The one-file rule for keeping side projects alive

Side projects die of a specific disease: you return after three weeks, open the folder, and recognise nothing. Not because the code is bad — because re-entering costs more than the motivation you have. The fix I've settled on is a rule I call the one-file rule.

The rule

Every side project must have one file that, read alone, tells the returning me everything: what this is, why it exists, what state it's in, what's next. For small projects it's a README written like a letter. For bigger ones it's a NOTES.md that doubles as a decision log.

What goes in it

• the idea in two sentences, as written when excitement was high
• the stack, and why each piece was chosen — so future-me doesn't relitigate
• current state: what works, what's broken, what's half-built
• the very next step, so re-entry has a door

Why it works

Re-entry cost is the killer. The one-file rule makes the cost a two-minute read instead of an archaeology dig. It also exposes dead projects honestly — if the "next step" hasn't moved in months, the project is over, and better to know than to pretend.

Side projects don't die from lack of talent. They die from lack of a door back in.