I mean this genuinely: do you have anxiety? Because I do, and it can make it hard to handle uncertainty and the feeling of not having control. A big project, especially one with lots of things left to do, is the definition of uncertainty. So, instead of tackling the anxiety-inducing project work, you spend time trying to cope by erecting larger and larger edifices of organization. The problem is that this never actually helps, because rearranging Jira columns doesn't get code written. But it, briefly, makes you feel better, and can even feel like progress. It's a sort of avoidant mechanism. I have OCD, and one of my compulsions is counting. Anxiety is the actual problem, and counting is the maladaptive coping mechanism. It's possible that spending too much time on organization tools functions similarly.
If this affects other portions of your life, some mild therapy might not be a bad idea. Otherwise, you might consider trying a very lightweight system, like notes in a text file, but with very actionable goals and milestones. Start with your end result, and work backwards. What would it take to get to, say, a production web service? Then write TODOs as you break the chunks up. Crucially, tell yourself that you can totally do the work, and then do a small task. You know how to do the work, but it's easy to talk yourself out of it. And it won't always be easy, but so what? It's a personal project, the stakes are so low! And it's supposed to be fun anyway, not a chore. But you have to think about why you're worried so much about finding the perfect tool, because I think that's the root of the issue.
Caveat: not a psychologist, just someone who struggles with anxiety and a crippling inability to get things done. :) I hope this helps a bit.
I do have anxiety. I think it is exacerbated when I use digital tools because anything can be edited/improved at any time. I can expend considerable mental resources in analysis paralysis. What should I call this user story? Do I need to break it down into smaller ones? Is this description of the issue accurate or am I being sloppy with my thinking/writing? How much specification should I do before I start coding? Do I need to document my thinking process? Do I archive or delete the user story once it's done? Do I need to transfer any of the insights acquired while completing it into long-term storage, like a knowledge management system (Zettelkasten, Notion, Confluence, ...)? And so on.
Jira to me is like a playground of torture machines haha. Oh, I can link this issue to this Confluence page. Oh, I can build a custom workflow from scratch and set conditions for issue completion. Oh, I can limit the number of cards in a column.
The weird thing is that I KNOW that I don't need any of this shit. Because I've done this many times before only to then delete all these projects and databases and go back to pen and paper. And yet, sometimes I feel like THIS TIME I'll do it right and stick with the system long enough, until it begins to return on my investment with productivity and clarity dividends. But this never happens.
Recently I've been experimenting with keeping an engineering logbook. One notebook for EVERYTHING. No tearing out pages. Chronological order, naturally. I like that all of its power is contained within the limitations of its physical form. Funny how it's the limitations that liberate.
I am rambling. But this reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Lao Tzu: "Do you have the patience to wait until your mud settles and the water is clear?" Project management, the way I am doing it, is like stirring the water and the mud trying to force clarity.
If this affects other portions of your life, some mild therapy might not be a bad idea. Otherwise, you might consider trying a very lightweight system, like notes in a text file, but with very actionable goals and milestones. Start with your end result, and work backwards. What would it take to get to, say, a production web service? Then write TODOs as you break the chunks up. Crucially, tell yourself that you can totally do the work, and then do a small task. You know how to do the work, but it's easy to talk yourself out of it. And it won't always be easy, but so what? It's a personal project, the stakes are so low! And it's supposed to be fun anyway, not a chore. But you have to think about why you're worried so much about finding the perfect tool, because I think that's the root of the issue.
Caveat: not a psychologist, just someone who struggles with anxiety and a crippling inability to get things done. :) I hope this helps a bit.