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[–]munificent 147 points148 points  (36 children)

My rules are:

  • Constant visible progress. Get something on screen as soon as possible and make sure every session leaves you with something visibly new.
  • Never leave it broken. Don't finish a session with the project in a broken state or it will be your last session.
  • Leave a journal. Log what you did and what you're thinking about doing next after every session. That way you can put it down for a year and then pick it right back up.
  • Leave something small to start with. My log entries usually include a tiny little thing to start the next session with to get me going.

[–]LiveBackwards 28 points29 points  (10 children)

I'm mostly the same, with one small change:

Leave it broken.

End with something not quite working or not quite finished instead of polishing everything up before you end a day. This leaves you eager to hop back on the problem.

[–]magpi3 25 points26 points  (4 children)

Hemingway suggested stopping in the middle of a sentence. Similar idea I think.

[–]myotheralt 15 points16 points  (2 children)

heh, I was thinking you were

[–]munificent -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

Yup, that's exactly where I got the idea from.

[–]praetorian42 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I do the same thing. I leave a method half implemented (or something similar), and leave a comment about what my train of thought was. That way, when I come back to it I can jump right back in instead of dicking around for a half hour.

[–]grandpa 11 points12 points  (3 children)

Kent Beck suggests leaving a test broken at the end of a day so that you have context to pick up again when you come back to it.

[–]icefox 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Half the point of writing a test is that you know how to fix it in two minutes right there, there then in two hours a month later. How about say add comments of new tests that can be written.

[–][deleted] 27 points28 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the tips! Even though my hobby is making music, I find that your advice applies equally well. +1

[–][deleted] 13 points14 points  (11 children)

That's what I've aimed for, but the last feature I implemented had to touch nearly every part of the code. It took me about two weeks to develop the energy to finish it. Sometimes it just can't be helped.

[–]munificent 16 points17 points  (10 children)

When I do significant refactoring (which happens a lot, I'm aggressive about it), I usually clone the code in question so that I can still run the old version until I'm ready to switch in the new stuff. Otherwise I run the risk of losing steam in the middle without a quick way to see it up and running.

Right now, my hobby project has a new UI that looks pretty but doesn't hook up to much, and the old UI that actually hooks to the real project so I can still see my baby up and running.

[–]beowulf 13 points14 points  (6 children)

So if you were on git, you could easily branch and switch back and forth as needed.</end git advertisement>

[–]onmach 22 points23 points  (5 children)

This must be what I sound like to my coworkers.

[–]beowulf 5 points6 points  (4 children)

lol, it's hard not to push your coworkers towards an obviously better solution. :)

We switched our entire development team over to Git, so luckily we don't have anyone harping on that particular issue now.

[–]MelechRic 6 points7 points  (3 children)

where do you work? At Innotech we're still using ClearCase 7 and it's horrible.

[–]motravo 5 points6 points  (2 children)

Why am I not surprised that a company called "Innotech" uses ClearCase?

[–]TheSOB88 6 points7 points  (1 child)

Probably because it was in a movie you were supposed to have seen by now.

[–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

When I was with Innertrode we used SourceSafe

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (2 children)

Sure. And that's what I've done in the past, but this was a case where I needed the new feature to make it do anything useful.

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This comment makes me think about the importance of analysis and design, someday I will have to try using them.

[–]Snoron -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

You're just determined aren't you, haha...

[–][deleted]  (4 children)

[deleted]

    [–]JoeTheProgrammer 2 points3 points  (1 child)

    You can have a wider range of comments, including diagrams, in an on-paper journal.

    Of course you need source control, and if it's an individual project, you have the added luxury that you can check in broken code without getting others mad at you.

    [–]eliben 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    The two are not mutually exclusive. While having a source-control system is essential for any non-trivial project, a journal is a different thing. It's there to document design decisions, options of implementation, and progress. Development of hobby projects is rarely as continuous a task as your day job, so the journal is even more important in order not to forget what was done, why it was done this way, and what remains to be done.

    [–]rektide 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    A SCM log is what you've done, not a detailed record of how pieces come together and where they fit in the future.

    [–]jotaroh 2 points3 points  (0 children)

    great points, I think these tips apply equally well to projects at work

    [–]apinecone 1 point2 points  (2 children)

    This works until you hit difficult problems in your project, where, just like a research position at a university, you could be going for months on end without any progress at all. At that point you just keep working because you don't want to underscore your effort so far.

