I am deeply passionate about the problem space and the positive feedback from the users continues to be a huge source of motivation and validation for me.

I even took a full-time sabbatical for a year to work on it, which helped establish it in a small niche.

When commuting, doing chores or running errands, it's the only thing I can think of. I even created detailed plans for easy to build features that users requested.

YET, every time I sit down in front of my computer, I freeze up.

I know exactly what to build and how to build it, but I spend two or three hours trying to maintain focus for more than 30 minutes in a row. (And, no, Pomodoro didn't work either.)

I feel like a spring that can't wait to jump somewhere else.

I've tried working on it after my day job and before work. I quit social media and try to spend my free time consuming long-form media to avoid ruining my attention span because I keep thinking that's the cause of my strife. But the result is the same: zero energy for execution.

Worse yet, I can't even enjoy my time away from it. The guilt of not being in front of my computer working on the project completely ruins my evenings, weekends, and social time. Stepping away feels impossible because the guilt makes relaxing more stressful than trying (and failing) to work.

How can I escape this cycle?

(And, yes, I wrote this while trying to do some work on the project.)