I gave up doing tech side projects. I just don’t feel that I can be anywhere nearly as impactful working on a solo project as on a corporate one.
At my job I spend a week building a feature that overnight gets used by thousands of people. While on a side project I end up spending the same time setting up the framework and login page that will be used by maybe 2 people before they get bored.
Instead I made my side projects art related. Drawing, sewing, cosplay props and stuff. Feels good to spend a weekend and finish something cool that I can give to someone. Vs spending the weekend grinding away at trying to configure docker and CI.