Do the Thing!

Information about the Side Projects Club and how to focus and make progress on your side projects.

Transcript

1. Do the Thing! How to Stop Procrastinating on Your Side Projects By Cara Heacock
2. About Me • Hi, I’m Cara • Developer at Big Wheel Brigade • Cofounder of the startup tabletop game company Water Bear Games, co-creator of Discount Salmon • Founder of Side Projects Club (which is why I’m here!)
3. IDEAS As creators of startups we are people with
4. My Side Projects • Water Bear Games • Side Projects Club • Dozens of novel and comic ideas • Want to start a band, dozens of song ideas • Etc.
5. My Side Projects • There’s a lot… • No chill. No chill at all. • I have all these IDEAS and I want them to exist in the world!
6. The Problem • We know we can accomplish things. • Many people that are filled with ideas have trouble executing those ideas. • Lots of ideas end up only 10-90% done. •WHY????
7. The Problem • Most of us work 8+ hours a day. • We accomplish a lot at work, so why is it so difficult to do the same with our free time?
8. Motivators Money Inspiration Discipline
9. Accountability!
10. How Side Projects Club Started Weekly video chats with my friend were so helpful that I wanted to bring that concept to a large group setting.
11. How to Create Your Own Accountability and Get Stuff Done In 5 Easy(?) Steps
12. 1. Pick ONE Idea • I know it’s hard. We have a bajillion ideas. • Bring ONE idea from conceptualization to completion. • Don’t leave the thing half finished and work on a different thing. • Don’t do it. • DON’T DO IT. STOP. • If you really, really can’t focus on one thing, put the cap at 2-3 things.
13. 2. Find a Friend • Find someone as passionate as you are. • You can hold each other accountable.
14. 3. Set Goals • Set small, realistic goals that you can achieve in a week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, etc. • Set a longer term goal that you’re constantly working towards. • SMART goals • Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Time-Based • Set goals you know you can achieve with your available time so you don’t set yourself up for disappointment. • Tell your accountability buddy so they can hold you to them.
15. 4. Schedule the Time • Treat that time like an unmovable appointment. • Schedule that time with your friend so it’s harder to cancel.
16. 4. Schedule the Time • One of the hardest things about working on your side projects is finding the time. • Here’s some advice about the difficulty of making time to do the things we love.
17. Instead of saying: I don’t have time to do X. X isn’t a priority. Rephrase it as:
18. Instead of saying: I don’t have time to write my novel. Writing my novel isn’t a priority. Rephrase it as:
19. 4. Schedule the Time • If it breaks your heart to say that, you MUST FIND THE TIME. • FIGURE IT OUT. • Somehow, someway, make the time to work on it. • Make that time just as valuable as the other things in your life and GET IT DONE.
20. 4. Schedule the Time • Wake up an hour early and work on your project. • Work on it over your lunch break. • Time watching TV? Time going to parties? Time getting distracting by Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Tumblr, etc.? • Allocate some of that time to side projects instead. • If it’s important, you CAN find the time.
21. 5. Get Started! • Perhaps even harder than finding the time is just getting started. • Easier to ride the momentum of an ongoing project than to start anew • GET STARTED TODAY! • Or schedule the day you will start and hold yourself to it. • Have your friend hold you accountable. • Put it in your calendar and set an alarm. • DO IT NOW!
22. If this sounds like a lot… Side Projects Club can provide all these things! Guess what?
23. Benefits of Side Projects Club 1. It will force you to work on your ideas (hopefully just 1-2 at a time). 2. You’ll be with likeminded, passionate people. 3. Every 4 weeks we set goals. 4. It’s every other Saturday 12:30 - 4 PM, so the time is already blocked out for you. 5. Once you get started, it’s easier to keep going! v If you’re feeling ambitious, a smaller group of us die-hards meet once a week on Wednesdays at a coffee shop.
24. Wendy Wendy has been working on a BINGO web application (which is done!) and her friend’s portfolio website (which is almost done!). She has also recently become a co-organizer of Side Projects Club.
25. Marcus Marcus, the other half of Water Bear Games, spends his time at Side Projects Club working on game prototypes. This last meeting he made a demo video of how to play one of our games, using some attendees as playtesters.
26. Lydia “I am working on a sewing project, a Christmas Tree skirt that I need to have finished by December 1, 2016. “Setting short term, obtainable goals helps keep me on track… Sharing my goals with other people keeps me accountable. Standing up in a meeting and saying: ‘I met my goal, this is my new goal’ or ‘I didn't meet my goal.’ motivates me to work on my project on a regular basis… “Side projects clubs gives me a block of time set aside to work on my project. This makes my project a priority in my life… Side Projects Club is helping me to create, to make, to do.”
27. Conclusion 1. Focus on 1-2 ideas at a time. 2. Find a friend to hold you accountable. 3. Set SMART goals. 4. Schedule the time and treat it like an unmovable appointment. 5. GET STARTED! 6. Come to Side Projects Club and achieve 1-5 more easily!
28. Thanks! Side Projects Club Info: sideprojectsclub.com @SideProjectsNE sideprojectsclub@gmail.com Questions? Personal Contact Info: caraheacock.com @caraheacock caraheacock@gmail.com