High Five #12 - How to choose side projects 👆

[3 min] A simple method for filtering ideas worth working on

Hey!

Are you working on any personal side projects right now?

I bet you already got something going on. If not, you most likely have a list of potential ideas in your notes. Same for me! 🙋🏻‍♂️

Having a lot of ideas for side projects is great. But the part where it gets tricky is the validation, prioritization, and execution.

I get it, and I'm in the same boat. We want to do it all! It's all so exciting! But how do you choose "the best ones" that are actually worth working on?

Over the years, I've done a dozen of side projects. Digital and physical products, case studies, websites, or design concepts. Some got quite popular, some made me money, and some were an excellent learning experience.

What helped me to choose the ones to work on is a simple method of "categorization." It can be used in the first round of "filtering" and review whether you have the right motivation and goals to get into something.

The question to ask is: "Why should I spend my time, focus, and effort on this?" And the answer should be that the side project idea fits into at least one of the following categories:

1. 🎓 Learn something new - Side projects in this category are focused on getting new experience, skills, or perspective. For example, you can explore a new topic that interests you, a new design tool that got your attention, or a new process to test out. The fun part is that your experience can also be carried over to future projects (ideally paid ones, like client work).

2. 👀 Get attention - You may want to do something to stand out and spread the word about yourself or your team. Marketing-oriented side projects make a great fit here and can support your general "brand" building and promo in the long term (growing follower base or reach).

3. 💸 Make some $$$ - For-profit side projects are probably the most obvious of the three and quite self-explanatory. But I'd like to point out that your next side project doesn't need to make millions. It's OK to lower your expectations and only earn a few bucks a month at first to cover the costs (like hosting). Anything on top will be nice, and you can always scale up later.

Note: I generally seek side project ideas that can potentially help others around me or the design community as a whole. That's why I don't consider "Help others" as a standalone category, but rather a general point of view I keep in my approach from the high level.

You may even want to fit a side project idea into multiple categories at once. Why not. I've done that too. But I don't think it's necessary unless you personally have higher "criteria," even in the initial phase of choosing.

The main benefit of filtering like this is that it can save you time and brain power early in the process. If some idea doesn't make the cut, it goes off the list and your mind, making space for things that matter.

Going back to the first sentence of this post to close out on a high note: Are you working on any side projects right now? Or thinking of starting one?

If you don't mind sharing, feel free to use the comments below or DM me directly. Happy to help if there is anything I can do.

Have a great week, and talk again soon!

A.

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Links & inspiration

Stuff I'm currently digging:

💻 Website - Daybreak Studio - Minimal agency website with a grid-based homepage. But it has quite an annoying cursor effect, don’t you think?

💻 Website - KPRverse - One of the best NFT landing pages I’ve seen. Smooth transitions and great storytelling.

🧩 Figma - Supa Palette - All-in-one palette generator, editor, and manager for Figma It’s quick and expensive but worth it.

🔤 Fonts - Jen Wagner - Jen is an independent Nashville-based type designer, offering superior quality typography for both print and digital use.

☕️ Aesthetics - Terra Kaffe TK-02 - Probably the most beautiful espresso machine in the world. Open for Pre-orders!