IMHO: in order to say yes you are usually saying at least one or more no's. Otherwise the lack of those other no's will eat you alive.
Oddly enough, though, all those things you listed are possible if you reduce the scope and scale of the projects. Its a matter of saying no to massive undertakings and be pragmatic about it.
A "programming language" doesn't have to compete with C or rust or something equally huge. It could be a little DSL instead. "Cryptography" could be a key store or other simple encryption tool. The "sci-fi epic" could be a novella or even a short story.
But at the same time, even those undertakings might still be too large a bite to take out of your weeks.
So, as you say, prioritise and accept your own limitations.
> IMHO: in order to say yes you are usually saying at least one or more no's. Otherwise the lack of those other no's will eat you alive.
You are absolutely, 100% correct. Preach, brother!
Saying "no" kicked-off a series of events in my life that made everything so much better. It all started when my tech lead said he should say more "no"s at a scrum retrospective, and I it fit like a glove for me as well, I just didn't notice before.
I was able to move countries and actually enjoy life a little bit. I'm not saying you should do the same, but saying no to things made me focus so much better on things I say "yes" to. I feel like I'm actually living right now, not just passing by, which is ironic given the fact I've stopped doing so much shit daily.
Oddly enough, though, all those things you listed are possible if you reduce the scope and scale of the projects. Its a matter of saying no to massive undertakings and be pragmatic about it.
A "programming language" doesn't have to compete with C or rust or something equally huge. It could be a little DSL instead. "Cryptography" could be a key store or other simple encryption tool. The "sci-fi epic" could be a novella or even a short story.
But at the same time, even those undertakings might still be too large a bite to take out of your weeks.
So, as you say, prioritise and accept your own limitations.