Most side projects stall because the scope grows, the audience is vague or the launch date never gets fixed. This plan keeps the first version small and puts a date on it.
It runs in six stages: define the project, check the idea, scope version one, build it, prepare the launch and follow up. It suits a solo builder with a few spare hours each week, and works for software, a product or a creative project.
Copy it into Tatask and each stage is dated from today. Stretch the dates if your hours are fewer, but keep the order.
What's in this plan
See every step
Define the project(day 0)
Write one sentence on who the project is for and what it fixes
A narrow audience makes every later decision easier.
Write down why you are building it
Your reason (learning, income, a portfolio piece) decides how much polish it needs.
Set the hours per week you can protect
Pick a number you can keep up for the whole project, not a good week.
Choose a launch date and write it down(day 3)
Keep it close. A date a few weeks out forces you to cut scope instead of drifting.
Tell one person your launch date(day 3)
Check the idea(day 7)
List 3 existing alternatives and what each lacks(day 7)
Talk to 5 people who match your audience(day 14)
Ask what they do today about the problem. Do not pitch the idea yet.
Draft interview questions for those conversations(day 8)
Paste this into an AI assistant.
Prompt to copy
Write 8 open questions for a short chat with <audience> about how they currently handle <problem>. Do not suggest answers. Do not invent statistics.
Decide to build, change or drop the idea(day 16)
Dropping an idea after a week is a good result. It costs far less than dropping it after three months.
Scope the first version(day 21)
List every feature you can imagine(day 17)
Mark the smallest set that solves the core problem(day 18)
If a feature is not needed for the first person to get value, it waits.
Write the launch checklist of features needed on day one(day 19)
Choose your tools and hosting(day 20)
Prefer tools you already know. A new stack adds weeks.
Check the name and domain are free to use(day 21)
Search the name and check a domain registrar. For trademarks, check your local register.
Build it(day 49)
Set up the project and a place to track work(day 22)
Build the core feature end to end(day 35)
Get a rough version working from start to finish before you improve any part of it.
Add a way to sign up or get in touch(day 38)
Write the page that explains what it is(day 42)
Cover who it is for, what it does and what to do next.
Add basic privacy and terms pages if you collect data(day 45)
Check the rules where you and your users live. Seek advice if unsure.
Cut anything not on the launch checklist(day 47)
Ask 3 people to test it and write down where they stall(day 49)
Prepare to launch(day 60)
Fix the problems your testers found(day 54)
Write the launch post(day 56)
Paste this into an AI assistant.
Prompt to copy
Help me draft a short launch post for <project>. It is for <audience> and fixes <problem>. Keep it plain and specific, with no hype and no made-up numbers. Leave blanks for details I have not given you.
Choose 3 places where your audience already gathers(day 57)
Read each place's posting rules before you write anything.
Message 10 people who might share it(day 58)
Set up simple analytics or a signup count(day 59)
Run the launch checklist once more(day 60)
Launch and follow up(day 75)
Publish the launch post in your chosen places(day 61)
Reply to every comment and message in the first 3 days(day 64)
Record signups, visits and feedback in one note(day 68)
Write down what you learned and what surprised you(day 70)
Fix the 3 most common complaints(day 75)
Decide whether to keep going, change course or stop(day 75)
Compare the result with the reason you wrote down at the start.