Lost My Motivation For My Day Job, What Do I Do?
Summary
TLDRIn this video, John Sonmez addresses the challenge of maintaining focus and motivation while working a day job that doesn't inspire passion, especially for developers aspiring to start their own ventures. He suggests replacing the passion for the job with a passion for working hard, emphasizing the importance of developing a strong work ethic. John advises working the agreed hours diligently but not more, and to prioritize personal projects by dedicating the best hours of the day to them. He also encourages viewing the day job as a learning opportunity and a stepping stone to build the necessary skills for future entrepreneurial success.
Takeaways
- đ Focus on developing a strong work ethic during your day job, as it will be crucial for your entrepreneurial success.
- đ Understand that your day job is a means to support your personal projects and to build the skills necessary for your own business.
- đ Replace the passion for the day job with the passion for working hard and doing what is required, even if it's not personally interesting.
- đ Dedicate your best hours to your own projects, ideally by waking up earlier and working on them before your day job.
- đĄ Change your perspective to view the day job as a learning opportunity and a form of 'paid training' to improve your skills.
- đ« Avoid working overtime for your employer; stick to the agreed hours to ensure you have time and energy for your own endeavors.
- đ€ Maintain professionalism and fulfill your work responsibilities, but don't get too emotionally invested in tasks that don't align with your personal goals.
- đ Emphasize the importance of self-improvement and personal growth, which can be achieved through the challenges and experiences of your day job.
- đ Use the day job as a platform to master new skills and gain insights that can be beneficial to your own business in the future.
- đ Encourage a mindset shift where the day job is seen not as a burden, but as a stepping stone to achieving your entrepreneurial aspirations.
- đ Employers should support their employees' growth and aspirations, as this will lead to a more motivated and productive workforce.
Q & A
What is the main concern of the person who asked the question in the transcript?
-The main concern is about maintaining focus and motivation during a day job that the person is not passionate about, while also working on personal projects in their spare time that could potentially advance their development career and generate revenue.
What advice does John Sonmez give for dealing with a lack of interest in the day job?
-John Sonmez suggests replacing the passion for the actual work with a passion for working hard, focusing on developing a strong work ethic, and doing the best job possible during the day job hours.
What does John Sonmez recommend doing with the first hours of the day?
-He recommends waking up earlier and working on personal projects first, before starting the day job. This is referred to as 'paying yourself first' with your time and energy.
How does John Sonmez view the relationship between an employer and an employee who wants to grow and possibly start their own business?
-John Sonmez believes that if an employer focuses on helping employees become the best version of themselves, they will do a better job for the company and attract more good people. He advises against trying to trap employees and instead encourages them to advance their careers and achieve their goals.
What is the importance of working hard during the day job according to John Sonmez?
-Working hard during the day job is important because it helps build the work ethic needed for success in one's own business. It's a way to prepare for the harder work that will be required when working for oneself.
What does John Sonmez suggest as a strategy for managing time between a day job and personal projects?
-He suggests working the agreed-upon hours for the day job and then focusing on personal projects outside of those hours, ensuring not to overwork and to allocate the best hours of the day to personal projects.
How should one approach their day job if they are not passionate about the work they are doing?
-One should approach their day job with the intention of working hard and doing the best job they can, without getting too emotionally invested in the work itself.
What mindset should one have when working on their own projects while still employed?
-One should have a mindset of building a bridge to their future, learning and applying good work ethics, and viewing the day job as a form of paid training that supports their personal growth and future endeavors.
What is the 'pay yourself first' expression mentioned by John Sonmez referring to?
-The 'pay yourself first' expression refers to the idea of allocating time and resources to one's own projects and goals before anything else, ensuring that personal development and aspirations are prioritized.
What is the potential benefit of viewing the day job as a form of 'apprenticeship' or 'tutelage'?
-Viewing the day job as an apprenticeship or tutelage can change one's perspective from feeling trapped to seeing it as a valuable learning experience, which can contribute to personal and professional growth.
Outlines
đ€ Balancing Day Job and Personal Projects
John Sonmez from simpleprogrammer.com addresses a common issue faced by developers who aspire to be entrepreneurs. The question comes from a viewer who is working at an agency, building websites they're not passionate about, while simultaneously trying to advance their career with personal projects. John empathizes with the struggle of staying motivated in a day job that doesn't align with one's interests and offers advice on maintaining focus and motivation. He suggests that while the day job may not be personally fulfilling, it's essential to work hard and take the experience as an opportunity to build a strong work ethic, which will be crucial for future entrepreneurial endeavors.
