{
  "path": "/3mc3ylscpd22j",
  "site": "at://did:plc:4hodhjl2kposuchzvpiviwps/site.standard.publication/3mc3waayzws23",
  "tags": [],
  "$type": "site.standard.document",
  "title": "The subtle peer pressure of working in public",
  "content": {
    "$type": "pub.leaflet.content",
    "pages": [
      {
        "id": "019ba9bb-a38d-7553-bada-09bc8cc679c9",
        "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument",
        "blocks": [
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "I'm really good at starting projects. Like, really good. If starting projects were an Olympic sport I'd probably be pretty competitive. Finishing projects, though? Not so much."
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "The last thing I wanted to do while recovering from the holiday hangover in my house was jump back into a project I had recently gotten through the fun part on, and was now in the grueling implementation details part. As I was cleaning up the last of the wrapping paper detritus, stuffing Christmas decorations back into their storage bags, and trying to locate yet another place to stash toys so I can pretend to be an adult when folks come over, opening up my dev environment and getting my app working again was the last thing I wanted to do. It sounded much nicer to spin up a cozy crochet project and binge watch Netflix."
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "However, I said on the internet that I was going to release this thing, to people whose opinion I respect. So getting back into that project was exactly what I did."
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "Saying you are going to do something in public feels vulnerable. If I don't finish it and I let it languish in my personal backlog forever, it's not just the project that suffers. It's my own credibility. That feels much higher stakes than finishing a project I want to make sure I finish."
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "Working in public forces you to become a person who follows through. It's peer pressure, but unlike drugs or alcohol or CrossFit, I think it's a good peer pressure. It's pressure that's not just pushing you towards something, but pulling you towards the person you want to be."
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "It's not visible. No one is asking me “is it done yet?” but I still feel it."
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "I've gotten further on this side project than most other projects I've taken on, and that's both exciting and terrifying. Now instead of asking myself “what if I don't finish it?”, I get to ask myself some even bigger questions:"
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "“What if I DO finish it?”"
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "“What if no one uses it?”"
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "“What if too many people use it?”"
            }
          },
          {
            "$type": "pub.leaflet.pages.linearDocument#block",
            "block": {
              "$type": "pub.leaflet.blocks.text",
              "facets": [],
              "plaintext": "I'm glad I added these extra stakes to this project. I think that the next time I want to do something big, I'm going to work in public again."
            }
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "description": "How to go from starting things to finishing things.",
  "publishedAt": "2026-01-10T21:51:05.332Z"
}