

Difficulty Focusing at Day Job (startup on the side) is Building - jhacks

It has always been hard.<p>From time to time I get very invested and lost in my work (I work in finance) but I usually drift and think of my startup. I make sure to never actually work on anything at work but sometimes I'll read relevant news, Google to solve coding questions / issues I have and so on. Then some days it is just terrible. Literally just sit there staring at my computing in this sort mental pain and frustration.<p>My job is actually pretty good! illt really is ideal for what it is (accounting background and in corp finance). I certainly would be happy (presumably) if not for my newfound love of coding and creating spurred by my startup. But I can't help be so passionate for my startup that it remains on my mind all the time.<p>I just wish I could get a REAL month to work on it. Wake up and get to have nothing else in my way. The day job tires me out.<p>What do you do to get through it? I really can't afford to be without any income just yet unfortunately. At least the startup has monetization strategy baked in but with that isn't an option yet.<p>Any insight would be great. I'm going crazy.
======
keenahn
Well, you will inevitably get the advice that you should quit.

Barring that, I say create strict barriers for yourself to ease the mental
context-switching. Say for example, you will focus 100% on your day job from
10AM to 7PM weeknights, and you will go nuts on your startup at all other
times. Even just writing down these rules will help you focus. By working more
effectively during the day, and assuming your boss isn't a nazi guarding your
time, you can actually finish your work earlier and spend more time on your
startup.

Another suggestion, wake up one or two hours earlier to work on your passion
project. Since you mention being too tired when you come home at night, this
is a way to make sure you are making incremental progress day by day.

Eventually, you really will have to "burn the boats" so to speak and quit. I'm
not sure what's keeping you from quitting, but I'm assuming you have good
reasons (mortgage, kids, debt). It will be tough to bootstrap all the way
until profitability. Is there any way you can work on contract while you
continue developing your startup?

Best of luck

~~~
xpop2027
I am currently doing #2 on my own startup. Getting up earlier in the day to
work on a passion project is ideal since I have the most mental capacity at
that time of the day. Also, giving a strict 2 hours workspace, I know exactly
what I need to focus on for that day.

------
whichdan
What about taking a break from your startup? I noticed back when I was working
on mine that I got into the habit of working at my job all day, then working
on the startup all night, and it was way more stressful than I realized.

