Solo since 2017. Working from home has a negative impact on my productivity. Family members and friends assume you're available for smalltalk and other stuff just because you're at home and not at work. I like working from home. It's warm and comfy. Food and drinks are a minute away. I consider myself very productive nonetheless, because I adjusted my daily routine to my environment and don't try to force it the other way around.
So about a year ago I started waking up at 5 o'clock. It's awesome after getting used to it. It's quiet, sometimes still dark outside and nobody can distract you. I can put on my headphones and just hack away. I usually start by taking a piece of paper and write down a couple of things/features/bugs I want to take care of that day. The items on the list were usually spread out across Github issues and projects Kanban boards, but I bring them together one more time. The goal is to realistically summarise the ideal day on a single sheet. I then prioritise and guess the time effort of each task. I start with the most important + least time. I want to look at the list at the end of the day with 8/10 items ticked off. Helps stay motivated and not get burned out. It's very likely I'll get distracted or just throw the towel after 5-6 hours of work. It's much easier to do that if you've already finished a good amount of work. I mostly optimize towards self-happiness. It's not a war you win on a single day. I know a lot of people that are unhappy with themselves and their progress on side projects because they often start with tasks that are too large and they have nothing to push to prod at the end of the day. In between of work I eat with my dad and girlfriend, sometimes have smalltalk for half an hour, but that's about it. I stop working at 8pm and play a round of monopoly against my girlfriend or watch a movie with her. Good time to talk about how your day was like and so on. I sometimes struggle with it, but it's important to dedicate time to your loved ones, even if you think that every minute you don't work on your project is lost money. They're usually the ones that support you the most.
I consider solo founding a 24/7/365 job. It's hard and a lot of pressure, but its one of the few things I enjoy most in life, because each day and every single item you tick off your todo list fully benefits you and not your employer.
So about a year ago I started waking up at 5 o'clock. It's awesome after getting used to it. It's quiet, sometimes still dark outside and nobody can distract you. I can put on my headphones and just hack away. I usually start by taking a piece of paper and write down a couple of things/features/bugs I want to take care of that day. The items on the list were usually spread out across Github issues and projects Kanban boards, but I bring them together one more time. The goal is to realistically summarise the ideal day on a single sheet. I then prioritise and guess the time effort of each task. I start with the most important + least time. I want to look at the list at the end of the day with 8/10 items ticked off. Helps stay motivated and not get burned out. It's very likely I'll get distracted or just throw the towel after 5-6 hours of work. It's much easier to do that if you've already finished a good amount of work. I mostly optimize towards self-happiness. It's not a war you win on a single day. I know a lot of people that are unhappy with themselves and their progress on side projects because they often start with tasks that are too large and they have nothing to push to prod at the end of the day. In between of work I eat with my dad and girlfriend, sometimes have smalltalk for half an hour, but that's about it. I stop working at 8pm and play a round of monopoly against my girlfriend or watch a movie with her. Good time to talk about how your day was like and so on. I sometimes struggle with it, but it's important to dedicate time to your loved ones, even if you think that every minute you don't work on your project is lost money. They're usually the ones that support you the most.
I consider solo founding a 24/7/365 job. It's hard and a lot of pressure, but its one of the few things I enjoy most in life, because each day and every single item you tick off your todo list fully benefits you and not your employer.
(Sorry, the comment turned out a bit chaotic.)