Side projects: why do we need them?

The routine from home to work and from work back home can be quite frustrating. Some people find fulfillment in their profession or in dedicating themselves to family, and that's great. On the other hand, there are people who feel unmotivated and frustrated being stuck only in everyday activities.

The at-least 8 hours dedicated to "productive" work are a convention, a somewhat imposed general agreement passed along by inertia. Coming home and dedicating yourself to activities that are purely enjoyable is a great release valve for the pressure, uncertainty, and stress of day-to-day life. Anything you want to be or do depends only on you.

Of course, we all have bills to pay and jobs that take up 1/3 of the day, but there's nothing wrong with that. The society we live in works this way, and will keep working this way for a good while. And that shouldn't be an excuse for you not to start that project you've got stored away, whose completion is your dream.

How to start?

First of all, make time (here I wrote a post about it). A side project gets run in our free time, so time is our raw material, and the more the better. Sometimes watching TV, which was supposed to be a short activity, ends up keeping us busy for hours. We look at the phone and an hour has already flown by. Why not cut in half the time spent browsing the Facebook feed? The other half of the time can go to the project. Do whatever it takes to free up your free time (that sounds weird...).

With the project in mind, create a list of activities so that the project takes shape. This list serves so that, when you go do something related to your idea, it's clear what needs to be done. Everything should be listed and ordered by priority. If something is missing, you can add it later without a problem. Each time you have a little free time, open that list and see what the task at the top is.

Ah yes, the challenge will seem monstrous, but breaking it into small, simple tasks helps a lot. Try to set tasks that can be completed in a short time, about 1 hour. Any progress is progress. And little by little the thing takes shape and you'll see more concrete results.

Make your life (and you) more interesting

Someone with a side project is a person with diverse interests and goals. And that's a good topic for conversation. Besides learning about different subjects, your progress and achievements can become conversation topics with your friends or people you've just met.

Speaking of people you've just met, there's an opportunity to connect with people with similar interests. Your social circle will expand considerably once you start dedicating yourself to side projects.

Another very important detail is that you'll gain a new source of passion, achievements, and goals. When you enter the job market, opportunities for personal achievement give way to career growth and professional achievements. When was the last time you did something just for you, from start to finish? How many times have you stepped out of your comfort zone to learn something new in recent months? Maybe you have a list of things you need to do before you die, and it always ends up on the back burner because of work.

Your project can help you professionally or become a source of income

Not everything in life is money. Side projects aren't about money; they're about you. As I already said, you have your job that takes eight hours of dedication every day, so put the financial side aside for a moment and think about the benefits the project can bring you.

Whatever your job is now, you're probably paid to perform a single task. In a side project you'll have to do practically everything on your own: marketing, public relations, design, programming, accounting (if it makes money...), etc. All of this will serve as learning.

Also, ideas for work can come out of these projects. Skills you didn't have that can help you get a promotion or a better job, show you a business opportunity, or help you figure out what you want to do with your life can come from side projects.

And what if that project, which we created because we like it, becomes the "job" of your dreams? Can you imagine how great that would be? Once we start doing what we like, it "only" needs to give a financial return for it to become the dream job.

What if nothing works out?

There's something nobody wants to think about, but it's been happening more and more often: what if you suddenly find out you won't need to work tomorrow because you were laid off? Well, if that happens, have you thought your side project could be your plan B? I know people who have already taken that path — or rather, they got ahead of it and quit to focus on their projects. Of course, they stopped being a side project and became their main occupation.

My tip: start now!