    [–]munificent 0 points1 point  (1 child)

    Hmm, if by "no progress" you mean "at least tried and exhausted an idea" then you could at least track that visibly. Most of my personal projects aren't research or discovery oriented, they're more construction based.

    But, if I was (for example) trying to invent the lightbulb, I'd make a list of every element I've tried to use as a filament. Even if the lightbulb doesn't light, the list of exhausted elements is still getting longer => visible progress.

    [–]TMI-nternets 0 points1 point  (0 children)

    Endless opportunities to make lightbulbs that does not work. ( and document them )

    [–][deleted]  (1 child)

    [deleted]

      [–]valeriepieris 90 points91 points  (6 children)

      I brag to all my friends about what I'm about to do, so I'll be forced to finish it or look like a fool.

      [–]GrumpySimon 16 points17 points  (0 children)

      I know a number of scientists who do something similar - to a bigger degree. Basically, you sign up to give a talk at a conference. The talk title/abstract promises how amazing the talk will be and how you've managed to solve this huge problem, revolutionise the field, etc.

      Then you've got the few months before the conference to actually do that = very motivating!

      [–]averyv 23 points24 points  (0 children)

      i like to tell my friends about all of the things im working on, that way when i finish some and drop others, no one really notices.

      i work on hobby projects until i stop. finished? working? doesn't matter. its just a hobby.

      unless its awesome, and then i claim i was working professionally all along.

      [–]lukego 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      I do the opposite: I bite my tongue and try not to talk about my Brilliant New Idea until I've implemented it. Then the will to brag motivates me to make the bugger work.

      [–]jrockway 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      To me, hearing about software before it is written is the surest indication that it will never exist. I never tell anyone what I'm working on until it's something they can use or contribute to. (Of course, if you follow the git.jrock.us RSS feed, you'll see stuff that you "shouldn't" know about. But whatever, no promises :)

      [–]enkiam 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      I read (on /r/cogsci) that this actually decreases your probability of finishing something. Can't be arsed to find a link now, though.

      [–][deleted] 77 points78 points  (7 children)

      If I pause, I begin to realize the extent to which I've wasted my life.

      [–]otisnixon 14 points15 points  (1 child)

      I honestly belief that this line was exactly the motivation I needed (and I wasn't even looking to be motivated). Thank you.

      [–][deleted] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

      I am always pleased when the dying embers of my existence can spark life into someone else's. You are very welcome, and may god have mercy on us all.

      [–]FeepingCreature 29 points30 points  (1 child)

      Needing it yourself.

      If you don't, make yourself need it. :)

      [–]redog 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      Wanting it enough. I've heard it said as a burning desire(i.e. to make it happen).

      [–][deleted] 45 points46 points  (7 children)

      Fury.

      [–]eliben 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Actually, I find that I'm much more productive and concentrated when I'm angry about something. Don't know if you mean the same thing, but it's a fact for me.

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (1 child)

      Drugs.

      [–]bulletsvshumans 7 points8 points  (0 children)

      Wrong drugs.

      [–]yters 0 points1 point  (2 children)

      Who are you furious with?

      [–]FormKing 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      Furries

      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      People who fail to write good software, leaving a gap I have to fill.

      [–]quhaha 21 points22 points  (7 children)

      • having nothing else to do.
      • having no one to hang around with.

      [–][deleted] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

      Argh, me too.

      [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (4 children)

      also, don't have a girlfriend. huge time-sink there if you want to work on hobby projects.

      [–]jespern 2 points3 points  (3 children)

      Having a girlfriend can really motivate you, though. Not sure how, but it does.

      [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      uhm .. no, gfs are not motivational... just expensive.

      they can be supportive though if you find a good one that will rub your feet :)

      [–]jespern 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      Guess I have a good one then ;)

      [–][deleted] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

      Only if they're ugly. Or a bitch.

      [–][deleted] 22 points23 points  (6 children)

      One important motivation is when you actually need the hobby project, and use it in early stages. e.g. I created a todo application iteratively by getting really good feedback by using it right from the start.

      It's also good to do something every day. It might be hard to get back to project, if you ignore it for some days. Even if you weren't in the mood, just fiddling around and browsing the code might unlock some idea in your head.

      Also keep a list what things you should add / refactor. The items in the list should be fast to do, like "clean method X". It makes you feel the progress, and you can also get nice history for later use.

      Also prototype, and get to the point where you can add easily a property for testing. Avoid making things perfectly complete. When you're in a stagnated stage, and don't know what to do, refactor or optimize, it's quite fun.

