I love working on my personal website. For me, it's my personal playground. My own little corner of the web, where I can learn, think and try things out. My site reflects my personality, shows what I'm currently learning, and what occupies me at the moment. That's why I also love to rebuild it. Sometimes even entirely from scratch. And that is exactly what I did in early 2023.
To be honest. I've carried around the thought of rebuilding my site in my head already in 2022. Why? Because a lot of things have happened in my life. I started freelancing full-time and focused full-on product design and with that, there were primarily other areas that needed my full attention. But at the same time, everybody is talking about how important a portfolio and a personal website are. I found myself within that bubble and had huge expectations for my site. So huge I was too afraid to start. That's why I've just thrown everything away and paused the project.
To be honest. I've carried around the thought of rebuilding my site in my head already in 2022. Why? Because a lot of things have happened in my life. I started freelancing full-time and focused full-on product design and with that, there were primarily other areas that needed my full attention. But at the same time, everybody is talking about how important a portfolio and a personal website are. I found myself within that bubble and had huge expectations for my site. So huge I was too afraid to start. That's why I've just thrown everything away and paused the project.
Open up the garage door
I think a lot of people already heard of the classic "working with the garage door open" principle and so did I. But after re-reading one of Andy Matuschak's notes about it, things really started to click.
The idea behind working with the garage door opener is simple: don't wait until everything is perfect before sharing your work. You shouldn't wait until your code or product is flawless before getting feedback. Because otherwise, you will definitely run into some premature optimization. And having something out there is always better than having nothing out there.
At the same time, I became way more confident with running my own business, working on projects, and sharing my work online on LinkedIn. So I gained some momentum and thought: "Let's give it a shot!". But I still wanted to make it feel special. I have completely detached myself from the expectations of existing websites. No project requests, no tons of testimonials, no sales strategy. It was going to be my own little corner of the internet again. And I want to let everyone share in that.
The idea behind working with the garage door opener is simple: don't wait until everything is perfect before sharing your work. You shouldn't wait until your code or product is flawless before getting feedback. Because otherwise, you will definitely run into some premature optimization. And having something out there is always better than having nothing out there.
At the same time, I became way more confident with running my own business, working on projects, and sharing my work online on LinkedIn. So I gained some momentum and thought: "Let's give it a shot!". But I still wanted to make it feel special. I have completely detached myself from the expectations of existing websites. No project requests, no tons of testimonials, no sales strategy. It was going to be my own little corner of the internet again. And I want to let everyone share in that.
Setting time and scope
Then, in a few quiet days at the start of 2023, everything fell into place. I knew my stack, had a rough target picture in my head and had a few free evenings ahead of me.
I set myself a very specific timeframe in which I wanted to work and then go live directly. Just this switch between "how long do I need to do it" vs. "how long do I want to take" was extremely valuable.
I knew I wanted to go live after 2 days. With a very simple version that I then adjust over and over again. This also means not spending hours in Figma, not thinking through every detail from the beginning (is that even possible?), and rather jumping straight into the doing.
It showed me again how much I love programming, and that this is actually my favorite design tool. Implementation.
I set myself a very specific timeframe in which I wanted to work and then go live directly. Just this switch between "how long do I need to do it" vs. "how long do I want to take" was extremely valuable.
I knew I wanted to go live after 2 days. With a very simple version that I then adjust over and over again. This also means not spending hours in Figma, not thinking through every detail from the beginning (is that even possible?), and rather jumping straight into the doing.
It showed me again how much I love programming, and that this is actually my favorite design tool. Implementation.
What's next
The momentum that I got through this mini-go-live is incredibly valuable. After the launch of the first about page, the blog is now online already a few days later and I am looking forward to sharing everything I learn here openly and honestly.
Of course, not everything is perfect. There are still a lot of things missing, small details and there are definitely places in the code where you still have to clean up. But isn't that exactly the point of a garage?
Let's be real, no one's garage (or code) is ever truly perfect. There will always be something that could be improved or tweaked. By working with the garage door open, you're acknowledging that there's still work to be done, but you're also willing to share and collaborate with others to make it better.
So, the next time you're working on a project, don't be afraid to share it early. Whether it's showing a colleague some code you're working on or asking a friend to test out a new feature, or even just hitting the button and going live. Remember that working with the garage door open can lead to more collaboration, feedback, momentum, and ultimately, a better end result.
Just maybe don't take the concept too literally and actually leave your garage door open while you work. Your neighbors might not be too thrilled about that one.
Keep Creating Awesome Stuff!
✌️ Marvin
Of course, not everything is perfect. There are still a lot of things missing, small details and there are definitely places in the code where you still have to clean up. But isn't that exactly the point of a garage?
Let's be real, no one's garage (or code) is ever truly perfect. There will always be something that could be improved or tweaked. By working with the garage door open, you're acknowledging that there's still work to be done, but you're also willing to share and collaborate with others to make it better.
So, the next time you're working on a project, don't be afraid to share it early. Whether it's showing a colleague some code you're working on or asking a friend to test out a new feature, or even just hitting the button and going live. Remember that working with the garage door open can lead to more collaboration, feedback, momentum, and ultimately, a better end result.
Just maybe don't take the concept too literally and actually leave your garage door open while you work. Your neighbors might not be too thrilled about that one.
Keep Creating Awesome Stuff!
✌️ Marvin