How do you stay motivated and focused on your side project goals?

Partner with someone and keep each other accountable.

Hi Bren! I commit at least 25 minutes daily—one 🍅, as per the Pomodoro Technique—to my side-project Saent, and it leads to good progress. Eight tips to help you get started. 1️⃣ Set a timer. Don't just glance at the clock. Set a timer for 25 minutes, and start the session with intention, as if you’re beginning a race or meditation. 2️⃣ Have absolute focus. No distractions. No multitasking. No talking. No toilet breaks. No nothing. Just pure attention. 3️⃣ Get your 🍅 done early. Ideally, do it first thing in the morning before turning on your phone, email, and other messengers. 4️⃣ Schedule a fixed time. Create a recurring 🍅 event in your calendar, like every day at 8:30 am. Or, if time-based planning is too rigid for you, add the tomato as a daily task on your todo list. 5️⃣ Do it every day. I find it easier to do something seven days a week than six, five, or four. If your project brings you joy, working on it daily isn't a punishment and creates the most momentum. 6️⃣ Keep score. Mark every day you complete a tomato on a calendar. Doing so will feel rewarding and visualizes your progress. 7️⃣ Create accountability. Let your friends know about your goal. Post about it on social media. Make a bet with someone. 8️⃣ Reward yourself. Celebrate with ice cream after your first full week of tomatoes. Treat yourself to dinner after a month. Take a vacation after a quarter. 🏝️

Honestly, the _project_ is your motivation. That motivation doesn't change, it just gets reprioritized as it competes with your other daily motivators. I personally noticed that when I gave way to other priorities and skipped days, I started to forget the exciting bits about my project and it would get moved down my mental list. I identified that I needed to make enough time every day that allowed me to accomplish some minor achievable task on my project, and keep the excitement going. This led me to create my own task management / day planner app, and I have never been more successful at moving my projects forward.

1. If my side project is to learn something, I start to teach it in university. Not online course, real offline university with real students. 2. If my side project is to create something for real people, I use one of my friends (or family) as a customer. Complete the project especially for her, discuss requirements, etc. 3. I add the project in my wishlist. It helps to remember not only "I can do it", but "I want to do it". Huge difference. 4. I suggest some friends to complete the project together. It is the last point in this list, but the most useful way to achieve something.

Having the right team helps a lot. We are 3 founders and every now and then 1 of us gets discouraged or burnt out and the other 2 help motivate and stay focused on the goals and progress. Like others mentioned, celebrate the small wins. It's so easy to accomplish something and then jump onto the next task.

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For me, the most important thing is faith. I mean faith in significance of a project, the value of result of my work for people. Faith that I make the world a little better. If it's only about money, then there is no motivation for me. But when I imagine happy people whose quality of life improves because of my work, it helps me to achieve a better result.

1. Define your goals with precision, or you'll just be "golfing" around with no idea where the hole is. 2. Create a plan and set deadlines, or you'll just be "planning" to get things done someday. 3. Celebrate small wins, like finally figuring out how to open a jar after 3 days of trying. 4. Surround yourself with positive and supportive people, because negative Nancys just bring everyone down. 5. Stay organized and eliminate distractions, because who needs 50 browser tabs open when you're trying to get work done? 6. Take breaks and engage in self-care, because even superheroes need to refuel sometimes. 7. Stay persistent and flexible, like a cat that always lands on its feet. 8. Reframe setbacks as learning opportunities, because the only real failure is not trying at all.

I do bilateral eye movements and mindfulness for a few minutes, it flushes the stress hormones in the body and activates the brain's Task-Positive Network (TPN). I built myself an app to help me do these 2 things. And I use Focusmate to work with a virtual partner.

It can be hard at times! In my opinion, you need to find the perfect moment during the day where inspiration and energy hit. Then, force yourself into a consistent routine. Some days won't be very productive but if you show up regularly you'll make progress more and more.

For me, my biggest motivating factor is the impact it will have on the people who use my side project and how it will help them achieve their goals.

For me, it usually boils down to: 1. Having a clear understanding of WHY I am working on something - even if it's for the sake of learning something new. If you start a project for the sake of having fun, and then 1-2 weeks later it's become a chore, it is time for me to re-evaluate how I am spending my time. 2. When I start to feel resistance in working on something, I automatically open up my project and start plugging away - this helps overcome the activation energy required to mentally invest in getting started. It really depends on the person, but I know that these are my usual suspects if I'm feeling a lack of motivation/will to continue a project. :)

Personally every side project I had and have is related to me as a user. Being the user of the product is what motivates me to start one and keep going.

I have a routine of weekly review on my goals and what I did in order to achieve that. I also plan what I should do the next week to keep the momentum. The plan ahead and keeping yourself accountable is I think the biggest motivator. On day by day basis I have a calendar with timeline with stuff that I want to have done by what day. Seeing in calendar how those things close in every day keeps me aware of my self set deadlines.

I meditate every morning for about 5-10 minutes and one of the topcis in my meditation is about my goals. I just quicly go through all my goals, like - long term goals - short term goals - daily goals And this way I have a clear view on what should I accomplish. It helps me focues and also my motivation got better!

Personally I do it when I have my breakfast on weekends or holidays. It's important to have some dedicated time for it. Everytime I open the code, I make sure there's some progress on the project before I close it.

What I have learned is to not think just do. As creatives with ambition it is easy to think and build in your head and that releases the same energy as if you built it already. If you have the plan, disposible income to make it happen or talent/skill to make it happen then just do it stop thinking. This mind shift was huge for me and helped me build out ideas quickly and sunset them quickly as well if needed. I recommend this mindshift for others also.

Truth... I wake up, and think "What would Sam Ovens do today on this mission?" then I get into the work

I always think about the importance of the side project to implement I usually spend 1 or 2 hours per day if I want to achieve the GOAL

Focusing on and developing a good atmosphere which will link u to achieve yours, work on play on and believe your self