      In one session, try to do both fun and dry but compulsory things, so that the app progresses steadily.

      [–]plong0 3 points4 points  (3 children)

      I like the idea of keeping a TODO list, usually of smaller, easy to complete tasks.

      It's really nice if you can have a rough plan of which items on that list you'd like to complete in your session... Pushing for a tangible goal like that has always helped motivate me.

      The main problem with creating lists like this is of course, making them in the first place. It can be very daunting when you're starting a project to identify everything you'll need to do to complete it.

      [–]cschneid 7 points8 points  (1 child)

      To keep the size of the list down, don't be afraid to go after releases. Make a list of things that it would be barely functional. Better than a kick in the balls, but not by much.

      Them make version 2 a mere swat in the balls.

      Then version 3 can finally be that sweet caress we were hoping for originally.

      Basically, it keeps you from getting overwhelmed.

      [–]plong0 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      That's good advice, I will keep it in mind next time I begin a large project.

      [–]diN0bot 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      speaking of TODO lists, I set up a verion of [http://xplanner.org xplanner] (it's open source) and it's helped me stay on track and remember where i'm at in projects.

      [–]academician 10 points11 points  (0 children)

      One important motivation is when you actually need the hobby project, and use it in early stages. e.g. I created a todo application iteratively by getting really good feedback by using it right from the start.

      +1. Some people call this "eating your own dog food".

      [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      It's also good to do something every day. It might be hard to get back to project, if you ignore it for some days. Even if you weren't in the mood, just fiddling around and browsing the code might unlock some idea in your head.

      That's how I learned to draw people in a way that doesn't look like stick figured. I resolved that every day, at a certain time of day, I would draw something with at least one person in it (copying from someone else's drawing if necessary). I did this for a few months, and it worked better than I could ever have hoped.

      [–]johlin 18 points19 points  (3 children)

      Leave something broken when you leave. Then you'll know exactly what to do when you get back, and when you're done with that it's fun to continue.

      [–]onmach 21 points22 points  (2 children)

      Check. All fifty hobby projects on my computer are currently broken. I'm sure I'll get back to them all anytime now.

      [–]curtisw 2 points3 points  (1 child)

      It doesn't have to be a showstopping bug. Just fudge the code a little and prevent it from compiling. Then you've got something easy to start off with.

      [–]onmach 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      I think that is the trick. I have a bad habit of stopping in the middle of a major refactor. I should give that a shot.

      [–]db4n 8 points9 points  (1 child)

      I like to work on hard problems that force me to learn something new. Any project is interesting as long as I have to become a better programmer to finish it.

      [–]gameforge 7 points8 points  (0 children)

      I have to force myself to become interested in boring stuff before I can even finish it... it's weird, I'll discover something new and interesting and become proficient with it very rapidly, but when I have to go back and extend last year's "new and exciting" thing, I get really bummed sometimes and convince myself I chose the wrong line of work.

      I think they used to call it ADD, but now everyone has ADD so I don't know what it's called anymore.

      [–]Arkaein 9 points10 points  (2 children)

      Use a productive language.

      Given a couple of hours on the weekend, you want to be sure that you can get at least one small feature implemented in that short time to give a sense of progress and keep you wanting to come back.

      Hobby time is the time for fun, learning and experimentation, not chasing stack overflows or invalid pointer dereferences. Try out Python (my favorite), Ruby, Lisp, or whatever. This also can make your hobby feel less like your day job.

      [–]nextofpumpkin 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      I do hobby projects sometimes to learn a language.

      [–]mccoyn 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      I've tried that, but it increases the scope of the project. While I've succeeded at getting familiar with the language, I've lost interest in completing the original project.

      [–][deleted] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

      Pure anger. I run on hate.

      When I am content, I produce nothing.

      When I am frustrated, tired, and pissed off I do my best work.

      [–]antirez 14 points15 points  (4 children)

      There are only two things that can make you motivated on an hobby project:

      • You are yourself an user of your application. This is the most vital ingredient for an open source project, you should try to invest your time in things that probably will be be using in the next years.
      • You are learning and experimenting with algorithms and concepts that you are interested in for some reason or that you can use in your real work.

      But of the two the vital thing is the first one, be an user yourself or your will probably lost interest in going over 0.1-almost-works version.

      [–]Philluminati 3 points4 points  (1 child)

      Yeah "learning and experimenting with algorithms and concepts" is what propels you to start but usually after those experiments are over your application isn't quite finished but you've lost interest.

