Re:Ask HN: What do you do to deal with a lack of inspiration?
by anigbrowl on Tuesday December 26, 2017 @08:30PM
(#16012180)
That's easy enough. Make something every day, 6 days a week. Don't make anything polished or clever, just something quick and dirty. I don't know what it is you want to create specifically; if you want to crite, just commit to cranking out a page a day; if you want to make video games, get comfortable with Unity or some adequate game engine and make some toy; if you like operating systems start building little things in assembler.
You won't necessarily accumulate components that can all be assembled into a larger whole, and some days you'll just be frustrated or demoralized (which is why the requirements are set low). But this is an excellent habit to have in place to recognize ideas that you like.
A lot of times people focus on what they want to be (an artist, a movie director, a billionaire) and see the products as the means to that end. But generally success like this can't be planned, it's the product of obsession. Obsession is something you can cultivate through practice, but you can't plan it in advance, any more than you can design a specific tree to look a certain way in a garden. So you plant seeds and then wait for something interesting to sprout.
You won't necessarily accumulate components that can all be assembled into a larger whole, and some days you'll just be frustrated or demoralized (which is why the requirements are set low). But this is an excellent habit to have in place to recognize ideas that you like.
A lot of times people focus on what they want to be (an artist, a movie director, a billionaire) and see the products as the means to that end. But generally success like this can't be planned, it's the product of obsession. Obsession is something you can cultivate through practice, but you can't plan it in advance, any more than you can design a specific tree to look a certain way in a garden. So you plant seeds and then wait for something interesting to sprout.