
How I Shipped Six Side Projects in 2017 - rbanffy
https://hackernoon.com/how-i-shipped-six-side-projects-in-2017-3dde6c77adbb
======
teekert
I have also finished 6 side projects last year: 1) Moving the washing machine
with all plumbing to the attic. 2) Getting the kids to school on time
everyday. 3) Having the kids eat at least 1 piece of fruit each day. 4) Redid
my front garden to make it easier to park 3 bikes. 5) Made a bunk bed in my
caravan for the two kids. 6) Played a bit with the Bittrex api and made a
small overview website for myself.

I'm feeling pretty good about those things (and actually I did even more,
bathing my 1 y/o daughter every two days, also quite some work. I also helped
in teaching my son to wipe his own butt and wash his hands without touching
anything else on the way to the tap... I could go on...).

~~~
throwaway2016a
This year was the launch of Daughter 2.0 (years). I must say, this product is
looking to be awesome. Although she sometimes intentionally doesn't follow the
instructions I give her.

Unlike Daughter 1.0 that simply didn't follow instructions because she wasn't
programmed to do so yet.

I must say, Daughter 0.1 was fun to conceive but the nine months leading up to
launch were rough and the year after we first showed her to the public we had
a lot of issues to work out. Me and my partner were up all night for a year
working out bugs.

I'm still working on launching my Basement Playroom side project. I have the
walls framed out but finding an outsourcing firm for the wiring for a
reasonable price has been tough. Finishing the Baby-proofing side project felt
good though.

I also have two software side projects. Both built on AWS Lambda... those have
gotten nowhere due to my primary hustle.

~~~
avip
That's still the fun part. Wait until your product starts getting traction and
you need to build 24/7 customer support capabilities.

~~~
throwaway2016a
The real hard part is we don't have enough funding to recruit more staff and I
don't think we'll have an exit until we hit version 18.0 and that won't be for
16 more years. And even then, I hear some projects get to version 24.0 before
being able to be self sustaining.

~~~
phillc73
I've heard that you can allocate roughly 25% FTE by version 14.0.

I'm only on v3.5 of the first product. Generally the AI is working well, deep
learning is starting to show dividends in many areas. Last night the Self
Tidying function actually worked for the first time, although some items were
not necessarily stored at the correct allocation addresses. The main problems
we're encountering now is AI self awareness and trying to force its own
learning path, despite continual re-training on controlled datasets.

~~~
avip
Use less reinforcement and more random forest.

~~~
pvinis
This whole thread feels like I'm reading r/outside, the HN version. I like it.

------
angarg12
I have mixed feelings about this kind of articles.

On the one hand is inspiring to see what other can achieve.

On the other hand, I feel like I am getting trapped in a culture where if you
aren't working on 30 side projects outside work, you are a lazy ass that won't
be successful.

I make little open source web games as hobby and side project. I never made a
dime out of them, and nobody gave a damn anyway. I have put way too much time
and effort on these projects and I don't feel like the satisfaction I got out
of them has paid off.

I have been working on a single bigger game for over 2 years now and I have
seen a cycle repeat: I get very excited, I work really hard and make lots of
progress, I get burnt out and I leave it for weeks/months. Right now I'm on my
third burnout cycle. It feels nice to have free time again. Time to watch
movies, play games, hang out with people or just go out for a walk for no
reason. But I can't help to feel guilty because I am not working on my side
projects. I have also promised myself that if I ever manage to complete this
game, I won't engage on a large scale side project again, and chances are I
will leave games completely.

So it may only be me but besides this kind of articles I would like to read
articles about people who have no side projects, and that is also ok.

EDIT: Here you can find my current project, it's a sciency idle game so not
everyone's cup of tea. Play at your own risk!

[https://github.com/angarg12/nucleogenesis](https://github.com/angarg12/nucleogenesis)

~~~
mv4
Obsessively shipping multiple side projects is the IT version of Crossfit.

~~~
snarf21
That is brilliant. Plus, sometimes these open source projects are just a
script that does something useful. Side projects rarely scale linearly.

------
soneca
Why such backlash from people that don't want to build any side projects?
Doesn't go without saying that if you don't want to build a side project you
don't have to?

I was expecting to read comments here about people that are interested in how
to ship side projects. Instead, I mostly see people with the urge to be vocal
about how they don't want to ship any side project.

I assume this is a reaction from some societal pressure for developers to
always be building side projects. I wasn't aware that there was such pressure.
But if so, by whom?

EDIT: Contrast with this other HN thread: " _How to Write Articles and Essays
Quickly and Expertly_ ":
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16005460](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16005460)

Not a _single_ comment about how people do not want to and do not care to
write essays and how they have much better use for their time. I think that is
the norm for "How to..." threads in HN. People who don't care about it, just
don't care about it. Don't even bother to comment why they don't care,
probably not even click on it. Why is it different with side projects?

~~~
matte_black
There has been growing pressure in the developer community to have side
projects as a way to prove your worth.

People take a dim view of developers who don’t do anything outside of work. If
you’re not coding something in your off hours and keeping a portfolio of
successful projects it must mean you are not passionate enough, or smart
enough, or ambitious enough. And they take the opinion that that is not the
kind of developer companies should hire, nor that they want to associate with.

Side projects thus become a sort of humble brag, instead of a project built
out of genuine interest. Many developers are building things they don’t seem
to give a shit about beyond how it will help their career prospects.

These notions need to end.

