Learnings from my sabbatical

I took 9 weeks off of work, and I loved it. Here are my learnings:

My ideal 'Year Off': some people take a year off to travel. My year off would be heads down building stuff for fun.

I'd make a ton of these tiny rc cars, build this trash can that catches your trash, and so. many. fun. apps. This stuff makes me happy.

I gotta have a side going at all times. It keeps me excited. Not having enough time to work on the side quests keeps them interesting.
If my side quest becomes my main thing, then it's just another job, and I end up having a new thing on the side.

I made Intention because it let me write code when my primary job didn't give me a greenfield project. And I loved it.
Then I pivoted and tried to make it make money for me, and that me sad - because now it became all about marketing and getting users.
(..it is a contradiction though, I wanna make cool things, and somehow hope they stumble into becoming a revenue stream without putting in effort into sales)

I spend a lot of time thinking of whether what I'm doing is the right thing, the right strategy, and whether it'll lead me to where I want to be.
This leads to inaction and self doubt.
I went to a farmer's market, and saw them set up their shop, and at the end of the day, take back what looked like 90% of their shop. And yet, day in and day out, they show up.
Even though they don't sell everything everyday, they still show up. I'm certain they're doing a ton of analysis of what sells and what doesn't in the background, but they're not rethinking it daily.
And that's what I have to do. I can't keep rethinking my strategy every day. Wonder if I'm doing the right thing - I just have to set up my shop, and keep going at it. And once a month re-plan and see what's working and what isn't.

You can have the best restaurant in the world, but if people don't know where it is, no one is going to show up.
Even the best restaurant has to send out flyers, get people visiting, and put itself on the map.

I wanted to become accidentally viral.
But you can't force it - it's an accident - that's the definition.
Lens Launcher became viral with zero marketing. I was hoping for that to happen again.
You have to be methodical about it. Make a plan, and then follow through. If you know you need dedicating marketing in today's world, do it. Stop fighting against the stream, or hoping it'll just magically work out.

I want to add value. I want to make a product that helps an existing business run better. Be more efficient, speed up things for them, which in turn helps them make more money, and I take a cut.
People make startups sound complicated with all these frameworks and fancy words - bootstrapping, pre-seed, growth, blah.
The framework is merely a lens, the focus is creating value.

I want to make friends who want to build. And build with them.
I visited a robotics startup in Zurich and it gave me lots of energy. I want to be in an environment where people are working because they want to.
I realized I'm essentially chasing what I had at my job right out of university - Tonbo Imaging. That time was epic!

I've been doing Android for 12 years now. I love it, because I can build tangible products.
But, how much longer should I be doing Android? If I take on one more role that is primarily Android, I'm just digging myself deeper in Android land.
I realized that's okay. Android is just a means to software engineering. I've done web dev and I've made iOS apps. I like that I can go deep into the Android stack. Be proficient at all parts of the stack - the kernel, the HAL, the framework, and the apps.
Phones, TVs, cars, and now Glasses on run Android. It's here to stay.

With how good AI coding is getting, I started worrying (a lot) about my role as a software engineer, and about the future of jobs and of humanity.
But here's what I know for a fact:
you'll be fine if you can communicate really well.
We're humans, and that's what we do. We talk. No matter what comes, if you can talk and structure your thoughts well, you'll be fine. No matter what the future of jobs look like.

I used to spend time thinking about which city I want to live in next. Munich is great, but I've always felt like this isn't the city I settle in. But it's been 6 years now (!)
Different cities bring out different parts of you. And you grow to like wherever you are. You find your favorite little pizza joint, your gym, that tram stop, and you start recognizing familiar faces.
If you like the people you're with, you'll start liking the city too.

Bhardwaj Rish