Ask HN: How much time do you spend on your side project?
I am in my first job now.I can't find time for side projects.Work takes all my prime time.How do you find time for side projects? When do you work on it?
An open Ask HN community consultation from 2020 where @Jaxtek convened hundreds of developers and bootstrappers to share real experiences, hard numbers, and tactics.
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Participants share raw revenue figures, churn rates, and stack decisions that corporate PR never publishes.
Recurring answers reveal that distribution, not coding skill, is almost universally the rate-limiting step in developer businesses.
Practical recommendations on bookkeeping, payment gateways (Stripe vs Paddle), and freelance-to-product transitions.
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Hundreds of active indie hackers contributed case studies, pricing heuristics, and pitfalls to avoid when moonlighting on side projects.
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HISTORICAL ERA Pandemic Bubble (2020–2022)
COMMUNITY SCORE ★ 6 points
TOTAL DISCUSSIONS 7 comments
It really depends on the week. Sometimes I'm able to put 30 hours in after hours and over the weekend. Other weeks I'm busy with other priorities and it's 0 hours. That's the balance I've found, I'm not trying to burn myself doing something that's supposed to be fun.
If you're early in your career, I wouldn't sweat it. Take your time. Work on side projects when you're feeling inspired to, don't force it. As your skills progress, so too will the impact of each minute you put into a project.
I have a full-time job and a pregnant wife and a 2yo. I work on my side projects in the evening when my kid is sleeping, because it is the only time available. I don't trade family time for side projects, it's not worth it.
I am more productive than before I had kids because time is very limited I don't lie to myself anymore. Either I'm going to sit down and work on a side project or not. No more sitting in front of a computer and clicking around while not doing anything.
Get very good at what you do at your job. If you have no time for things outside of work, you might just still be mid-learning curve. Don't take on too many projects. Be excellent at work and once you've reached a level where you are fulfilling what is stipulated in your employment contract, explore these other projects.
Prioritize cashflow and don't slack off.
almost every evening, not all of it, often just for some time but very regularly. The key is to start to work just for 5 minutes and you may stop after 5 minutes but maybe also not.
boring meetings: roughly 3 hours/week getting up earlier than my wife in weekend: roughly 2 hours/week