I find it’s easier for me to finish physical products, like woodworking, rather than software. I’m building a door right now for my patio, and let me tell you that it’s next to impossible to redo the design of a piece of wood once you’ve milled it down to a certain size or shaped it, so you learn to think very clearly about the goals of a project and the design before you cut anything. In my off time, I don’t want to endlessly struggle to finish things, so I don’t do software. I also do simracing, which also has bite sized goals, like “improve my safety rating to X” or “post three clean laps on a new track”. Though, no matter the hobby, you have to be able to set a small goal and achieve it pretty quick, so I’ll tell myself “just finish the tenons on these frame parts rough, then you can finish them tomorrow.”
Edit: To add, I don’t expect perfection from my wood projects. There are gaps and cracks, I use the wrong wood or don’t orient the grains properly, etc. That doesn’t matter, though, because everyone who sees my projects are amazed at my skill, partly because they don’t know where to look for the errors, but also because just finishing anything physical like a door represents a great feat that most won’t even try. It’s different for software, there’s a greater expectation for some reason, or perhaps a virtual product isn’t as tangible as a physical one.
I've started doing physical things I'm my free time, like making plushies, and I can confirm that it feels a lot easier and more rewarding, because you get to the end of the steps given to you, and its done, and you have a thing you can cuddle. And sure I see all the errors I've made, but like you say, other people don't
> ... you learn to think very clearly about the goals of a project and the design before you cut anything.
Software engineers have been putting serious effort into trying to do that for the last 50+ years with mixed results - one major result being the existence of agile. Software is different to inert physical objects.
Edit: To add, I don’t expect perfection from my wood projects. There are gaps and cracks, I use the wrong wood or don’t orient the grains properly, etc. That doesn’t matter, though, because everyone who sees my projects are amazed at my skill, partly because they don’t know where to look for the errors, but also because just finishing anything physical like a door represents a great feat that most won’t even try. It’s different for software, there’s a greater expectation for some reason, or perhaps a virtual product isn’t as tangible as a physical one.