like I am you will wake up with no help at 4am, which is a great time
to code.

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miniatureape
I like to keep a todo list with time estimates next to each item. In the
morning, pick one you'll have plenty of time to finish. Work on it, commit it
and go off to work. It's a long game, but it works.

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michaelpinto
This depends on what your full time job is and the scale and intensity of your
side job. Make sure that your plate isn't filled up 110% and know that people
tend to underestimate the amount of work involved in doing anything...

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dworrad
I yesterday documented my struggle in this department while trying to get my
live sports commentary site www.commentary.io up and running. It isn't easy
when you are a "sole founder"... especially when you have a family!

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ssmc
I just do something that wakes me up when I get home and make sure I get a
good night's rest (7-8 hours) each and every night.

For me, competitive Starcraft 2 really wakes me up (better than espresso).

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mflindell
I have a full time job in a startup doing around 42 hours per week between 8am
and 5:30pm and at around 6pm I work on my side project until 1am.

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bazookaBen
Allocate only 2 hours a day on side projects. Stop immediately once you hit
the 2-hour mark.

i run a startup and make games part time.

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impostervt
Do one thing each day, even if it's just changing the font-size of something.
Constant progress, even minute progress, is critical.

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koonsolo
Stop watching TV

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canterburry
Seriously! TV, dvr, Netflix...pure EVIL.The worst enemy of any side project.

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bert2002
one task a day.

