Side projects are where the passion is.
A few years ago, I learned how to make side projects a reality, by following my passion.
It was Minecraft. Up to that point, I would sometimes get excited about building something on the side, but I never had it stick. I set up landing pages, I started coding projects, I even created an LLC one time.
But I never got much further than that.
Then, one Christmas, my sons received Minecraft from Santa Claus.
And I fell in love with the game. But not as a gamer, as a hobbyist.
Sure, I played for a while as a gamer. But my passion came from building, and I went on to start, and actually finish, some meaningful projects.
I built a mod. I built a kingdom. I built a village. I built another mod. And I stuck with them until they were “done” in some sense.
I hadn’t ever done that outside of work. Despite wanting to. Or at least thinking I wanted to.
I learned some important lessons along the way, and integrated those into my daily planning systems.
First, you must have daily habits. Don’t break the chain. Everything below this depends on daily habits.
Second, you must have tools that keep you moving forward, and keep you from sabotaging yourself.
Third, you must define done. It’s ok if the definition evolves and changes over time, but you need to know the next milestone.
Fourth, you must balance your side project with the rest of your life. Work/life balance is an incomplete picture.
Fifth, you must make progress daily. No excuses. No exceptions. The progress can be almost miniscule, but it must happen.
I’m building Cue to codify some of these ideas into a tool that works for you. That makes your dream of a side project a possibility, a probability, and finally a reality.
You will use it daily to plan your life, including work on your side project. You will use it to define done. To balance your life. To keep moving forward. To build healthy habits.
I’m using Cue each day to make Cue itself a reality. One that you can use.
Check it out.