How do you deal with fear of missing out / fear of better option when picking projects. I struggle with this a lot. I am a curious person who is always trying to improve, I am maximizer in most contexts. It allows me to have an open mind, to prevent tunnel vision.
At the same time it prevents me of making a decision, I always try to find a way how to improve my chances, how to find my cooperative advantage etc but I am in my early 30s, so I want to optimize for an impact. I am web developer so my skills are in demand and I can work on different areas(good problem to have), but obviously this just opens other options to me.
So generally I know my direction - better internet / web applications but possibilities how to approach this problem are endless. Also, I still like to have a place for other intellectual stuff like, EA, philosophy, business etc
There are few things which I try to do like:
- to accept there are limitation and drawbacks. I accept I can't eat all the flavors of the ice cream and I can't just skip from project to project.
- use decision process like DECIDE framework
- get away from environment like social media which make this worse.
- plan ahead. When I search for some information I try to search it to solve specific problem rather than going through intellectual rabbit hole. I still leave some space for random info to get outside of my bubble, but I try to limit it. No new podcasts, no new books(rather reread classics), limit news etc.
- appreciate existing options more, there is a lot we can be all thankful for and I found my self taking for granted my job
- channel the energy to some side project. For example, I love exploring new ideas, so I can write simple blog about them or share them on twitter
- get inspiration from craftsmen . I love watching jiro dreams of sushi, or The Last Dance, where you can see the appreciation for the craft.
- get a time to stay back -> meditation, going offline to nature etc
(Meta-note: I recommend using the Question feature if you publish future posts that ask a question of the Forum's community. Just select "New Question" instead of "New Post" when you go to compose the post.)
If you're trying to figure out how to find an impactful EA web development project, why not post about this on the Forum and/or in large EA Facebook groups (e.g. EA Hangout)?
A Forum post soliciting ideas for EA web development projects may bring in some interesting options; in that post, you can also discuss projects you've worked on in the past, as well as some of your own ideas, so that people can make more specific suggestions. Same goes for an EA Hangout post.
Here's the page for the Forum's "Get Involved" tag. Tags are very new here and not all relevant posts are covered, but that should be a good start for checking out project ideas other people have had (specifically, using the "lists of project ideas" posts on that page).
PS: weren't there some chat room for EA software developers?