Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submitlogin

You're asking the wrong question. The right question is "why am I building this thing?" It can be hard to introspect enough to be honest with yourself when answering.

The answer might be "for the extra income" - but I doubt it. That might be the justification to others, but if what you wanted is money you'd focus on shipping - and getting paid. You'd focus all your time on marketing what you have, not tweaking it. (The place where you work has figured this out, hence they don't give you time to waste rewriting).

Are you doing this to have something to be proud of? To show the best craftsmanship you can do? If so re-architechting it is the goal, and you should embrace it. (Also accept you'll be doing this forever, since you keep growing as a programmer you can expect to recraft regularly.) That's OK, that's why the project exists.

Perhaps it's something else. Perhaps you feel unskilled (imposter syndrome) and the "success" of this project helps you build confidence.

Perhaps it's a learning exercise. Perhaps it's a distraction from other issues. Whatever.

Understanding your actual motivation gives you the freedom to embrace the process. Goal is to make money? Then the code doesn't need to be perfect, just shippable. You're free from feeling like it needs to be perfect. And so on.

Figure out the "why" and the process becomes a lot more forgiving.




Consider applying for YC's Fall 2025 batch! Applications are open till Aug 4

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: