In my previous post, I talked about learning to deal with stress after walking away from a steady paycheck. This one is less philosophical and more practical. Think of it as me sharing how am I handling things in practice, the nuts and bolts, as I find my footing and explore the path of solopreneurship.

The Habit That Changed Everything

More than a year before I quit my job at Microsoft, I picked up one habit that turned out to be a lifesaver: tracking my finances.

Few days ago, I finally completed Elden Ring. It had been languishing in my steam backlog for over 2 years or so. I had multiple false starts with this one, always giving up on the Tree Sentinel. I decided to give it one more try (mostly as part of my uber goal of completing my backlog - more on that in another post).

It took me almost 3 months, wrapped up the game around level 168, with ~160 hours of playtime. I don’t think I completed 100% as I stayed away from walkthroughs as much as possible to avoid spoilers and maintain the sense of wonder. I think a major part of the fun in the game is exploration and figuring out stuff on your own. I think I would’ve missed some side quests or optional bosses due to this (maybe 90% completed and some 10% missed ?).

One of the first questions people ask me after hearing that I have quit my corporate job, is almost always the same:

“How do you handle the stress?”
“How do you sleep at night knowing there’s no guaranteed paycheck at the end of the month?”

It’s a fair question. We’ve been conditioned to believe that a regular salary is the ultimate safety net, and that stepping away from it automatically means living in a constant state of anxiety. But after spending some time on the other side, I’ve realized something important about stress and it’s something that doesn’t get talked about enough.

How to come up with good ideas as a solo developer? How to decide what to build?

Ever since I left the corporate world to build independently, I’ve been wrestling with these two questions. Being a solopreneur is liberating, but it also means waking up to a blank canvas every single day. Before we dive deeper, let me address the first thought that usually comes up: “Is the idea itself what really matters, or is it the execution?”

It’s been a while since I shared an update, so I figured it’s time to check in, partly for anyone following my journey but mostly to get my own thoughts in order.

Post Microsoft, the past few months have been a mix of celebration, reflection, recalibration, minor chaos and a surprising number of “what am I even doing?” moments. So here’s a quick catch-up on where my time and headspace have been lately.