What’s the number one reason people quit working on personal projects?

Sneha Nair
19 replies

Replies

Jessica Ramirez
Perfection. If my project is a birthday card and it isn't what I expected, my friend will not get a birthday card.
It can be lonely working on projects away from others. No one in my family really understands what drives me to build. They consume and consume content without realizing someone has to produce it too. This is why it's so important the support in the communities like PH. The interaction of ideas and seeing that others are struggling yet still going. These conversations are a motivational boost. Keep going Everybody!
Lindsay Davis
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@lalamedia Absolutely resonate with your sentiments! 🙌
Lindsay Davis
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In a word, it's a lack of time 😔
Konok Nazmul
In my experience, the main reason people quit working on personal projects is the lack of accountability. Having someone to hold you accountable or joining a community of like-minded individuals can provide the necessary support and encouragement to push through the challenging parts. Breaking down the project into smaller, manageable tasks and celebrating each milestone can also help maintain momentum.
Bolanle Olaniyan
I’d say life happens and in most cases, when life happens… it’s easier and seems safer to focus on your day job
Ajinkya Bhat | Notion X Startups
StartOS: Plug-and-Play Startup System
I think the excuse is "no time", but the underlying reason tends to be there are parts they don't intrinsically enjoy. Personally I think no matter what project, there's going to be parts you like, and parts you don't. Often helps if there is a clear end goal, so you can soldier through the parts you don't like!
Ajinkya Bhat | Notion X Startups
StartOS: Plug-and-Play Startup System
@imlindsay For sure! Personally, I but projects into two buckets- either I care, in which case I should be willing to suffer a little, or I don't, in which case I should be totally guilt-free dropping it :)
Lindsay Davis
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@ajinkya_bhat Absolutely spot on! 🎯 "No time" might be the default excuse, but you hit the nail on the head – it's often about tackling the less enjoyable parts.
Yash Sharma
One big reason folks drop personal projects is the lack of consistent progress. Life gets busy, motivation wanes – staying steady is key. Break tasks into small chunks, celebrate wins, and keep that momentum going!
Anna Kasumova
The main purpose is to WORK WITH YOUR TARGETS AND STRATEGY, NOT YOUR BOSS.
AbdulHafeez Sadon
It's a mixed of setting priorities due to either lack of time of fun fund.
Javier Marco
In my opinion, b2c founders give up too late and b2b founders give up too early.
Suchai
Generally, there is no product-market fit, or more often than not, especially for developers. After taking online courses for new, cool, or trending programming languages/frameworks, they often want to build something to apply what they've learned to a real-world project. As a result, those projects often end up being what we call 'toy projects,' which are not intended to generate revenue from the first place so soon later they quit it to save some bucks of server cost.
Lindsay Davis
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@goff_jira You've captured a common cycle that many developers encounter...😟
I feel that sometimes personal projects can lose their spark when challenges arise or self-doubt creeps in. Just knowing that your idea is special and that every step you take will bring it closer to reality. Yeah?