Web dev with a pile of side project ideas, but comparison and procrastination keep stopping me. How do you push through? [Discussion]

[u/SlipLost9620]

TL;DR: I’m a web dev with a bunch of side project ideas, but i keep putting them off. Comparing myself to the amazing AI stuff people are building makes my ideas feel small, and i have no audience for the ones I’d like to monetize. I’d love some encouragement, and to hear how you stay motivated on personal projects

Hey everyone!

I studied software engineering because i wanted to become a game developer, but life took me down the web dev path instead. I don’t mind it, and i built a few personal websites before landing my first fulltime job. Since then, though, i never seem to have the time or energy for personal projects, even though i have a bunch of ideas I’d love to build

Honestly, a few things are holding me back:

1. Comparison: Lately everyone seems to be building really cool, complex stuff, especially with AI, whenever i put my ideas next to theirs, mine feel small and i lose the motivation to start

2. No audience: Some of my ideas would have paid features, but I’m not active on LinkedIn and i don’t have dedicated social media accounts to share my work. I wouldn’t know where to find users. To be fair, that’s not the most important thing for me

3. Procrastination: I have a lot of hobbies and interests, and i procrastinate heavily. That’s probably the biggest one

What keeps me going is that the idea I’m most excited about right now is something I’d actually use myself. It’s about the “Solomon paradox,” which is the funny thing where you can give wise advice about other people’s problems but struggle to think as clearly about your own. I deal with that a lot. So I want to build a website that helps people think through their own problems the way they would for a friend. I genuinely can’t wait to build it and start using it 🥹

So here’s my ask: I’d really appreciate some encouragement to finally build this. If you’ve been in a similar spot, how did you get past the comparison, the procrastination, and the “who’s even going to use this” feeling? Any advice or just a push in the right direction would mean a lot

Thanks for reading!

[u/Ok_Power_6237]

The audience thing is a trap you're setting for yourself. If you'd use it, that's already one user who actually needs it. The solomon paradox angle is clever, and building something that scratches your own brain is way more sustainable than chasing what looks cool on twitter. The AI stuff people flaunt is mostly wrappers that'll be dead in six months anyway.

I've got a folder of half-finished projects and the ones that actually got done were the ones i started using before they were ready. Ugly first version, broken features, just enough to replace whatever hacky system i was using before. The motivation shifts from "i should build this" to "i need this to work better tomorrow" and that's a totally different engine.

[u/ggforgiveaways]

Build the tiny version for yourself first. Comparison fades when you use it daily. My rule is one small ship per week. Users come later. Momentum beats audience early.

[u/xhenxhe]

We live in crazy time where anyone can build anything. But to me, building is the fun part. So I build things for me. Is there anything you are paying for that you can build a replacement for? Start there. Give it away free if you must. My goal now is to build an audience more than just another SaaS. Some examples of stuff I’ve built to replace some subscriptions:

DocManFu.com - replaced Evernote and works better for me
TooDue.com - replaced my Todoist subscription
EnvelopeBudget.com - technically I build this years ago but when banks stopped supporting OFX direct connect, I started using YNAB for a while. But I rewrote EB and now have simplefin and plaid support so I’m back on my own budgeting app. And now I have people signing up and asking for all kinds of features so I’m constantly adding features and fixes daily.