First User Framework
I might have accidentally discovered a framework that tries to address work-life balance and side project burnout. For some engineers and builders, this might sound like “common sense”, but it took me a bit of time (a decade - lol) to arrive at this wisdom.
Here’s the thing: When you have an idea for a project (that light-bulb moment) or when a friend calls you up and says, “Hey, why don’t we build this side project?” your builder instinct kicks in and replies, “Let’s do it!”
That moment right there is causing a drift in your timeline. I want you to be conscious of that. The thing is, there are only 24 hours in a day, and by signing up to build this new project, you will devote a significant chunk of those hours to it. This might prevent you from doing other activities that are essential for your “work-life balance”.
How do you find time then? Well, you don’t need to find time for projects. Instead, try finding the right projects for your time.
Who is this for?
Before I continue, I would like to state that this piece of advice is contextual and doesn’t apply to everyone. This advice best applies to you if
- You have a full-time job.
- You are living with your family (and looking to spend your precious evenings with them)
- You are having trouble prioritizing “what to work on”, “what to study”, etc.
- You are having trouble scheduling time.
- You are having constant thoughts of building new projects.
- You sometimes regret spending like 10 hours a week on a project that didn’t go anywhere.
- (I guess you get it)
The Framework
The truth is, you are building one of these:
- a project with no users
- a project where you are the user
- a project where you have a user (who is not you)
When you start building a new project, it should fall under one of the above categories. It will eventually lead to one of the following outcomes:
- Best case: Your project is thriving and being used (hopefully by a good number of audience)
- Average case: You hack on your project for a while and eventually forget about it.
- Worst case: You question yourself, “What am I doing with my life?” after weeks/months (hopefully not “years”) of working on the project.
Just like how most startups go nowhere, I am guessing that most of the side projects don’t hit the best-case outcome. They usually end up in worst or average-case outcomes. From my personal experience, I think I have been part of projects that fall under all (if not most) of the categories and outcomes defined above. Based on that, I have come to the following deduction:
| Category | What you should do |
|---|---|
| No users | Run away. |
| You are the user | Don’t build it. |
| You have a first user | Build it. |
First User Framework: Start a project only after you have the first user, who is ready to try it out and provide feedback from day 1.
If a category 1 and 2 (no users and you are the user) project seems attractive to you, then challenge yourself to put yourself out there and turn it into category 3 (you have a first user) and then work on it. Instead of taking four months to build a project that no one uses, you will find yourself making meaningful progress in a week if you are able to qualify the project to be category 3 upfront. (we are looking at exponential time gains here; that should be more attractive to you)
On the other hand, this makes you ruthless about your time and priorities. You might already be working on a short-term goal that is important for you. At times like that, this framework will shine. Either your short-term goal is more important and you pass on the opportunity or this new “category 3” project becomes your short-term goal.
But my passion project?
Usually, passion projects fall under category 1 or 2. So this blog post makes me a villain in the eyes of passion projects. As I mentioned above, this framework is contextual and is written for people who are not finding time and balance in life. If you have the time and freedom to work on a passion project, you should probably do it! There is an immense sense of satisfaction that comes with it.
For example, I did a category 2 (passion) project: a small binary to kick-start my blog writing process. I have been a solo user of it for the past 5 years. I have zero regrets about the time I put into it. So my point is not “don’t work on passion projects”. My point is “Be mindful of your time”.
~ ~ ~ ~
“But my friends are calling me to build the next Google?”
Well, attend the call and ask them, “Where is our first user?”