Not having a map can lead to wasted time and frustration if you're exploring somewhere new. Starting a side project without a few solid principles can do the same.

When you're excited about a new project, it's easy to skip important questions like: what exactly do I want to achieve with this? How much am I willing to spend? And so on.

Since 2015, I've found joy in launching several side projects, and after a decade of doing this, I've got five go-to principles I always follow when kicking off something new.

Microscopic scope

The fastest way to kill your motivation is trying to build something big.

And by big, I don't mean how successful the project could be — I'm talking about the number of features you try to cram into it. Aim small. Even better, aim microscopic.

For example, don't try to build a Finance Manager. That's way too broad. There are zero boundaries. It could have 5 features, or 50.

Shrink that idea down hard until you can see the whole product in one glance. Here's how: take that Finance Manager and narrow it down to a Retirement Calculator. It takes in 5 or 6 parameters and tells you when you can retire.

Great! That's a microscopic scope. You can ship it fast, get feedback even faster, and then decide whether it's worth adding more features or jumping into something new.

Solve your own problem

Don't build something you wouldn't actually use.

If trying to build something big may kill your motivation, being your own customer does the opposite. When you create something that solves your problem, improving it over time is a natural consequence. Plus, you'll be way more willing to spend time on it because it genuinely helps your life or gives you a competitive edge.

A great dish and nothing more!

Your job is to put together a great dish — not to set the table or wash the dishes.

Time is super limited when you're working on side projects. If you burn too much of it on boring or repetitive tasks, the project won't last. Promise.

Use the early excitement to automate the boring stuff. Get rid of manual code checks, builds, and deployments. These days, I usually let AI handle all that for me. Your focus should be on coding the core of your idea.

Your project should only demand your attention for what truly matters — the thing that actually solves someone's problem (preferably your own).

In short: git commit + git push — and nothing more.

No hype-tech

Right after thinking big, chasing the latest trends is the second biggest trap to avoid. If you wanna try out a new tech, reserve specific slots to play with it — but don't use something you barely know in a new side project.

New tech usually comes with a lot of gaps. You'll waste hours troubleshooting stuff that has nothing to do with your business idea. You'll probably lose momentum and might even start hating a tech that could've been useful in other contexts.

Zero monthly costs

If your project doesn't turn into a hit, at least it shouldn't be draining your wallet every month.

These days, there are tons of free services you can use to host APIs, store data, serve static files, and more. My go-tos: Vercel (APIs), Firebase and Netlify (static files), Neon (serverless Postgres), and Atlas (MongoDB).

Keeping costs at zero — especially if you're the only user — is key to making sure you don't have to pull the plug. Also, having a bunch of small projects live and online boosts your morale and keeps you motivated to keep building.

Leran more: If you liked this post, you might also wanna read about how to push side projects forward with almost no free time.