Stay motivated with 8 tips for indie hackers working on side projects

1. Start with Why

In the book “Start with Why” Simon Sinek describes two main ways to influence human behavior: manipulation and inspiration. He explains that inspiration is the more powerful and sustainable of the two. It's crucial to have a strong "Why" when working on your side project during nights and weekends. This helps you stay motivated. Especially on days when you may not feel like working on it or when tackling challenging tasks requires stepping out of your comfort zone.

Take a moment to sit in an empty room. Consider why you want to build this and reflect on the reasons behind your desire to create something on your own. My “why” it’s freedom. I want to have the freedom to build what I want, how I want, also it’s financial freedom that I can have if when I succeed.

2. Treat it not just as a “side project”.

To successfully complete your project, you must take it seriously and change your mindset. You should not consider it as just another side project but as your main activity. If you have a job to cover your bills and work on your project during nights and weekends, you must treat it with respect. This is essential if you aim to turn it into your main source of income.

This means that even if you can only devote four hours a week to it, those four hours should be scheduled and used effectively. Don't push them out for other work. Plan ahead of time what you will do in that time, so you don't start procrastinating when you sit down to work. Consider your day as an activity that sustains you while you work towards turning your project into a full-time job.

3. Break it down into manageable chunk

I think you've heard this tip many times but it is always important to remember. Define one most important things that should do your app to solve a customer's problem. Break it down into manageable tasks. Put a date on them. Make sure however that the dates are achievable, there is no better way to become demotivated than to constantly feel you are falling behind. Build an MVP and put it in front of users.

4. Getting your project in front of other people can be a real help

Talking to users is not just about gathering feedback for your product and understanding their needs to build what they want. It’s also about motivation. And there's no better source of motivation than users who actually use your product.

5. Track your progress

Visibly tracking your goals allows you to see how far you've come and how close you are to reaching your goal. This can be a great motivator to keep going.

If you are a developer you know about the GitHub contribution calendar and how it feels to have a lot of dark-green days. But what to do when you spend all day on research for your product or work on marketing? The solution could be to create a “work-log.md” file to commit every no-coding task you did so you won't lose your streak of green days even if you have marketing week.

6. Journaling

Building in solo products it’s hard and stressful. You can often feel overwhelmed with all the tasks you need to do to build a successful product. One thing that can help you to manage anxiety and reduce stress is journaling. Journaling helps you prioritize problems, fears, and concerns.

Start simple just with two questions: What did I accomplish today? What did I struggle with today? Set aside a few minutes every day to write. This will help you to write in your journal regularly. Keeping a journal helps you create order when your world feels like it’s in chaos and building products from 0 is chaos.

7. I don't beat yourself up too long or hard about screwing up.

We are all human and it's okay to make mistakes. Taking a break for a day or two is acceptable as long as you return and continue.

Some people have an impressive "longest streak" on GitHub of 365 days or more, but don't let that discourage you. If you miss a day, it's natural to feel guilty, but it's important to come back as soon as possible. Taking a break for a week or two can make it harder to return, so it's best to come back as soon as you can.

8. Find an accountability partner or community

An accountability partner is someone who helps you stay on track while you work toward achieving your personal goals. In our case, it’s a person who will help you to ship your project and stay motivated. You can be accountable without a partner by building in public but it’s not for everyone. Some are too shy to share their work publicly others don’t want to do it because it may cause problems at their day jobs.

I have encountered this problem, so I decided to create a platform and community that will help you stay motivated and prevent you from abandoning your project.

What are your tips to stay motivated?