Don’t fret about taking on a side project or two that you feel pulled towards. For history tells us, these little diversions can save us.

Go for it. Even if you think it is silly or stupid…

See, the side projects are often where we find ourselves.

For example, Crew.co – recently acquired by Dribbble – tells a fantastic story about how starting Unsplash.com saved their entire company.

I think that the best advice I have been given in this area is to always be experimenting.

And side projects are a way of experimenting and testing what works and what doesn’t work in real-time.

Artist Austin Kleon referred to side projects as stuff that was “just play” – “just messing around.”

So play more. Mess around more.

Because sometimes, something done on a whim turns into something great.

How is it that thirteen years later, we’re a 155-employee, $45-million-dollar-a-year software business? Unbelievably enough, a side project that turned into a consulting business saved the day. The experts in the startup world will tell you that services and consulting are a waste of time. Fortunately, I hadn’t yet heard that advice.

-Rand Fishkin, Lost And Founder