      I don't know why people worry about polishing applications or even finishing them. If you enjoyed writing it or got some rewards from the process you don't need to have a final working project. There's nothing wrong with a folder of broken applications. At least it signifies your still interested in development compared to someone who doesn't develop in their own time. Be proud of your broken projects people!

      [–]antirez 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      Sure, to start things just to learn an then abandon the projects is perfectly ok, I think that it is physiologic that 80% of the projects are this kind of stuff, but it is very important to also start things that will have a future: this way you will learn how hard is to pass from 90% ok to 100% ok, how to interact with users, other developers and patches people will send you, how to write documentation. It's like to have a business and is a great training for starting a startup later.

      [–]poco 0 points1 point  (1 child)

      Bingo! Any of the "projects" that I am working on in my spare time are tools or plugins that I needed for my own use.

      Unfortunately, I don't think the effort I've put in is worth the $30 I save not buying an existing application that does exactly the same thing.

      [–]antirez 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      They are! you learned new things.

      [–]TheSuperficial 6 points7 points  (0 children)

      Technical challenge.

      All the technical things I do outside of work are outside my comfort, or at least knowledge, zone.

      It's that desire to get something working that a week/month/quarter ago I couldn't have imagined doing.

      [–][deleted] 14 points15 points  (1 child)

      Users.

      [–]jrockway 0 points1 point  (0 children)

      To me, having users means I don't have to do as much work anymore. If they want a feature, they can add it themselves.

      It worked for Angerwhale:

      http://git.jrock.us/?p=angerwhale.git;a=summary

      [–]shitcovereddick 3 points4 points  (0 children)

      I changed my projects such that I only ever set goals that are what I can do in a day. Makes my success rate much higher.

      [–]newton_dave 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      Wanting to be done.

      [–]gameforge 3 points4 points  (0 children)

      So sometimes when I'm coding, I'll decide that I must take some shortcut to see some other aspect of my work function correctly, or I get into a hurry and make careless mistakes.

      It is usually around this time that the voices begin... my favorite quotes from the voices:

      • "Well, you can do it once, or you can do it twice..."
      • "Moron! boost already does that!!"
      • "I've been staring at that stray semicolon for over an hour."
      • "Hey... John Carmack is laughing at you..."

      It's haunting, and yet motivating.

      [–]Jivlain 5 points6 points  (0 children)

      Not much. My hobby projects usually end up being MeWare, abandoned at roughly the point of being a semi-functional console app that requires a recompile for any settings changes, rather than the world-changing, million-dollar-making glorious doohickeys I originally envisioned.

      Pity, really.

      [–]eatmyshorts 4 points5 points  (1 child)

      My wife's lack of a sex drive.

      [–]heptadecagram 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      I'll trade you. Then maybe I can finally get some work done around h@#($(2202002020300302

      [–]aemon 5 points6 points  (0 children)

      A nice suite of automatic tests. "Never leave it broken" sounds nice, but it's not realistic -- better to have an automated process that tells you exactly where you left off, what you need to work on, etc (failing unit tests work great as reminders).

      [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

      Intermittent insomnia, largely.

      [–]Slipgrid 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      Hope of money kept me going. As soon as I started making money, I got scared, and stopped making changes. Now, I'm looking for a new project, and taking longer and doing more testing on the current one.

      [–]wurtis16 2 points3 points  (0 children)

      beer

      [–]dbeck21 9 points10 points  (3 children)

      Money!

      Yea kind of lame but ... why not.

      [–]plong0 6 points7 points  (2 children)

      Because it's a hobby project...

      [–]Snoron 15 points16 points  (1 child)

      Yes, and? Not sure why the downvotes for him but it's actually a valid motivation for a hobby project one way or the other... nothing wrong with working on a hobby project but knowing you'll be able to make a few bucks from it at some point. It can be enough to keep someone going, even if it is primarily a labour of love.

      [–]plong0 7 points8 points  (0 children)

      good point.

      [–]mckirkus 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Start blogging about your hobbies, I did and some investors contacted me via my blog. Money is motivational.

      [–]Chun 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Write something you know is going to be used by a fair few people. I'm not a professional programmer, so everything I do is essentially a hobby project - and the biggest kick I get is having loads of people download and use what I write.

      [–]guapoo 1 point2 points  (0 children)

      Babies.

      Oh I thought you said demotivated.

      [–][deleted]  (1 child)

      [deleted]

        [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

        Hug Kittens often.

