#37 - Starting and Abandoning Side Projects

Apr 23, 2021

👋 Hello there, thank you for being here. This week I am sharing

✒ From My Blog
- Starting and Abandoning Side Projects
🌐 Interesting Reads from the Web
- Nature: The Secret That Makes Kids Happier, Healthier, Smarter
- Are you a taker, a giver, or a matcher?
💗 Favorite Twitter Finds
- Ali Abdaal’s top time management tips
- Bad and Good copywriting. Some amazing examples with pictures

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✒ From My Blog

Starting and Abandoning Side Projects

We all have tons of ideas. Most people forget them in a few minutes. Some write them down. Very few act on them. Why is that? I hear two reasons often. It’s either “I do not have time” or “I never finish what I start”.

“I do not have time”

If you fall into this camp, do not feel bad. You are not alone. One of the most common problems in the 21st century is “I do not have time”. The good news is, you can fix this.

It is not that we don’t have enough time. It just that, we waste most of it. So you ask, how can I fix this?

Well, there are many aspects to getting productive. But the first thing is knowing where your time goes. Try keeping a log of your day. Use a day planner and a time tracker to record your day. Analyze your logs after a week. You will be surprised with your findings. So much of our time is wasted on unproductive things without us knowing.

Keep a log. Prune unproductive tasks. Commit some of that time to your side projects.

“I never finish what I start”

You should never feel bad about not finishing something. A side project is like a book. You should not force yourself to complete a book. If you don’t finish a book, it is not your fault. It’s the author’s fault. Similarly, an abandoned side project is not your problem. It’s the idea that doesn’t deserve your time and effort anymore.

Give yourself permission to abandon a project. Move on to your next idea. In the end what matters is, you gave your ideas a try. If you keep doing this, you will eventually find something that is worth your time and effort.

A project like that can give you a new opportunity you would not have had otherwise. Who knows, you may find a new direction in life.

I had one such idea in 2018. I was sitting on it until January of this year when I started working on it. I don’t know If I will get any monetary benefit out of it. But it has given a new meaning to my work and career. It will change the way my colleagues work.

Did you know?

Craigslist was a side project.
Gmail was a side project.
KhanAcademy was a side project.
GitHub was a side project.
Now famous, the raised bed vegetable garden in my back yard is a side project

What’s that one idea you always wanted to try? Make time this weekend and do something about it. Shoot me an email(praveenrulz-at-gmail.com) and let me know how it went.

🌐 Interesting Reads from the Web

1. How Nature Makes Kids Calmer, Healthier, Smarter

Families who find ways to be outdoors together nurture not only their bodies, but their connection to all of life

2. Are you a taker, a giver, or a matcher?

Instead of an automatic behavior, choosing how we engage with friends and colleagues can be a conscious choice. Adam Grant explains: “Every time we interact with another person at work, we have a choice to make: do we try to claim as much value as we can, or contribute value without worrying about what we receive in return?”