The slippery slope of side projects
It all starts with an idea, instantly "validated" by a wave of excitement, and within seconds I'm registering a new domain name. I'm a sucker for side projects.
Side projects are great for many things, includingβ¦
Learning something new.
Scratching an itch.
Building your personal brand, which typically has significant professional implications.
Making some side money.
Serving as a creative outlet.
Side projects often lead to meaningful leaps in one's life and work. What is a hackathon other than a company-sponsored weekend-o-side-projects?
The issue I've seen in my own life is that the side projects unintentionally become a burden, or they pull my time and attention away from things where I could have a more significant impact.
At their worst, side projects serve as a negative enabler, distracting me β often giving me permission to distract myself β from things of greater significance or impact.
The Question
So what do I do when a new idea hits? Most of the time, nothing. Ideas are easy. The execution is the hard part.
Typically, I note the idea in my phone; I meditate on the idea over the following days. If the idea doesn't go on the "back burner" of my mind, then I'm probably developing a small obsession with this idea.
When I recognize that an obsession is budding, I ask myself the following question:
Do I really want to dedicate substantial time over the next five years to this side project, or am I hyper-fixating on that dopamine hit I get when I start something new and exciting?
So, what happens when I actually commit to a side project?
Atlanta Unicorns
As I type this, I'm four weeks removed from launching a small side project: AtlantaUnicorns.com
Over the 2021 Christmas holidays, I used breaks in the days and in the evenings to create a single-page hub that tracks the status of Atlanta's startup unicorns.
This site is a side project I felt comfortable committing to because, as someone excited about the growth of the Atlanta startups ecosystem, I wanted to ensure I was adequately aware of and able to follow the changes in the ecosystem.
Creating the site allowed me to ensure I had the proper tracking on Crunchbase to be alerted of new fundraising rounds (unicorn-related or otherwise).
With time being a key factor, the decision with the project was an easy one because I think the bulk of the time commitment was at the start. Given that a handful of Atlanta startups will achieve unicorns status each year, I likely won't need to update the site more than once every few weeks. If I need to update it more, that is awesome because the Atlanta startups ecosystem is on a steep, upward trajectory.
βI have my own AtlantaUnicorns.comβ
Got an idea that just wonβt keep its ass on the backburner? Awesome!
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