I've accepted that all the progress for me happens in tight bursts. I simply cannot do 'thought work' when I'm disinterested. I sometimes envy people who are interested in one particular project for years or decades at a time and make plodding, continual progress. However that's not me. I make inspired, unbelievable progress, and then nothing. I try to constrain the scope so that it at least remains useful, in between the bursts.
Claude Code has been a boon for my software projects, specifically for this reason. I might lose a full night's sleep, but I'm able to stay productive far longer and do what would have otherwise taken me weeks in any given project.
"Is this worth spending some amount of money to be done?"
I have had innumerable projects where they just languished and languished and languished ... until I got annoyed enough to spend some money and then they were done and gone.
Sure, some projects are a "hobby". My hobbies are continuous and I like doing them so spending money to finish them is not relevant.
However, quite often a task languishing is either because I don't really like the task or don't feel like putting in the effort to learn the required knowledge. For those tasks, spending money often works.
(For example, my latest task along these lines was "sharpen my kitchen knives". After farting with far too many whetstones, I finally spent the money to buy a fixed-angle sharpening system. I took it out of the box, set it up, and in two evenings my dozen kitchen knives were sharp and pleasant to use again. I then put the system back in the box and put it in my closet for the next time I need it. I spent way less on that fixed-angle system than I have on the whetstones I tried up to this point.)
Happy it worked for you but a whetstone with an angle guide and you'd be done in a similar time.
I think I can refresh a lightly dull blade in 10min or so, and speaking as a non-pro.
The long-term benefits of a whetstone is that you can get much more feedback on what's happening, while most "systems" work for a bit and then it's hard to see what part is over-worked or not performing as well as it used to.
Just putting it out here because I think people might either not be using an angle guide or just be somewhat misguided, since using a whetstone is really not much slower.
I've accepted that all the progress for me happens in tight bursts. I simply cannot do 'thought work' when I'm disinterested. I sometimes envy people who are interested in one particular project for years or decades at a time and make plodding, continual progress. However that's not me. I make inspired, unbelievable progress, and then nothing. I try to constrain the scope so that it at least remains useful, in between the bursts.
Claude Code has been a boon for my software projects, specifically for this reason. I might lose a full night's sleep, but I'm able to stay productive far longer and do what would have otherwise taken me weeks in any given project.
In what way does it help you?
I can definitely relate - but I have noticed that the bursts have got longer and less intense as I've got older.
It could be worse. I've noticed that the bursts have got shorter and less intense as I've got older!
Questions missing from this list are:
"Can I spend some amount of money and be done?"
"Is this worth spending some amount of money to be done?"
I have had innumerable projects where they just languished and languished and languished ... until I got annoyed enough to spend some money and then they were done and gone.
Sure, some projects are a "hobby". My hobbies are continuous and I like doing them so spending money to finish them is not relevant.
However, quite often a task languishing is either because I don't really like the task or don't feel like putting in the effort to learn the required knowledge. For those tasks, spending money often works.
(For example, my latest task along these lines was "sharpen my kitchen knives". After farting with far too many whetstones, I finally spent the money to buy a fixed-angle sharpening system. I took it out of the box, set it up, and in two evenings my dozen kitchen knives were sharp and pleasant to use again. I then put the system back in the box and put it in my closet for the next time I need it. I spent way less on that fixed-angle system than I have on the whetstones I tried up to this point.)
From a spend money not time perspective better to take them to a local sharpener!
Happy it worked for you but a whetstone with an angle guide and you'd be done in a similar time.
I think I can refresh a lightly dull blade in 10min or so, and speaking as a non-pro.
The long-term benefits of a whetstone is that you can get much more feedback on what's happening, while most "systems" work for a bit and then it's hard to see what part is over-worked or not performing as well as it used to.
Just putting it out here because I think people might either not be using an angle guide or just be somewhat misguided, since using a whetstone is really not much slower.