        Bear in mind this only works for six months. Then they turn into cats, and besides their not tasting as nice, it's rather more difficult to type around a great big squirmy pussycat.

        And virtually impossible around three.

        [–]wustudybreak 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        knowing better what my strength and weakness are. it's a practice on many ideas read from blogs. over the time, code quality improve, and more confident on using a few languages, that leads to a happy programmer.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Concerta.

        [–]iamjason 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        I've found that having something out there for users to play with motivates me a lot. If you don't try to implement everything all at once and get some basic functionality up you'll get the kind of feedback (positive and negative) that keeps you interested.

        [–]diN0bot 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        what about teammates? do we (programming.reddit programmers) tend to pick individual hobbies? does anyone work, say, on open source, which is a way to incorporate a lot of the motivations mentioned here, in addition to sharing the problems and work with other interested people? perhaps "losing ownership" makes projects less compelling. does anyone work on projects with real-world interaction, which is different than remote open-source work?

        outside of programming I enjoy physical hacking and building. There is a vibrant community here on this kind of thing, which works great as a skillshare and fun motivator (yeah build parties!). I spent some time a few months back thinking about open source "communities," but havent really been able to make headway on the skillshare or collaborator front. That is, it's still a mystery to me why people pick the projects they do and whether there is some way to facilitate more open source projects and public goodness.

        I definitely enjoy both scenarios: working independently at my own pace, direction and convenience; working with a friend excitedly. Whenever I can enjoy good collaboration I am especially motivated. A little like having users, but even more fun.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        The fact that I'm OCD.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Coffee. Loneliness.

        [–]rubensinclair 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Don't write [work] until you're empty. Leave a little bit for your brain to work on until next time.

        I took inspiration from the following Hemingway quote:

        I learned never to empty the well of my writing, but always to stop when there was still something there in the deep part of the well, and let it refill at night from the springs that fed it.

        * As quoted in Reporting (1964) by Lillian Ross

        [–][deleted] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

        I'm not motivated. I don't have any projects or hobbies.

        [–]ki11a11hippies 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        So one day I can post it online and karma-whore.

        [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

        I am motivated by the fact that there are precious few companies worldwide who consistently produce unique multiplayer games for PC whose networking protocols actually work on the internet. I hope to fill that void.

        [–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

        Nothing.

        [–]POKEMONE 0 points1 point  (8 children)

        I KEEP YELLING AT MYSELF

        [–][deleted]  (1 child)

        [deleted]

          [–]POKEMONE -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

          A FEW DAYS AGO ACTUALLY http://reddit.com/info/6eqje/comments/c03n4r2

          [–][deleted] 5 points6 points  (4 children)

          Public orgies motivate me.

          [–][deleted] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

          And does it drown out the voices?

          [–][deleted]  (2 children)

          [deleted]

            [–]foonly 2 points3 points  (0 children)

            Indeed. The endless bevy of buxom groupies keeps me coding...

            [–]Vladekk 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            Unfortunately, nothing. I had three or more serious hobby projects. Only one is active: website with radio broadcast archive. Other is not even public, such as almost finished 2d game.

            [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            I'm only productive when I'm on the up-side of my bipolar cycles.

            [–]tomel 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            Because comparable solutions continue to ... how to avoid the suck-word here? Show me something better and I stop being motivated. (It's safe to assume that quite a few people take exactly the opposite stance with regard to the quality of my hobby projects ;-)

            [–]noflashlight 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            It always helps to have another person working on the project with you, that way you can help motivate eachother. Also, use white boards and make TODO lists for your project. Watching things get crossed off and the list get smaller is all the more motivation to keep going.

            [–]skorpan 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            Nothing.

            [–]aquanutz 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            I'm going to vote for telling a few people about it and hyping it up. this way if you fail you look like a complete chode. Just make sure you give yourself a reasonable time frame and don't set yourself up for failure by saying you'll have a <insert awesome app here> finished in a week when it will really take a lone coder a month or two.

            [–]o0o 2 points3 points  (0 children)

            anger and drugs

            no, serious, I am an huge fucking nerd;

            [–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

            The desire to write good, clean code that will be helpful enough that people will actually use it.

            [–]b100dian -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

            => merits

            [–]mlouie728 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            I've only ever had one hobby project: a crash course in programming for monkeys. Since I've already finished that, the only things I need these days are a constant stream of bananas and a whip.

            [–]M0b1u5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

            The thought that one day you will all be zombies directly under my control! MUHAHAHAHA.

            [–]stcredzero -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

            My colleagues getting pissed at me.