--- title: Developers have a problem with side projects | daily.dev description: Many developers start side projects with enthusiasm but abandon them before completion due to common patterns: chasing too many ideas simultaneously,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/nggp6zmkg twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: Developers have a problem with side projects | daily.dev og:description: Many developers start side projects with enthusiasm but abandon them before completion due to common patterns: chasing too many ideas simultaneously,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/nggp6zmkg og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/ngGP6ZMKG.png og:image:alt: Post cover image og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Developers have a problem with side projects **[Traversy Media](https://daily.dev/sources/traversymedia)** · [@dennisivy](https://daily.dev/dennisivy) · 123 upvotes · 11 comments ## Summary Many developers start side projects with enthusiasm but abandon them before completion due to common patterns: chasing too many ideas simultaneously, overengineering from the start, perfectionism, lack of deadlines, and burnout from treating projects like hackathons. The solution involves focusing on one project at a time, keeping initial implementations simple, setting clear definitions of 'done', creating external accountability through public commitments, and working consistently in small increments rather than marathon sessions. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Community discussion Top comments from developers on daily.dev. **@jamiecarl** · 4 upvotes > 🙋‍♂️ > > Guilty. Good video and it's spot on. **@bk2022** · 2 upvotes > With AI Vibe coding, side projects loses it values. > Don't waste time on side projects. Instead focus on System Design and architecture. **@kinsondigital** · 1 upvotes > Not only that, but vibe coding is now the tutorial hell in my opinion. I agree that vibe coding can be beneficial for quick prototyping, but it is too easy for people to fall in the trap of depending on ai and vibe coding too much pointing them in vibe coating hell and not really absorbing and learning what is required to maintain a professional project. **@kinsondigital** · 1 upvotes > I have had a few side projects over the years of course, but not out of control I don't think. > For the most part, I have been working on a total of 3 to 4 for over 7 years which are all related to the same end goal which are: > 1. https://github.com/KinsonDigital/Velaptor > 2. https://github.com/KinsonDigital/casl > 3. https://github.com/KinsonDigital/carbonate > > The first 2 years when everything was still exploration and semi-prototype, I was hopping around and off and on with the projects, but then I decided to go full on and stick with the projects, and it has had its difficulties, but it has... **@vbarzana** · 0 upvotes > So much agree with you! And add to that platforms like Lovable, Bolt and what not, bunch of them, now allow you to get those projects in a wink, so, you can keep inventing new stuff, its really easying the planning and development phases so much, even deployment if the content is somehow static, even with serverless, things are getting easier. I have like 555 projects abandoned that I started hahaha, thanks for the feeling that we are not alone on this haha <3 ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [Don’t just attend KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon, Merge Forward your experience\!](https://daily.dev/posts/don-t-just-attend-kubecon-cloudnativecon-merge-forward-your-experience--l0rpp73x8) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Announcing H2 2026 KCDs](https://daily.dev/posts/announcing-h2-2026-kcds-m96goajm1) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments - [Two months of Open Community Groups](https://daily.dev/posts/two-months-of-open-community-groups-asf52zhbs) · CNCF · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Unveils Schedule for KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Europe 2026](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-unveils-schedule-for-kubecon-cloudnativecon-europe-2026-ikhcoa5cb) · CNCF · 2 upvotes · 0 comments - [CNCF Debuts KubeCon \+ CloudNativeCon Japan 2026 Schedule](https://daily.dev/posts/cncf-debuts-kubecon-cloudnativecon-japan-2026-schedule-xp5pyudub) · CNCF · 1 upvotes · 0 comments --- Tags: [#productivity](https://daily.dev/tags/productivity), [#project-management](https://daily.dev/tags/project-management) [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/nggp6zmkg) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"DiscussionForumPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https://daily.dev/posts/nggp6zmkg","headline":"Developers have a problem with side projects","text":"Shared: Developers have a problem with side projects","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/nggp6zmkg","datePublished":"2025-09-02T16:15:44.399Z","dateModified":"2025-09-02T16:16:19.217Z","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Dennis