

New Year's Resolution: Do Experiments, Not Projects - mattmcknight
http://discussionleader.hbsp.com/cramm/2008/12/new-years-resolution-do-experi.html

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rw
Counter-intuitively, we must be willing to be playfully creative if we want to
make serious money. Let's reintroduce _enjoyment_ into what we do. Sustainable
creativity is not possible without levity and experimentation.

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mindviews
I like this idea for personal projects (er, experiments) as well. I have a
list of side projects I work on, but new items get added much faster than
existing ones get done. A lot of times the list feels like a burden. A mental
switch from "I should write this widget for myself" to "I wonder if this
widget would make life easier" takes the mental pressure off and at the same
time reminds me why I wanted to make that widget in the first place. Sometimes
that switch in perspective is the difference between having the motivation to
tackle an item on the list and not.

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tocomment
Do you guys think this is a better approach than doing a full-fledged startup?

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maurycy
You're always able to evaluate an experiment to a full-fledged startup.

And, however odd it sounds, very frequently I'm much more effective when I
know that no one counts on me, and I'm free to experiment. It gives a little
competentive edge as well.