~~~
indubitable
Can you explain _why_ you think that these notions should end for people, let
alone from the perspective of a company? I'd fully agree that living to work
is undesirable, but in this case I don't think that notion applies since
development opens an infinite number of doors to anybody with the ambition and
skill to make it work for them.

~~~
matte_black
It does not open an infinite amount of doors, these days it merely prevents
doors from closing.

If your life is disrupted because you find yourself having to ship and
maintain side projects just to get a job or be considered a good developer,
then ask yourself, are you writing code or is code writing you?

~~~
hartator
> then ask yourself, are you writing code or is code writing you?

Lol what?

------
endorphone
"You need a public deadline for sharing your work"

This is a deeply contentious claim, and definitely varies by person and
personality. The dominant opinion currently is that publicly announcing and
sharing goals undermines motivations because it puts the reward before the
work, and it can handcuff and lead to a spiral of failures. We put too much
stock in our intentions, and not enough in our actions.

To speak to the reward thing, people often announce big plans up front because
they want to receive accolades/respect for what they plan to do, often
claiming that it's the motivation. Whether it's donating time, going on a
diet, a new exercise regimen, or that new game or novel idea, it is a success
death-knell when it is announced at the outset. And then the speaker, who has
already demonstrated a need for affirmation, is in a situation where the best
they can do is not disappoint. Their failure is blamed on the lack of
perpetual accolades for what they haven't done yet.

For most people, private commitments to yourself, and then a feedback loop
with constant self analysis, is the real route to success, seeking accolades
only on the results or actions of those private commitments.

~~~
z3t4
In order to finish something it has to feel somewhat acute, eg it shouln't be
easy to postpone it forever. This doesn't contradict your advice on private
commitment though. Public announcement can be a motivation "hack" to make it
feel more important.

~~~
endorphone
For this you need internal goals, ideally with honest self reflection and
continual assessment.

Everyone is different, and there are those people who truly get the motivation
by announcing intentions and then try to stick to their word. Research has
shown that this isn't true for most, however: Most people sabotage their own
success by announcing in advance.

If you don't have the internal motivations, external motivations are unlikely
to have any beneficial impact, but are likely to have a detrimental effect.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation_intention](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Implementation_intention)

~~~
z3t4
When it comes to internal vs external motivation they work equally well! An
example of external motivation is money. It's healthy to have internal
motivation, eg you like what you are doing, but it's not needed. It works best
to have both internal and external motivation, for example really enjoying the
work and get paid _a lot_ for it, then you'll be very motivated, and wont have
any problems to get to work.

------
tnolet
I don't understand the point of the whole "shipping" fetish and the "maker"
culture that goes with it. Even when I'm probably considered part of it!

Specifically the focus on the quantity of shipping, not so much the quality.
I'm afraid it might set a weird example for new comers. And the use of the
word "shipping" also has changed quite a bit over the last two years. You used
to ship a release. That is what I would call "shipping", but now people are
updating texts and tweeting and moving a picture 3px and call that "shipping".
The OP luckily doesn't fall into that trap.

I'm probably too old/jaded/cynical or just not the target audience. I'll write
the "I shipped one thing in three year" blog post...

~~~
hobs
I would say that the healthy version of why is summed up fairly well by an
apocryphal story from the "Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and
Rewards) of Artmaking" \- [https://blog.codinghorror.com/quantity-always-
trumps-quality...](https://blog.codinghorror.com/quantity-always-trumps-
quality/)

The ceramics teacher announced on opening day that he was dividing the class
into two groups. All those on the left side of the studio, he said, would be
graded solely on the quantity of work they produced, all those on the right
solely on its quality. His procedure was simple: on the final day of class he
would bring in his bathroom scales and weigh the work of the "quantity" group:
fifty pound of pots rated an "A", forty pounds a "B", and so on. Those being
graded on "quality", however, needed to produce only one pot - albeit a
perfect one - to get an "A".

Well, came grading time and a curious fact emerged: the works of highest
quality were all produced by the group being graded for quantity. It seems
that while the "quantity" group was busily churning out piles of work - and
learning from their mistakes - the "quality" group had sat theorizing about
perfection, and in the end had little more to show for their efforts than
grandiose theories and a pile of dead clay.

~~~
adrianN
The quantity group clearly lacked people who understood the grading scale.
They should have just delivered big lumps of clay, possibly with a small
indentation somewhere, and called them pots.

------
40acres
I was not expecting such "backlash" against this post. I am not a psychologist
but it feels like there are a lot of people who would like to ship more side
projects and/or work on things they are interested in (seems like the very
essence of a site called HackerNews) but can't either because of real life
responsibilities or excuses they are telling themselves.

------
pleasecalllater
Yea... my project for this year - don't get crazy, and depressed as my wife
will pass away... For now this is the most interesting, and time consuming
project in my life. And a funny thing: all the personal stuff that matters
most is so stupidly treated when going with that publicly.

However when someone makes some, usually useless, stuff, he/she will be
famous, and lots of people will write so many nice things.

And don't even try writing that you are depressed :) You will soon be blamed
for everything, including voting on Trump. And the good people will have so
many useful advices like "would you try not being depressed?".

So... 6 small projects in a year. Cool. Will that help some people live the
next day? And during that year you could do so much good to others.

Sometimes I feel like living on another planet. I know, such posts here
usually get so many negative points... I hope this will eat all my karma.

And have a nice 2018 year, but really find some meaningful projects.