Ivy","url":"https://daily.dev/dennisivy","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/33843378?v=4","interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"EndorseAction"},"userInteractionCount":2750}},"image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--qPvKM23u--/f_auto/v1722860399/public/Placeholder%2009","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":123},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":11}],"sharedContent":{"@type":"WebPage","url":"https://api.daily.dev/r/OsZIZMpev"},"comment":[{"@type":"Comment","text":"🙋‍♂️\nGuilty. Good video and it’s spot on.","datePublished":"2025-09-17T03:40:43.859Z","dateModified":"2025-09-17T03:51:45.386Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ngGP6ZMKG#c-ajX3jheZd","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Carl","url":"https://daily.dev/jamiecarl","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--6HKK4uxD--/f_auto/v1774926661/avatars/avatar_k36Xl74b9YwkVH3UdpWWH?_a=BAMAMiWQ0"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":4}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"With AI Vibe coding, side projects loses it values.\nDon’t waste time on side projects. Instead focus on System Design and architecture.","datePublished":"2025-10-02T21:07:03.488Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ngGP6ZMKG#c-9K8Clricc","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Bk Lau","url":"https://daily.dev/bk2022","image":"https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/a/ALm5wu29coOUAnGR3UD2ZxJnTWuHJqIX51F8bz73jxpCQg=s96-c"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":2}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"Not only that, but vibe coding is now the tutorial hell in my opinion. I agree that vibe coding can be beneficial for quick prototyping, but it is too easy for people to fall in the trap of depending on ai and vibe coding too much pointing them in vibe coating hell and not really absorbing and learning what is required to maintain a professional project.","datePublished":"2025-11-24T13:58:15.100Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ngGP6ZMKG#c-ZnghBVCAK","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Calvin Wilkinson","url":"https://daily.dev/kinsondigital","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/85414302?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"I have had a few side projects over the years of course, but not out of control I don’t think.\nFor the most part, I have been working on a total of 3 to 4 for over 7 years which are all related to the same end goal which are:\n\nhttps://github.com/KinsonDigital/Velaptor\nhttps://github.com/KinsonDigital/casl\nhttps://github.com/KinsonDigital/carbonate\n\nThe first 2 years when everything was still exploration and semi-prototype, I was hopping around and off and on with the projects, but then I decided to go full on and stick with the projects, and it has had its difficulties, but it has been enjoyable.\nI have not gotten a dime in donations, and it has been difficult but I can’t give up. Balancing personal things such as client work, moving to another country, deaths in the family, and more have been a challenge for sure. But for some reason I keep pushing forward and I can’t get myself to abandon the project, nor do I want to.\nOnward to another day!!\nhttps://docs.velaptor.io","datePublished":"2025-11-24T13:04:22.121Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ngGP6ZMKG#c-oZh0n5MzC","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Calvin Wilkinson","url":"https://daily.dev/kinsondigital","image":"https://avatars.githubusercontent.com/u/85414302?v=4"},"interactionStatistic":{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":1}},{"@type":"Comment","text":"So much agree with you! And add to that platforms like Lovable, Bolt and what not, bunch of them, now allow you to get those projects in a wink, so, you can keep inventing new stuff, its really easying the planning and development phases so much, even deployment if the content is somehow static, even with serverless, things are getting easier. I have like 555 projects abandoned that I started hahaha, thanks for the feeling that we are not alone on this haha <3","datePublished":"2025-10-13T13:17:11.344Z","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/ngGP6ZMKG#c-WoQehxXlB","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Victor Antonio Barzana Crespo","url":"https://daily.dev/vbarzana","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/s--cl_o3FAa--/f_auto/v1759137104/avatars/avatar_RMJD8YyXR?_a=BAMAK+ZW0"}}],"isPartOf":{"@type":"WebPage","url":"https://daily.dev/squads/traversymedia","name":"Traversy Media"}} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Traversy Media","item":"https://daily.dev/squads/traversymedia"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Developers have a problem with side projects"}]} ```