side projects as self-care
My sister shared a newsletter with me from Glitter Guide all about side projects; I have a fixation with side projects so of course I had to read it. We laughed over this one line that starts the email:
We…fully believe that side projects are essential for creative expression, self-care, and even making you better at your day job.
Side projects are not essential. I hope we all know that! When starting out as a software engineer, I really thought I had to have a side project to be a credible developer. Having lots of projects would signal my “passion for code” and my curiosity for learning. I came up with lots of ideas for side projects and worked on a few of them early on. But over time, the last thing I wanted to do after getting home from work was open up my terminal and IDE and stare at a computer some more. Thankfully I’ve worked at companies where there are plenty of different engineers—ones who are parents and rarely have the time for side projects, ones who are young and eager and writing blog posts about different projects they maintain. Side projects can and likely will help you grow at your day job, but you know what is best for making you better at your day job? Working your day job.
For several years, side projects have been my main avenue for safely exploring different interests and learning new skills while divorcing any need to support myself financially from it. I certainly place expectation on my side projects to bring me closer to this nebulous “dream job” where I can make a comfortable amount of money while creating something that aligns with my purpose. In fact I think and stress about this expectation so much that my next side project revolves around the very topic of work and purpose. That’s why reading that sentence about side projects as a means for self-care felt like such a wild concept.
Can side projects be a form of self-care? I’m still trying to wrap my head around the idea. I think hobbies are a great means of self-care. My friend Nicole did a great write-up of defining side projects vs. hobbies, stating that “a hobby is an activity that you do for pure enjoyment. There’s no expectation of progress or compensation.” It’s that very freedom of expectation for hobbies along with the play that helps us maintain our well-being.
No matter how low risk or low pressure a “labor of love” side project can be, there are usually expectations you will place on the project based on your goals. You want to see yourself improve your skills over time, or maybe you want to see tangible impact in the community that you’re serving. Side projects as self-care does seem possible if we can effectively set aside these pressures and tune into the flow and creative energy we experience while doing the project.
As much as I dismissed the newsletter upon first read, it proved to be a good lesson for me to focus more on the moments when I observe my energy filling up while working on a side project. I feel lucky to experience this more often lately as I continue to discover what sorts of projects are genuinely exciting, versus which are ones I think I should do to be perceived as smart/cool or to fit into a certain community. I still see my side projects as work and not self-care or leisure, however—and so be it. Only you can decide what self-care is for yourself (and that’s part of how it's become this nebulous, catch-all buzzword. But that’s a topic for another time)!