
Work, Life And Side Projects - Garbage
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2012/06/19/work-life-and-side-projects/
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nadam
I think there is no long term solution to this if you already have a family
(with children to care about): Day job, side project, family: it is too much,
at least one of them will suffer. I don't see this as something that can be
balanced, I see it as a temporary state. For me the long-term goal is to
eliminate the day job by making enough money from the side-product.

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swalsh
If only one suffered, that would be optimal. In my experience what ended up
happening is all suffered. In noticing that one part of my life was starting
to falter I would soon over compensate. What would happen is a juggling act,
that ends with total burnout. In the mean time you disappoint a lot of people.

Side-projects are good, but you have to be careful about it.

~~~
runevault
The better way to describe it would probably be at LEAST one will suffer.
Obviously if mishandled it can get even worse.

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apitaru
In the past 10 years I was able to support my side-projects (see profile) and
family life (we have 2 years old) by not having a day job, but instead
carefully choosing freelance projects. Here's how it works:

Freelancing allows me the flexibility to dedicate pockets of time to side-
projects that require a push. I simply don't book myself of 3-4 weeks if I
know I need the time for a side project. This allows these side-projects to
organically flourish rather than wither in the long term. If and when any of
these projects become a source of income, I can easily turn my attention to it
without having to change my lifestyle.

Regardless of their monetary success (some of my projects are not meant to be
products at all), I've noticed that they act as magnets towards the kind of
freelancing jobs I'd like to take. This creates a positive feedback loop, as
the freelancing gigs often help me push forward at least one of the side
projects (code wise or knowledge of the domain).

Overal, the trick is to keep your projects (paid or not) within your core
curiosity-zone. If you're just starting out, the mission is to get closer to
this zone with every new freelance gig. The end result is that enjoy both the
side projets and my freelancing gigs. The line between them blurs more and
more every-day.

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jorleif
What are good side projects? I get this "cool stuff that I don't get to do at
work" idea, but I think it's vitally important to have side projects that have
a different gratification profile than one's main work. If you work as a
developer of any kind, most work will be on massive projects spanning at least
months, often years. For a side project to be fun, I think its important to
have a different pace. For example trying out a new technology and doing some
cool hack quickly, in a few hours, rather than "doing it right" slowly and
meticulously. Maybe side projects should be mainly about learning or trying
out things rather than doing things, exploration not exploitation of existing
skills.

~~~
HeyLaughingBoy
A good side project is anything you think it is. The most important aspect is
that it must keep _you_ engaged, whereas a project at work has to be
profitable as its primary aspect.

The "gratification profile" should be what works best for you and your
personality and what you need to accomplish. If your side project is building
a boat to cross Lake Superior, then it's fine if it takes years to complete.
If it's automating your garage door to open when your car arrives, it might be
done in a weekend.

The point of the project is that it should be about _you_. What _you_ want to
do, on _your_ terms, at _your_ pace. Otherwise, you might as well just get a
second job.

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mikebridgman
I recently struggled with balancing these three. When my ex-girlfriend started
a mandatory "no computer Sundays", I knew something had to change. Here's what
has been working for me: get up early. I wake up at 5am, have a few hours to
work on side projects or freelance work, and then I head into work at 8am.
After work, I don't touch a computer until the next morning. It's been just
over a month and I'm loving the results.

~~~
alinajaf
I did the exact same while working full time and am trying to do the same as a
freelancer now.

What I've found is that no matter how early I wake up I have about eight hours
in me and then I lose the ability to focus. I have a feeling exercise and a
better diet might help.

Don't get me wrong though, having an ultra productive 4 hours before 10am is
awesome, and clocking off at 14:00 to read, play with my arduino or do other
things is pretty good too. For me at least though it hasn't magically added
any extra hard-focus time to the day.

~~~
mikebridgman
Diet has made a huge difference in maintaining my energy levels throughout the
day. In the morning I make a vegetable + fruit smoothie, lunch I usually eat
plain chili or some form of meat and vegetables. I try to reserve carbs for
before/after exercise.

On days when I splurge and eat pizza or some heavy carbs for lunch, I usually
crash pretty hard around 2pm. That's why I save lunch beers for Fridays only!
:)

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petercooper
My solution has been to make my "side projects" my entire work. People often
ask me.. "so, uh, you actually do this as your job?" because most of my
projects look like frivolous side projects that I love and enjoy almost like
hobbies, even the ones that bring in the money. (The annoying hidden part to
this tale is it took having a significant "runway" in the bank to be brave
enough to try this idea out..)

