ابنِ مشروعك الجانبي وانت موظف دوام كامل: نظام الدقايق العشر وجلسة الويكندBuild a Side Project While Working Full Time: The Ten Minute System and the Weekend Session

Key terms

Short session

Any gap of five to twenty minutes: in the car before you head in, at a cafe, between meetings. You finish one task in it, nothing more.

Handoff note

A few lines you write at the end of every session: what you finished, where you stopped, and the first move next time. It gets you back to work in a minute instead of fifteen.

Weekend session

One long session a week, same place and same ritual, for the work that needs focus and can't be split.

Claude Project

A space in Claude that keeps your project instructions and files, so you open it from your laptop or your phone and find the same context.

The steps

1. 1

   Step 1

   Pick one thing to build this month

   Side projects rarely stall for lack of time. They stall because there are too many things. Pick one clear result you can see at the end of the month: a working page, a first version of an app, ten posts.

   Write it in one line and put it in your Claude Project instructions, so every session starts from the same goal.

   PromptSet the goal

   Copy

   I work full time. My time for this side project is short gaps during the week and one long session on the weekend.
   The project: [describe it in two lines]
   Help me pick one result I can reach in 4 weeks. Suggest 3 options, and for each: the result in one line, why it's realistic for my time, and the first thing I do.

   Tip: If you can't state the result in one line, it's still too big.

2. 2

   Step 2

   Split the goal into ten minute tasks

   Short gaps get wasted when you open the laptop and start deciding what to do. The fix is a list that's ready before you sit down.

   Have Claude split the goal into small tasks that each fit one short session, and park anything that needs long focus on the weekend list.

   PromptTask lists

   Copy

   My goal this month: [goal]
   Split it into two lists:
   1. Short tasks: each takes 10 to 20 minutes and starts with a clear verb.
   2. Weekend tasks: anything that needs two hours of focus or more.
   Order each list the way I should work through it, and make the first short task something I can start right now.

   Tip: A task that starts with "think about" or "look into" isn't a task. Start it with a verb: write, design, upload, test.

3. 3

   Step 3

   Write a handoff note at the end of every session

   A minute before you close the laptop, write yourself a handoff note. This is the most important habit in the whole system, because the next session might be three days away and you will have forgotten everything.

   Paste what you did into Claude, have it produce the note in the same shape every time, and save it to the project files.

   PromptHandoff note

   Copy

   Write a handoff note for this session in exactly this shape:
   Done: [one or two lines]
   Stopped at: [the exact file or step]
   First thing next session: [one clear action]
   Open problem: [if any]
   Here's what I did today: [paste your notes or last messages]

4. 4

   Step 4

   Get back to work in one minute

   First thing in every short session: open your Claude Project, paste the last handoff note, and ask for the next step only.

   You skip the first ten minutes of remembering and start from the exact line where you stopped.

   PromptResume

   Copy

   Here's my last handoff note:
   [paste the note]
   I have [number] minutes right now. Give me one step I can finish in that time, and exactly what to write or do.

   Tip: Under five minutes? Use it to tidy the list or capture an idea, not to start a new task.

5. 5

   Step 5

   Turn any place into an office

   The car, the airport, the cafe. The place doesn't matter if the work opens in seconds.

   Keep everything in the Claude Project: instructions, files and the latest handoff note. Then you can open it on your phone when the laptop isn't with you and keep planning or writing anywhere.

   And keep one kit ready: a charger in the bag, headphones, and the Claude app on your phone.

6. 6

   Step 6

   Make the weekend session a fixed ritual

   The long session works best with the same place and the same start every week, so your head gets into work mode fast. For example: the same corner, the same coffee, and the first five minutes on the weekend list.

   Start with a short plan, work on one big task, and close with a handoff note.

   PromptSession plan

   Copy

   I have a [number] hour weekend session.
   Monthly goal: [goal]
   Last handoff note: [paste]
   Weekend task list: [paste]
   Pick one task to finish in this session, split it into three stages with a time for each, and tell me what counts as done at the end.

7. 7

   Step 7

   Catch ideas when you stop

   When the work stops, the ideas don't. They show up on the road or before sleep. Don't lose them, and don't let them drag you into a new project.

   Drop every idea as a message to Claude in the same project and let it decide where it belongs: the short list, the weekend list, or later.

   PromptSort an idea

   Copy

   New idea: [idea]
   Monthly goal: [goal]
   Does this idea serve the goal? If yes, add it as a short task or a weekend task, written as a clear action. If not, put it on the later list with one line on why.

8. 8

   Step 8

   Review the week in five minutes

   At the end of the weekend session, ask three questions: what did I finish, what slowed me down, and what's the first task next week.

   A short review beats a long one, because you will actually do it.

   PromptWeekly review

   Copy

   Here are this week's handoff notes:
   [paste]
   Summarise: what I finished, what took longer than expected and why, and the first three short tasks for next week. If the goal no longer looks realistic, suggest one change.

Ready prompts to copy

I'm building [project] next to a full time job. My time is short gaps plus one long weekend session.
Monthly goal: [goal]
In every reply: give me one step only, as a clear action that fits the time I tell you. If I ask for more than my time allows, say so.