I am an engineer by trade and a hobbyist by choice. Sometimes it feels the other way around; ultimately there are fundamental differences. As an engineer I serve the business, I choose the trade-off. As a hobbyist I serve mostly myself, I choose the finish.
Funny how they use the same tools and methods but are wildly different in practice.
At work, available time is scarce, often the limiting factor that decides the rhythm of things. Requirements will change fast anyway so the aim is short or midterm more often than not.
On the hobby side, time is scarce too but almost infinite at the same time. That pressure to deliver on calendar dates is not here. This is more a “shipped when ready” vibe and it leaves the door open to perfectionism. Add to the equation that a hobby project is a solo project and in practice, you end up with more energy put on yak shaving than making the project progress.
And… it applies to writing posts too. I totally didn’t have to build my own static site publisher to post this one. And yet…
Yak shaving by David Revoy, CC BY 4.0