I've turned down some interesting jobs lately because I thought they wouldn't
pay well or they wouldn't offer enough autonomy.. but this post has made me
realize it's just because I don't want "a job," there'd be no time left over
for "side projects"! :-)

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pagejim
For the last two years, I have been trying, on and off, to develop a few ideas
into maturity. You can call these my side projects. I started out, thinking
that taking 5-6 hours out from my weekends and a couple of hours per weekday,
would do the job.

My day job is quite demanding in terms of hours and energy that I put in.

After around one year of trying hard to perform well in my day job, keep on
developing my side projects and have a decent social life, I gave up. It was
not working out. Time and again, I found myself, totally tired mentally and
physically.

I couldn't understand what was it that I was doing wrong. Then time and again,
I would hear stories of people who were successfully juggling day-job, side-
projects and family life. I just did not get it and still don't.

Is there some kind of strategy that you have to follow? Is my time-management
not good enough? Is something missing in my attitude? Or is it just plain
luck, that things work out sometimes and other times they don't.

~~~
boagworld
My advice is keep the side project small and only work on one at a time. We
often spread ourselves too thin and try and undertake something too big. If we
cannot see fast results we become demoralised.

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ThomPete
Take it from someone who has been doing this for some years now. I have 3 side
projects. A job a girfriend and a son.

It is entirely possible but entirely depending on your spouse and on how much
you are prepared to sacrifice.

I even took it up a notch and moved to the other side of the Atlantic.

Relying on Skype, Pair and monthly visits. Suffice to say it's not easy and
not without it's challenges. But if you have a great spouse and are very clear
on what the goal of you doing what you are doing is. Then it's possible.

~~~
overgryphon
The article is about developing a stable balance between family, work and side
projects- how does monthly visits to your son create as a good balance? It
sounds more like a temporarily tolerated situation rather than something
feasible (or desireable) long term.

~~~
ThomPete
This is long term and this is the only way to combine two people with equal
ambitions and unfortunately opportunities on two different continents.

Before that (up until a month ago) I was with them every day.

My point is that unless your spouse is in on it then it's never going to work.

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overgryphon
I'm sorry to pry, I'm just curious- Why would you choose opportunities on the
other side of the world over being with your family?

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ThomPete
Sure :)

Because they are good opportunities.

Because I have lived here over the years (before I met my gf and got my son)
and have large parts of my friends here.

Because my gf have a job she really loves and didn't want to move with me
right away (but maybe later)

Because sometimes you have to think strategic about your families future. (of
course with the danger of destroying the very family you are trying to create)

What can I say. Life's complicated :)

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thibaut_barrere
Sidenote to my past self: you should work on "side products" rather than "side
projects"!

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toumhi
Hey Thibaut!

The way I see it, there's a time and space for both. "side products" require
much more upfront time investment than "side projects" (market research,
competition evaluation etc). It depends what one is looking for at the moment:
is it a potential business? (->side product) or exposure to a new technology
to help you grow as a developer? (->side project).

~~~
boagworld
I agree. I am not a great fan of side products because that is a whole other
goal. That is all about making money rather than learning more. Its just not
me.

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boagworld
Hey guys, I am glad my post has kicked off such an interesting discussion. It
seems to have struck a nerve with people.

It has also inspired me to write a followup post on my own blog looking at the
subject of side projects in a little more depth:
[http://boagworld.com/working-in-web-design/side-projects-
can...](http://boagworld.com/working-in-web-design/side-projects-can-cure-our-
woes/)

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mprat
My thinking about my future prospects as a potential employee (finishing
school soon and thinking about the future) has led me to think about the
things suggested in this article very seriously: I enjoy my hobbies involving
the outdoors. I love hiking, climbing, cycling, and any other form of enjoying
the outdoors. If I'm now trying to get a job at a technical company doing
technical work, many founders and recruiters expect (sometimes even assume)
that I will have some side projects I'm working on.

But I don't want to work on a side project for the heck of it. I want to stay
healthy and enjoy my times outside. There is a brand of people out there that
aren't just obsessed with the technical, and recruiters and companies who want
all kinds of talent are going to have to be open to different lifestyles -
including healthy ones.

~~~
boagworld
Absolutely! As I say at one point in the post, if I had to choose I would
choose life over side projects any day of the week. Although I prefer to hire
those who do side projects I have also hired people precisely because of what
they did outside of the web.

~~~
AznHisoka
Me too. I'd choose life over side projects anyday! That's why I do a side
project, so I can choose more life.

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AznHisoka
"I don’t believe the answer is work hard, play hard"

Playing hard means squeezing as much high adrenaline, pleasurable activities
in a short amount of time, and rushing through vacation spots. Just as
stressful as 60 hour work weeks.

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rokhayakebe
Great results be it in your family, work, or side projects require great
sacrifices. You cannot have all be extremely successful while you are building
all of them simultaneously from scratch.

