I seem to have a psychological problem with finishing my product.
I started a new project about 1 year ago, I expected to finish it in a few months. But it seems that didn't happen (I was learning some new things, trying to do pure coding, all the things I shouldn't be doing :)). Only now I'm almost done.
The idea for the product was to create a scheduler for small businesses (like dentistry, auto mechanics, etc.) where customers can easily schedule appointments. At first I thought I would create and offer this product in my small country (in Europe), but now I think maybe I'd better translate this product into English and make it international.
I already did all the coding, all that's left is to add the texts for the landing page and fix small UI issues. But I'm stuck, it looks like I'm trying to find more work that could still be done, just because I don't want to finish and provide publicly. Maybe because I don't have as much faith in the product now as I did in the beginning (I haven't done any validation and I don't have any clients). There is also a feeling that my product is not needed by anyone.
Now I don't know what to do, how to make myself finish the product or just forget about it and start a new one (smaller), but I also feel sorry for the wasted time.
Maybe you have a similar experience, what have you done?
ps. I'm a professional developer working full time for a corporate company. I've done 1 product with a small team before, but it wasn't successful.
This is the post I needed to read right now. Well, I'm reading it when I should be working on my project's shortlist. I found this thread because I'm frustrated with the same feelings and roaming IH to ask a similar question. While I can't speak for you directly and am not a doctor, I doubt it is ADHD!
I, too, am a professional developer of thirty-plus years. I'm productive and have never dealt with problems of finishing any work-related assignment. Now, I'm working on my first IH project and hitting mental roadblocks everywhere. All the while still getting things done on the job.
For years, I've felt like I missed the internet boat and finally found something I was interested in working on. Journal Ease is the journaling tool I've always wanted. But, now that it is working as envisioned and the finish line is near, I'm hesitating. I need to think about marketing, building in public, and finding a thousand true fans. I have no experience with any of this.
While implementing the application is a blast, it's what I know; publicizing and monetizing are entirely foreign to me. Oh, and it comes with a new threat of putting myself out there, and I can feel these things holding me back.
One other thought: There is much talk about MVP and iterative development in the IH world. They are essential but seem counter-intuitive to me, coming up through the Enterprise Development world where delivering partial solutions is a newer idea.
Thinking through this has helped me, so thanks for the post.
So, I am in rather similar situation.
When I see the motivation to finish drop it is a signal for me to commit to deep introspection. Take short walk around the block and without pressure explore your thoughts. Maybe you already know it is wasted, maybe you are just too perfectionist and afraid of the launch. Maybe you just enjoy the journey of creation and dreaming. It can be 100 different reasons and you already know it. Just need deep introspection to realize it.
To add another perspective; this is literally a recognized symptom of ADHD, see for example item 1 of this checklist: https://add.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/adhd-questionnaire-ASRS111.pdf
It might be worth exploring this venue for yourself, because if you do fall on this spectrum, there are a lot of specific strategies, hacks and coping mechanisms you could explore.
By the way, what is your project? If you want, you can post it here as kind of "soft launch", get some feedback and thus some motivation :)
I done the test, but result was fail, so looks like this is not the ADHD
I'd suggest hiring someone to help. Get a junior dev to come in and take direction. Build out the parts that you lose motivation on so you can focus on the bigger picture.
Probably now I don't need any dev, because code is done, only some texts is needed for landing page. But yes, I think I will hire some freelancer to do it.
The problem here I believe is that instead of completing one small cycle, you are focusing on covering more and more broader areas of your product and because of that the scope of your work keeps on increasing even before you have finished something.
As the scope increases, your work also increases which leads to many unknown things and possibly anxiety.
I would suggest you to reduce your scope and finish at least enough to get it out there by tomorrow. Just complete one small cycle of shipping, get it out there and await response from public.
I guess it was, but now all that's left to do is write some texts and shipping.