I’ve been programming for a long time, but I’ve always had a bad habit of losing motivation in the middle of a project (my own, that is).

I own 3 fantastic domains (lamptips.com/net/org, geeklan.com, onlytechnews.com/net/org) and all 3 of them have stagnated as far as projects go.

I know EXACTLY what I want to do with lamptips and I think it’d be a fun community project, but I don’t have the motivation to push forward with the project (it’s a simple wordpress blog right now with a few random tips posted). I hate working alone, too.

With any project I’ve been paid to work on, I’ve always had someone to work with which makes it easier to progress. Someone to bounce ideas off of, babble with and motivate one another.

Where do you find motivation? Who do you bounce ideas off of?

I’ve tried hunting around for 1 or 2 people that might enjoy a fun side project, but those that I find drop off the map real fast or just aren’t as interested as they claim to be (yet another downer when it comes to motivation).

Other problems extend to the fact that I can’t design with beans, so making a mock-up layout is next to impossible, short of stealing a template and mangling it completely.

Help me find motivation!

Are you interested in selling onlytechnews.com?

I also have another domain (mogbase.com) that has been sitting dormant for awhile. It started as a blog about Multiplayer Online Games with a “database” of information on every game that was covered (think the Crunchbase for TechCrunch).

Michael Wales - 15 May 2008 11:30 PM

Are you interested in selling onlytechnews.com?

I also have another domain (mogbase.com) that has been sitting dormant for awhile. It started as a blog about Multiplayer Online Games with a “database” of information on every game that was covered (think the Crunchbase for TechCrunch).

I’ve been tempted to sell OTN, just haven’t had any offers on it that actually followed through after their initial contact.

mogbase sounds like a fun domain to mess with (I’m a big MMOG junkie).

I’m easiest to catch via PM or via AIM/Yahoo (AIM:JeffyDMan, Y!: awpti)

I know exactly what you are saying here, its very difficult to keep momentum up when developing a project, especially when it’s your own… i have had many ideas (most of which have been then done by someone else and made a fortune out of)... for the first time i have finaly completed an app, completely in CI http://www.eagentlive.com/ but like you guys, i have lots of domain names but time / momentum are issues.

swanweb - 16 May 2008 03:56 PM

I know exactly what you are saying here, its very difficult to keep momentum up when developing a project, especially when it’s your own… i have had many ideas (most of which have been then done by someone else and made a fortune out of)... for the first time i have finaly completed an app, completely in CI http://www.eagentlive.com/ but like you guys, i have lots of domain names but time / momentum are issues.

What techniques did you use to push yourself to project completion?

I’ve tried everything from meditation, to music and more. All the M’s

Music is a big one for me (specifically dance music), and in a stange way tiredness, when im tired i start to get ‘in the zone’ i think it’s because i can only think about one thing at a time when im tired!!!

A big motivation for me on this particular project was getting someone involved, on this occasion i got an overseas property agent to be a tester, he wants this product for his business, so i had to get it done, like a client project, this worked well…

And if all else fails, then money has to be the next driving force…

A very good saying i once heard was “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” very good for motivation!!!!

I’ve always found that it’s good motivation to talk a lot about whatever you’re doing. Tell friends about it. Plug it on the CI forums. Link to it on some related blog posts or something.

For me, it works just because I know that some of those people might actually go check it out, and I don’t want it to be crappy when they get there. I get motivated just because I don’t want to embarrass myself.

I personally give myself deadlines. For example I promise to somebody that my project will be available on some date, then I try to stick to this. I am not always ready at the specific date, but at least I’ve moved the project forward.

The only motivation that you need is belief.
If u don’t believe in success of the project nothing can motivate you to complete it well.

I am the same way, tons of domains, with tons of ideas with no clue where to start. None of my close friends are coders/designers of the sort. I get home late from work with little motivation to start anything new, I find myself playing the same old pc games before I hit the sack for another day of work and/or school…

Well, not that I do it. But it seems to me that a planning and organizing thing is the issue. Putting it down on paper and working the list. When you know what needs to be done exactly, it helps.

Maybe you guys already do it but it probably is good to make inventory of what needs to be done in small meaning full words and expand some anyhow you like.

Maybe the problem is that it is all in the head, and that is more difficult when progress is made and there are more loose ends.

I am not your nanny but thanks for making me sound like one….

Ow and as for graphics. Just listen to inari. Why can’t you use a graphics computer program? Because it has the words graphics in it?

Naw, because I’m horrible at design, but have an eye for good design.

I just don’t have the knowledge of how to use said programs. You can’t just “use a graphics program”. You have to know how it works to get what you want. That’s a whole different thing I have to learn and simply don’t have time for due to work and my kid.

Hardly have time as it is to code   (I do most of my code while at work on breaks/slow times)

A stupid man said once: the only thing you have is time, you just control what you spend it on…

So maybe you need to do a nice long holliday…

easymind - 17 May 2008 07:05 AM

A stupid man said once: the only thing you have is time, you just control what you spend it on…

So maybe you need to do a nice long holliday…

I oftentimes find that a week or so without doing any coding at all helps to recharge the batteries.

Idon’t know how many of us are working on long terms project, i think at first, you have to enjoy what you do.

I also think that you have to take time to be good, and use the good technology, make things easier indeed.

Also with the “extreme deveoppment” philosophy, find your self someone to talk when you work, explain what you do, keep the small team motivated.

AND

have a balanced life work isn’t all.

see ya around guys.

All good comments here.

I find motivation in the success of achieving my goals. So my mission is to be successful in order to stay motivated. To be successful I must achieve my goals.

- Think positive
The glass is half-full. I get motivated not by how far I have to go, but by how far I’ve come.

- Talk to anyone
So most of your friends aren’t coders. Welcome to the club. I talk to my friends about my ideas anyway. I talk to my wife and kids about it. Many of them don’t really have a clue what I’m talking about. But they are my friends and family nonetheless and there’s no question that they like to see me succeed. So they will listen, ask questions and often even tell me how something sounds like a great idea or that they’re proud of an achievement. No better motivation for me than being the [conquering] hero.

- Get it done
The road to world-domination is a long and windy one. Set realistic, achievable goals. Breaking projects down into smaller, achievable chunks rewards me by being able to take things ‘off the list’. I need to make progress everyday. My biggest motivation killer is the feeling of not getting anything done. If I can’t attribute it to un-controllable events, I know I set my goals too high for that day and subsequently adjust.

For web-development in particular I found this booklet to be and extremely useful resource:
https://gettingreal.37signals.com/

Cheers!