What to do when the lights go out
jasonleow • 14 Jul 2024 •
4+ years in now and nowhere close to my revenue goal, so there’s definitely days when I feel this way, like “I still work but the light in me has gone”.
It comes and goes.
There’s low days and there’s high days. Sometimes all within a single day. It’s all part of the roller-coaster ride called indie hacking.
What do you do when this happens to you? How do you bring the light back?
A few things to try:
- Do a fun hobby project that sparks joy. I do this most often. Build my way out of the dark. Sometimes inverse law of the universe happens – the less you work for money the more it comes to you
- Collaborate with someone you enjoy working with. Lean on their high/good energy. Might not work for me since I prefer to work solo, but for short term projects, or even working in a team for my freelancing, it can help.
- Reconsider if your need for passion in your work/products is hindering more than helping. I’m someone who needs to be at least somewhat interested in the topic, the customer or the product. It’s the intrinsic motivation that helps me last the long game. But sometimes I recognise that passion hinders progress than help. It can blind you from making an objective decision for your business.
- Back away from MRR screenshots and success porn on X or elsewhere. On good days, success stories are inspiring. On low days, it’s discouraging. Comparison is the theif of joy, they say. So detox a bit from social media.
- Or reread good testimonials from customers or people. It gives a much-needed boost to the self-image on a low day.
- Go for a walk, go gym and lift, go outside, hang out with kid, play, have a good meal, have fun. Take your mind off things for a bit.
- Write, journal, reflect, vent. I love writing to think, writing to mirror back what I feel. Sometimes insights I did not know emerge from the writing process. Clarity removes what was fogging up the light.
Most importantly, know that you don’t have to bring anything over to the next day. It’s all in the head. Start afresh, like this final Calvin & Hobbes strip:
Comments
Great question. I think there’s no universal answer… only what’s contextual to your product/situation.
I heard before… if your product is in a validated space, if there’s already lots of competitors making profit, then maybe you just need more time to get noticed and climb up page rank. But if entirely new and unique, then it may not even have PMF to start, so it’s harder to know if it’s worthwhile staying on
Sometimes it occurs to me; how long should we persist before making a change? For instance, would you consider switching from tech to such as F&B, if given the opportunity?