đš Cultivating a Strong Work Ethic
In the second paragraph, John continues to provide guidance on how to manage the day job while working on personal projects. He emphasizes the importance of working hard during the day job, not for the sake of the job itself, but to develop the necessary work ethic for future success. John advises replacing the passion for the job with the passion for working hard and being disciplined. He recommends waking up early to work on personal projects before starting the day job, thus 'paying oneself first' with dedicated time. John also encourages learning as much as possible from the current job to turn it into a beneficial experience, viewing it as paid training. He concludes by advising not to quit the day job but to use it as a stepping stone to build the foundation for one's entrepreneurial journey.
Mindmap
Keywords
đĄEntrepreneurial
đĄDay Job
đĄRevenue Generating
đĄMotivation
đĄWork Ethic
đĄSelf-Improvement
đĄPaid Training
đĄApprenticeship
đĄProductivity
đĄPersonal Projects
đĄTransitioning
Highlights
John Sonmez discusses the challenge of staying motivated at a day job while working on personal projects.
The question comes from a developer who is not passionate about their current job but is working on ideas to advance their career.
John advises on maintaining focus and motivation while working on uninteresting tasks at a day job.
He emphasizes the importance of working hard even when not passionate about the task at hand.
John suggests that working hard for an employer can be a form of training for working hard for oneself.
He recommends not working overtime but focusing on the quality of work during the agreed hours.
John advises waking up earlier to work on personal projects before starting the day job.
The concept of 'paying yourself first' with time is introduced as a strategy for personal project development.
John encourages viewing the day job as a form of 'apprenticeship' to build necessary skills and work ethic.
He suggests changing one's perspective to see the day job as a stepping stone rather than a prison.
John advises learning as much as possible from the current job to benefit future endeavors.
The importance of having a good work ethic even when not motivated by the task is reiterated.
John stresses the value of treating the day job as 'paid training' to improve oneself.
He recommends not quitting the day job but instead using it to build a foundation for future success.
John discusses the balance between working hard at the day job and dedicating time to personal projects.
The video concludes with advice on maintaining a positive mindset and using the day job as a learning opportunity.
Transcripts
hey john sonmez from
simpleprogrammer.com
um i got a i got an interesting question
that i was going to answer today
and this is obviously from someone who's
watching the entreprogrammers podcast
uh because he said it's a question from
a developer newer
so i give a lot of advice around um sort
of
the idea of quitting your job and not
necessarily quitting your job but
you know how to how to start your own
business how this is
entrepreneurial type of thing right as a
as a developer
so that's where this comes from he says
hi john i've got a burning question
at the moment and thought you might be
able to give some advice
i'm working the day job at an agency
building websites that i don't really
care about that much
in my spare time i'm working on ideas
that will push my dev career forward and
hopefully
create a review gen revenue generating
products
and services cool but my big question is
how do i keep focused motivated during
the day job when i'm not really into the
product life service that i'm working on
and seem to spend my time thinking about
my own projects
you must have faced this problem at some
point happy
uh for you to use my questions in a
video but please don't use my name in
case my
boss watches your videos thanks in
advance okay
so uh gabriel oops no
his name really isn't gabriel so it's
it's george
but uh but anyway um
yeah actually i have faced this problem
uh yeah i remember going into two too
far
into details but yeah i've been many
times right i've been
i had my day job which you know my
aspirations have always been to get out
on my own
uh i'm not to say that i haven't ever
liked my day job i
definitely liked a lot of companies i've
worked for i definitely have been
passionate about the work
that i've worked on but there comes some
point when you're doing your own thing
where you care about doing your own
thing you don't care about the
kind of code that you're having to write
during the day for your day job because
that's
that's not interesting to you that's not
your own thing
so you know what did i do in that
situation well
here's what i did and here's what i sort
of recommend and
you know employers that are watching
this and
might not like this advice so much but
hey um
it's the advice you know if i hire
someone to work for me
i'd give them the same advice because i
honestly believe
you know if you're an employer watching
this you're like man don't let my devs
you know listen to this john guy he's
gonna he's gonna screw up my
my deal here but honestly if you give
if your focus on employees right is to
give them
to make them be the best version of
themselves
possible to use elliott hulse's right
if you if you want people to succeed
and your focus is on on improving them
improving their skills and improving
their lives
they're going to do better job for you
and they're going to bring
other people to you that are going to do
a good job right
if you if you don't if you try to trap
them and say oh then we need to keep
them here and
and keep them from going off in their
own direction and starting their own
business or whatever
they're not going to be happy they're
going to get by minimally they're not
going to
do a good job for you you're not going
to they're not going to attract more
people
who you know if you're if you're a place
where you're helping people grow
you're gonna get a lot of good people
