Ask HN: How do you get past the intellectual curiosity phase?

6 pointsnos4A213y ago2 comments

Usually when I am initially starting out a hobby project (an app or a tool) there is a great enthusiasm initially to learn something, but once I “figure out” the core of the problem (mental dialogue “so this piece fits here to do this, and if I extend this with some more polish it will work this way”) and can extend the idea mentally to completion, interest immediately drops leading to an unfinished project. How does one force\motivate themselves to implement the small things to finish projects?

2 comments

2 comments · 2 top-level

trapexit13y ago

Why is it a problem that the project is unfinished?

If you really needed the tool, wouldn't you still be feeling the pain, which would presumably give you the incentive to finish it?

Maybe you just wanted the learning experience, not the finished project. I've started (and abandoned) scores of projects over the years. Some of them went nowhere. One of them actually turned out to be useful to some people even in its unfinished state, and became an active open source project that I have no involvement with. I don't feel bad about any of this.

kghose13y ago

I have this too. I think the trick is to pick a problem that you want to see solved (rather than just find interesting in its own right).

But I would not fret too much about this: everyone's lives are filled with unfinished projects. Just figure out which ones are important and finish them.

Alternatiely, no project is ever finished, some are less incomplete than others.

For me, the patience and discipline to finish things is gradually growing with the passage of time.

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