This was just what I needed and one more reason I love Joel's posts. Over the summer I stopped working on an idea that would've been pretty cool and is much better than the one I'm forcing myself to continue with. It's funny because I've got one of those ideas that I don't think is bad but there only moments when I think it's bad (https://writeapp.me if you're curious).
It's tough to continue sometimes when you want the rewards now and all you see are high bounce rates and a handful of signups that come in short bursts. It's motivating when you get those bursts but when they're few and far between on an unfinished project it's hard to keep going. I've found that working on something that meets your own needs is one way to avoid the problem of not finishing. In my mind, even if the world hates what I've created, at least I have a new tool that I've always wanted to use. So instead of creating a win-lose situation where you only win if people like and use your product you have a win-win where you win if no one likes it because you use it yourself and you win if it takes off for obvious reasons. But even so, even with a project like that, there are times when you feel like giving up. Its the not the definitive cure but building something you want that others may too is definitely one way to lessen the chances of giving in to the temptation to give up.
It's tough to continue sometimes when you want the rewards now and all you see are high bounce rates and a handful of signups that come in short bursts. It's motivating when you get those bursts but when they're few and far between on an unfinished project it's hard to keep going. I've found that working on something that meets your own needs is one way to avoid the problem of not finishing. In my mind, even if the world hates what I've created, at least I have a new tool that I've always wanted to use. So instead of creating a win-lose situation where you only win if people like and use your product you have a win-win where you win if no one likes it because you use it yourself and you win if it takes off for obvious reasons. But even so, even with a project like that, there are times when you feel like giving up. Its the not the definitive cure but building something you want that others may too is definitely one way to lessen the chances of giving in to the temptation to give up.