I find this post from @levelsio super inspiring.
Within the post, Pieter explains the endless loop that he, like many creators, got stuck in for years:
Never feeling like a project was done
Fear of failure preventing projects from being launched
Putting in maximum effort for minimum progress, leading to demotivation.
To put an end to this loop, Pieter publicly set himself a challenge of building 12 startups in 12 months with strict rules in place to ensure that he finished and launched on time.
Here's 3 lessons I learnt from his journey that can help you to build out your projects more effectively:
Lesson #1: Following Through On A Commitment
Saying and doing are very different things.
It's easy to say that you're going to do something, but you only prove your commitment to yourself and others when you follow through and do. One of the easiest ways to keep you honest about your commitments is to publicly declare what you are committing to doing before you go and do it. Either you follow through and deliver (and have evidence for that) or you don't - that's okay as long as you acknowledge the broken commitment and adjust.
Public declaration is a good way of keeping yourself disciplined enough to finish what you start.
Lesson #2: You Don't Know What Will Resonate
4/70 (~5%) of Pieter's projects have made money and grown.
You don't get to decide what people find valuable. Pieter explains that you'll figure out what needs to be done by exposing yourself to the world (and its market forces). Your job as a creator is to uncover where the value is and deliver a product/service that can maximise that value for users.
You can't begin to uncover the value unless you put your ideas out there and stress-test them against the world's market forces.
Lesson #3: Accelerate Progress By Compounding The Learning From Previous Projects
When looking through the projects within the journey, there's a clear pattern that emerges: Pieter re-uses the learning from the previous projects to accelerate the launch of future projects.
Much of the design language and project structures are carried over from project to project. Taking the Lessons Learnt from previous projects and implementing them into future projects is a great way of compounding your efforts with each new project. Double-down on the things that have worked and focus your energy into improving the things that didn't work so well.
Try not to reinvent the wheel each time you build something new.