~~~
jonkiddy
I don't know how to respond to your comment. I'm sorry to hear about your
wife. After I hit "reply", I'm going to turn this laptop off and go downstairs
and give my wife a hug.

~~~
pleasecalllater
That's good :)

------
yowlingcat
To anyone looking at these projects and feeling some sense of anxiety over the
culture of trumpeting competence through crushing through side projects
_along_ with work deliverables -- just stop for a second and take a closer
look at all of these side projects. They're cute, but how many of them make
serious recurring revenue?

I understand it's a comparison of apples and oranges, but I find the
accomplishment of making a healthy, growing side business along with having a
day job to be truly impressive and ultimately a lot more inspiring. I would
rather have one side business that's at 10k MRR and growing rather than six
toy projects launched that all work at a prototype level. Not to detract from
the value of launching those -- that's great! These projects all have
genuinely interesting product hypotheses. But, launching is just really not
where 90% of the hard risk (and hard rewards) ends up being located, in my
experience.

~~~
overcast
I've created dozens, and dozens of side projects over the years. The
motivating factor for starting any of them, is the interest in learning a new
technology. I then use what I've learned from that side project, to build upon
another one, and so forth. Cumulatively, they strengthen any "real" projects
that I've had interest in building. Piece by piece, I build knowledge on
various aspects of what my ultimate goal is.

~~~
waivek
what's your net mrr from these projects

------
superasn
While this is quite impressive and having been in the same boat myself once I
have come to the conclusion that unless you're doing it as a hobby, creating
and shipping product is like 30% of your job.

The rest 70% 100x more important job is marketing, which speaking as a small
business owner, consists of SEO, email marketing, side project marketing,
blogging, contenting marketing, etc. Those are the actual time consuming often
boring things that determine your project's success.

~~~
marktangotango
Indeed, and this type of post is a very large part of the marketing this
person is doing for their side projects. Front page of hackernews (as of now)
will surely draw traffic to all the projects listed. The article is very lean
on the "how" but very much about the "what" was done.

------
jayliew
TLDR: Motivate yourself with -

1\. Pick idea personally interesting to you (seems self-evident)

2\. Use time box (not a new idea, and mostly a known concept)

3\. Use external accountability (also not a new idea, and mostly a known
concept)

So, it's kind of a shallow piece not really introducing new information to me.

What I don't get is all the hate on HN--which is a sad state.

I get the perhaps accidentally inflammatory tone of the article, which is "you
have enough time, what you need is motivation."

It can be offensive to people who are struggling with kids and literally have
no more time, but really want to work on side projects ... to have some random
dude on the internet say, "look man, all you need is just more motivation!"

Okay, I get that.

So for the Hackernoon editor: maybe less shallow and potentially presumptuous
pieces that offends people with kids.

And for the people with kids or some life circumstance that prevents you from
doing side projects but are extremely motivated: no need to be sarcastic about
how difficult life is to raise a kid on Hacker News.

------
goatherders
Good work. If this was important to you then good work. No idea why people are
giving it a hard time. Not everyone should or should want to build a bunch of
extra stuff. One job can Indeed be plenty. If you want to work on other stuff
you should. If you would rather spend your time doing some thing else then do
that.

------
z3t4
The reason of the success is that he set a realistic goal that he could
achieve within a month!

Setting goals is like making estimations. First make sure your goal can be
achieved _by you, now_. eg something you can do right now and finish within a
month. Then you cut the project goals in half. Now you got something realistic
;)

------
k__
My side projects of 2017 were writing a blog post every week (got 50) and
making video course.

Even made a few bucks with the course.

------
ensiferum
And dont forget to beat your own drum every month!

------
gitgud
85% of this article is just a series of detailed advertisements for the
projects he did...

Not: "How I Shipped Six Side Projects in 2017"

Good for him though.

------
fermienrico
I don’t know why but “Shipped” to me has a bad connotation.

Expediency vs. careful design. The former “Ships”, the latter develops.

~~~
yorby
Shipped is not necessarily good or bad... it just doesn't mean much by itself.

~~~
fermienrico
Of course. I was rather conveying what it meant to me - based on how it is
used at work and in my general experience.

------
NicoJuicy
Oh, he mentions GOAP of the Fear Ai. I have an interest for it also and
planning a project around it.

Awesome!

------
ph33t
You have a fantastic gift for finding small useful projects. Truly fantastic.

------
PhilWright
Humble brag anyone?