you're not gonna get them for a long
time
but for the time that you have them they
will be
you know you're gonna get a lot of good
ideas and work
out of them and you know so that's
that's just my philosophy
on that so i i always encourage i mean
help your employees not need you anymore
help them become
you know better versions of themselves
to get out on their own
there's no there's you're not gonna it's
not gonna hurt you to do that
right it's not like encouraging them to
you know go start their own businesses
but
but don't discourage them you know be
encouraging
for them to advance their career to
achieve their goals and their dreams
those are going to be happy people that
are going to work for you
hard so with that said uh
work your eight hours every day whatever
it is you know i mean do not
work over do not you know put to
like work hard like when you are working
for your employer right your day job uh
you don't you're lacking motivation you
don't
um you're not really into this you don't
really care about
what you're doing but what you can care
about and be passionate about
is the principle of working hard and
and doing what you're supposed to do
right this is one of
one of the advice pieces of advice i
give to people that are looking to quit
their job and want to get out on their
own
is first learn to work hard for someone
else then because when you are out on
your own
right you're gonna be busting your butt
all the time
working hard for yourself it's just
gonna happen you're gonna
like it is so much harder to work for
yourself
way harder an eight hour a day working
on your own
right if you're really working which you
don't get paid if you if you
if you don't you there's no getting paid
for goofing off when you're working for
yourself
it's tough so that's my advice is like
replace your passion for what you're
actually doing
with your passion for working hard be
you know if you got to be a mindless
i don't want to say models but if you've
got to be a zombie for the eight hours
you're working for someone else
do it but do it working hard working
towards the principle of working hard do
the best job that you can
don't get so emotionally wrapped up into
the work and
and whatnot but just be the kind of you
know pumping out the
the work working very hard knowing that
you're building
for yourself the work ethic that you
will need to be successful
right this is this is the key here is
you know during that time
when you're transitioning you've got
these big ideas you want to get out on
your own
build yourself that bridge you're going
to need to learn
really really good work ethic and to be
able to work when you don't feel like it
when you're not motivated
when you don't care about this crap
because even your own stuff you're not
going to care about that
you know it eventually you will you will
you will feel like you don't care about
it
so so work hard learn to work hard but
work the minimal at the same time right
so
i know it seems like a contradiction but
put in your 40
and that's it that's it that's what you
agreed you know
cut it as much as possible and and work
on your own stuff
the other thing also is wake up
earlier in the day and work on your
stuff first
pick you know the whole pay yourself
first expression pay yourself your hours
first
take two hours or one hour a day
whatever time you're gonna allocate
to your own stuff and spend those hours
first wake up earlier before you get to
the job before your dream before you get
home and you're tired and you don't feel
like you're working on
anything anymore that's that's you know
that's
my best advice on this and that's going
to help you
the most don't quit your job don't do
anything silly like that you're going to
have to grind this out this is a test
it's a trial it's a whole
difficult period but you're doing the
right thing by building
you know what you're building on the
side by continuing to work for
for this company um you know like i said
the focus the motivation during the day
when you're not really into
to the work you're going to replace that
with with knowing that you're there for
a purpose
which is to train you to work hard and
that this
in this work that you're doing for this
company is supporting you to be able to
build your own
thing right when you change your
perspective when you change your
viewpoint and you look at it in those
terms
it's no longer a prison sentence right
it's it's a
it's a tutelage it's a it's a chant an
apprenticeship
right it's a chance to uh learn as much
as you can use that
also try to learn as much as you can at
your current job
what can you learn what can you pick up
what kind of skills can you master right
how can you turn it to your benefit it's
not that you're just like you know
shoveling manure for eight hours a day
with no purpose in mind
right you're you're you're building your
character by working hard
you're learning new skills right you use
this to your advantage as much as
possible
think of it as paid training you're
getting paid to actually
like learn and to to be able to uh to
improve yourself
so so do that go through this pain it
you know
if you change your mindset to see this
as a positive experience
i think i think that will will help you
don't worry about being so passionate
about the work or the websites that
you're building
that's not you don't have to have
passion about that
um but but what you do have to do is
have that good work ethic
and and stick with this and like i said
don't give it more than
than you need to but give it the minimum
to get through it
as you're working on your own then give
yourself your best hours first
so that's it that's my advice in this
situation hopefully
that helps you and uh and yeah
uh thanks thanks thanks for sending me
the email this is this is a good one
i think a lot of people are stuck in a
similar situation want to know how to
get out of
out of this problem all right well
that's it for this uh this video
uh please subscribe to this channel if
you uh if you like these videos
take care
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