Calm indie hacking

So much drama and hating about indie hacking these days. Some company raise prices, everyone dumps on it. Copycat indie hacker clones another indie’s app. Some gets suspended without notice on some platform, raises a ruckus.

Makes me want to retreat into a cave where I can work calmly and drama-less.

@mijustin recently wrote what a Calm Company means, as opposed to a “frenzied company”:

• Profitable
• Purpose
• Freedom, flexibility
• Fun
• Mindful
• Sustainable growth
• Calm work environment

What would be a list of attributes for calm indie hacking? For me at least:

• Ramen profitable - Not having to be in a survival mode is calming indeed. “Ramen” might not be the best level depending on one’s context and life stage though, So maybe it’s about being able to maintain some level of lifestyle that meets your basic needs and slightly beyond.

• Blank calendar - Not having a calendar chock full of appointments and meetings is calm for me. I don’t mind the occasional meeting, but 24/7 is too much. Most importantly, a blank calendar means freedom to work whenever I want.

• Solo - For me, it’s stressful having to manage a team and be responsible for their (and their family’s) livelihood. Solopreneur is a lifestyle choice, not a business decision. Solo also means complete autonomy. I get to decide what to work on, who to work with. Not having co-founders means I get to make and own all the decisions and the good/bad results. No one else to blame, nothing to externalise.

• Mindful - I think practising mindfulness while working is underrated. Being disembodied and sitting too long at the desk wrecks my back and neck, and makes me unhealthy. Sitting is the new smoking. So having that base level of self awareness about how embodied I feel while working at the computer helps me stay healthy.

• No drama - Calm means no drama, no office politics, no status games, no fights, no toxic customers. Sometimes it means refunding someone outright because the customer is rude. Sometimes it means not engaging in certain conversations on social media, or being in certain groups. Sometimes it’s biting your lip and not replying (online or offline) because of the drama after that, even if you’re right.

• Balanced - Calm working is balanced working. It means having time for the things that truly matters in life, like family, children, health, mental wellbeing. The downside of being your own boss is you become the worst boss ever, pushing your employee (yourself) to work harder than any boss would find ethical. So calm working counters that.

What other attribute do you think contributes to calm indie hacking?