What's the sweet spot between quiet building and public accountability?
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Leaving projects unfinished in a local folder is a habit almost every solo developer struggles with.
Quietly abandoning them feels safe because no one asks questions.
Telling just one trusted friend or peer instead of blasting it on social media works so much better for me. Public build logs can get overwhelming but a simple 1-on-1 check-in keeps you honest without all the extra noise.
Have you kept this habit strictly 1-on-1 or do you ever post progress in small group chats?
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For me the check in that works is not a person but a release. The local folder is where projects die, so I made it hard to stay there: every finished stage gets committed and pushed the same day, and the app goes out to the stores in small versions, each one tagged. Once there is a version number with real users on it, there is something that has to be answered next week, a review, a crash, a question in support, and that does the job a friend would do, without me having to explain the project to anyone. Your 1 on 1 idea is the better one for the stage before that, when there is nothing to ship yet. I would just pick a person who will ask "can I try it" rather than "how is it going", because the first question cannot be answered with a status update.