How do you juggle side projects vs. "just for fun" projects

> vs a potential financial improving project

What helps there is asking yourself if whatever you'd be chasing there is actually worth the things you invest/loose/burn by chasing it.

Do you actually need this potential financial improvement? Do you need it more than time filled with something fun, relaxing and enjoyable?

What would you even do with the potential financial improvement?

And don't forget that you as a human still need fun, relaxing and enjoyable experiences. If you turn those that you have into money, you then have to use parts of the money again to get new fun, relaxing and enjoyable experiences. Maybe even more than what you gained initially.

It is okay to not view everything one does through "is this marketable/can I make money from this" lens. It is healthy to do that.

Don't be fooled by people and/or the zeitgeist telling you something else. Chances are that they either don't have your best interest in mind or are just stuck in the same hell, parroting the same message that people that didn't have their best interest in mind told them.

Congrats on selling your first side project!

I do not look at side projects that are set up to make money as side projects. Those are businesses you create with the goal of making money. And when you also have a full-time job creating a business on the side is hard enough, so no fun projects.

Basically, I look at it this way:

A) Fulltime job + building a business on the side

B) Fulltime job + fun projects

I don't mix those. Sure, sometimes you set up a new project to try out new technology. But that is for learning, and you do not have to finish the product.

All of my projects get access to the same two hours I set aside every morning before work, to work on something meaningful.

I also tend to default to working on my business, but if something has my curiosity going, I give myself time to explore.

I don't, really. All of my side projects are for fun. Every so often one turns out to be marketable in a way that I'm OK with, and if I feel like it, I'll market those.

I don't go into side projects with the intent of ever making a dime on them, though. I usually go into side projects because I have a need and the project is to meet that need. Sometimes, I go into a side project to learn a new skill. Sometimes both.

As an example, I'm halfway through developing a radio mesh network to allow easy communications with my friends when we're in the wild where there is no cellphone connectivity. I'm doing it because we have a need for one, and there isn't anything that meets that need on the market.

It's also clear that this could be a marketable thing, so that's in the back of my mind but doesn't influence design, implementation, or the amount of time I spend on doing it. It's a "for fun" project.

Find what drives you nuts, and work towards it

What drives me - Why the hell the machine is not working for me, it feels like I'm working for it.

How I work towards it -

Latest

Private project - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KHpf8h0JMuo

Public project - https://github.com/imvetri/ui-editor

My side project, my office goals, my plan to sell a product, all around the same.

I have a few resume showreel apps and things I maintain because I sometimes use them with clients or on volunteer projects, but for the most part... I only do personal tech if I find something really exciting.

I have other hobbies, and I enjoy using, learning about, and contributing to, the more well known popular FOSS apps just as much as making new ones.

The fastest way to suck any fun from anything you do is to try to make money off it.

Its usually healthiest for me when I put aside X minutes a day for fun projects, like an hour every day. The rest of the day can then be chores, i.e. anything that isnt fun but makes money, or is useful some other way.

I don’t. I have other hobbies that don’t involve staring at a screen all day