If 1. This is not fun, 2. There's no guarantee it will pay off, honestly you just shouldn't do it.
Some things need to get done, at least short term, sure. But if that's structural, some major chances should be done.
If a side project is neither a source of learning, nor fun, nor of opportunity (and thus "it doesn't pay off", in your words) - then just don't do it and find something else.
I'm a fierce believer in intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivations don't hold up. You're set to give up sooner or later.
A problem for me has been the inconsistent nature of intrinsic motivation. I start out in that "honeymoon" phase where it's fun and interesting, but after a few weeks or days (or even hours in some cases) it loses its intrigue and becomes boring work. So I either wind up forcing myself to continue or adding it to my pile of unfinished "to be continued" projects. (And knowing that this loss of intrinsic motivation may happen feeds the fear to even start new things.)
(This is to say nothing of the inherent problems with extrinsically motivated work, such as freelance work.)
I think that's really insightful. But I wonder how well it balances with us HN hordes trying to find the SaaS that will escape us from a grind. The low-hanging fruit is long gone, and not everything that starts fun stays fun. What I was trying to get at is there is no guaranteed (literal) pay off for even a good idea/strategy.
Take something like Basecamp as an example. I came up as a web developer at the same time as those guys. Could've built something like that, but didn't do it then and certainly not with the same conviction. If I had, and had early adoption, I would've stuck at it and carried through - the fun aspect wouldn't have been an issue if there was early success.
Some things need to get done, at least short term, sure. But if that's structural, some major chances should be done.
If a side project is neither a source of learning, nor fun, nor of opportunity (and thus "it doesn't pay off", in your words) - then just don't do it and find something else.
I'm a fierce believer in intrinsic motivation. Extrinsic motivations don't hold up. You're set to give up sooner or later.