This is a poor reflection with respect to design and deal with personal projects, something very common in software developers.
Who, as a developer, once thought and tried not to make a supersystem, an application or a website to "conquer the world"? I dare say that all.
Fortunately, the enthusiasm and the creation of personal projects is very common in this world, and unfortunately, also very common to abandon them in half.

After a few years in this area, from personal experience and friends, I got a sort of conclusion and recipe, at least to me, help me to increase the chances of completing a personal project.

Every project, however rudimentary it may be personal and is separated into stages, although not think that way. How so? I call on each block or step of the process that has different activities with each other, and therefore with enthusiasm and desire different.
For example: system definition stage, stage of research on how to implement something, the design stage of database development stage of each module, etc, etc.

I am convinced that each stage has a predefined lifetime and a pool of assigned forward unconsciously, by nature itself. When we change stage are renewed the desire, and will maintain the enthusiasm of the project.

The enthusiasm is directly linked to the term, ie if you take more account at one stage, the associated forward and begin to fall dangerously sharp.
It is important to keep this, we need not extend a period in time, if necessary as we have to close it at the expense of whatever.

I mean if to close it necessary to do something "ugly", we do! I'm not saying you have to go out and kill anyone, but if we're just a code we do not like, or a table of the database is finished we do not convince, or researching a topic to implement and we finally decided, will be so close.

Further prolonging the stage strongly attentive to the whole project falls for want of trying.

What I propose? Close the stage as is, then have at least the ability to accommodate, and proceed to the next. This is preferable to extend the stage and try to win our pool of unconsciously associated with it from falling and impacting directly on the main goal: to complete the project. If the desire and enthusiasm disappear for a given stage, the process will surely fail interrupted at that point.

And I'll be too repetitive, if we were "extra time" trying to close it as perfect and ideal as possible, we risk the entire system. It is also very common, and time overrun, we realize that we did not go anywhere and return back the last changes. It is the worst case scenario, our desire fell, our project is at risk for not spending time at the next stage.

If we play with the alleged "total is a personal thing, I have every time I want," our desire and enthusiasm, but patients who are not capricious, they will ...

In summary, I think it is best to identify these steps, be aware of their allotted time and be aware that each has limited intrinsic desire. Respect the time of each stage will help us manage our total enthusiasm.

I acknowledge that the concept "stage as close" can be criticized as a methodology, but if we refer to personal projects, I helped a lot and still helps me. In cases where a close at all costs not let me stage with the result, then went back to review it with renewed enthusiasm that gives you walk and see the system in production. That yes, I give more freedom and luxury in times pushed to the satisfaction of the system up and running!

Short and concrete, I hope this experience and reflection in the management of our "pool of desire in personal projects" will also serve others. Good Life!

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