“I try to procrastinate, if I can, productively, like I’ll work on something else as procrastination. Or I take a walk. Because often I find, if you get out, more things come to you.”
– Noah Baumbach

I tend to not finish a lot of projects I start.
In the course of the last few months I’ve started on building multiple frameworks, creating a web based game, creating a code snippet platform and maintaining finished projects.
But like many others, I happen to lose interest over time and jump to a different project, rather than finishing what I have in front of me.
This doesn’t have to be a bad thing, if it wasn’t for the fact that 75% of those projects will never be touched again…

You mean like how you haven’t written anything in almost a year now?
Or how you have yet to add some recent projects to your portfolio?
Was it the Zelda poster you finally reattached to the wall?
Or perhaps how it took you over a YEAR to finally start some work on your garden?
Should I go on?

No… I get your point.

You should… We’re still the same person!

I must say, I have been slacking on computer/internet related projects because I wanted to spend less time behind my computer.
After 8 hours of work, I’d much rather get home, eat and watch a movie, than fire up my monstrosity of a computer and do more programming.
Which sometimes bothers me as well since I love working on some of my private projects.
But that would mean I’d have to work on those in the weekends. Only adding more hours I spend on development rather than socializing.
Another reason for my slacking is that I lack the motivation from time to time.
Not being able to see why I would finish something.

I can completely understand your reason for not wanting to do more developing through the week because of your job.
But then again, weren’t your private projects a great source of learning new stuff?

It was, but with the new job and all, I’m already learning way more than I would have hoped when I began.
Which is good by itself, but not really a great motivator for continuing my private projects for now.

Fair enough, but why would developing stop you from socializing?
Wasn’t the entire idea behind .Root to build a (small) developing community that could exchange code snippets?
And to get in contact with more developers which share the same interest as you?

It was, but it never got past the testing stages, let alone stand that it got a proper testing/beating.
I got around to poking some people about contributing, but we never actually got around to putting some feedback together.
Which is also something that can take your motivation away.

Reasonable, but in this case we both know that it’s not an excuse to use.
Poke more people, throw it in public channels and make regular backups in case things DO break down and stuff.
You know it’s the best way to test something.
And once you have enough feedback, you can use that to improve the system and collect more feedback!
That’s how you grow and improve yourself as well.

That is true and completely in line with the quote of this post.
You procrastinate by working on a different while waiting on something or as a distraction.
It’s a great way of being able to look at the project with a fresh look once you do get motivated to work on it.

Hey, that might be a great topic for our next conversation!

Dang… it sure might be…