You've worked a long hard day at the office, and you're finally free. It's tempting to go home, stuff some food in your mouth, and do nothing for the rest of the night, but after work is prime time to get started on your side project, learn a new skill or language, or do something else that you have a passion for. So how do you resist the urge to fall down on the couch after work every day? How do you find the motivation to stay productive after leaving work?

It's difficult enough to leave a long day of work and take care of your household chores and other responsibilities, but how do you stay motivated to be productive at your side projects? Sure, it helps to work on things that you're passionate about, or don't have the opportunity to work on during the day, but how do you commit and make sure you stay committed, even on those days where you feel like you really don't feel like it?

This thread at Hacker News inspired us to ask you the question, and find out what techniques you use to make sure you make headway on your pet projects once you've made the decision to get started. Do you get up early and work on your side gig in the early morning, or do you lock yourself in the basement until you've made progress? Maybe you're like our editor-in-chief, Adam Pash, who promises to give his project 10 minutes each day, no more (unless he wants to), no less. However you do it, share some of your tips for staying personally productive after the workday is over in the comments below.

Photo by StockLite (Shutterstock).

We've always said that you should do what you love—so much that if you wouldn't do your job for free, you should quit. When that isn't an option, though, writer Patty Azzarello recommends a slight change in philosophy.

While we don't necessarily agree with her that "doing what you love" is bad advice, we do understand that it isn't always ideal—especially in a bad economy. Maybe your ideal job market is oversaturated, or maybe it just doesn't pay enough for the lifestyle you want. In those situations, it helps to look at your job as a means to do what you love.

Consider thinking about your work/life strategy like this:

• Do what you love for free.
• Work for money.
• Change how you do your job to feel less tortured about it-and maybe even feel pretty good about it.
• Spend the money you make on doing the things you love when you're not at work.

End of insight: Please read it again.

Azzarello uses her own life as an example: she was stuck in a technology job that paid well, but that she hated doing. Instead of griping through her hatred of technology, she reassessed her job to focus on things she was good at—she used her hatred of technology to make the product better for similarly-minded people. That way, while she may not be doing something she loved, she was at least doing something she liked, and could spend more time and money on the things she did love. Hit the link below to read more, and for our own insight on the subject, check out our top 10 tips for improving your work life.

"Do What You Love" Is Bad Advice | Free Money Finance

Photo by Blend Images.

When you're looking for jobs it's easy to fall back on a few reliable and hardworking contacts as references. However, as the Wall Street Journal points out, distributing a reference's contact info too often can lead to burnout.

In addition to keeping an eye on how often you release a reference's contact information on a resume be careful that you're not just name-dropping. As the Wall Street Journal points out, a famous name doesn't automatically mean an interviewer will be impressed. Stick with reliable workers who you know will make a good reference and mix them up a bit if you're sending out a lot of resumes. If you're curious of a few of the other networking mistakes you might be making, hit up the full post on the Wall Street Journal.

Networking Mistakes We Often Make | Wall Street Journal

Photo by Elliot P..

There are plenty of stupid things you do on Facebook, but you probably wouldn't expect that being too private is one of them. There are actually real downsides to locking down your Facebook profile. It can hurt you in a job search or the quality of the search results for your name. Here's why.

Facebook can be a little scary when it comes to your privacy. It doesn't really have the greatest track record, and we've all heard stories about how prospective employers have found embarrassing photos and information that led to problems in the hiring process. When we hear about the downsides to sharing publicly, our instincts turn to paranoia. We want jobs. We don't want to be embarrassed. We want to survive online with our dignity intact. Those are all great goals, but completely locking down your Facebook profile is taking it too far. It can actually hurt you because you're not providing good information.

When You Post Nothing, Everyone Else Decides Who You Are

You don't have control over what other people post about you. If you get drunk at a party and someone snaps a photo, it may end up online. Sure, you can untag yourself and try to control the possible damage from embarrassing stuff popping up, but there's really no way to stop it all. You may not have active tags on Facebook, but that doesn't mean that photo won't still exist and won't show up elsewhere. When people are constantly contributing information to Facebook, as well as other parts of the web, you're always stuck playing catch up if you're trying to control how others talk about you.

This is why you need to contribute public information. If you don't, you're providing no information about who you are. If you don't post anything, everyone else determines what you look like to a stranger who searches for your name. In a job search, this can be pretty problematic. The first results can be embarrassing. If you share a name with someone else, their results may come up instead. You put yourself at risk by not contributing positive information about yourself.

The Solution Is Simple: Publicly Post What You Want Others to See

It's fine to keep most of what you post on Facebook pretty private and only visible to the friends you want to see it. That said, if you want to look good in public you should be posting a few things that make you appear like the upstanding citizen you believe yourself to be. Share photos from fun family events, opinions about a gadget you really love or hate, and tame messages like regular birthday wishes. There are plenty of things you can share in public that don't reveal anything private but show that you're a good person. When a prospective employer "stumbles" upon your Facebook page, they'll see the good stuff you want to share and be more likely to miss out on the embarrassing stuff your friends (or enemies) may have lurking elsewhere online.

This can be easier said than done. Facebook has some pretty intimidating privacy settings, but we explain them all here. Be sure to read that guide if you don't know how to manage your privacy settings in a way that allows you to be selective about what is private and what you'll let the world see.

Title photo by Ilya Andriyanov (Shutterstock). The silly pictures of Whitson are all me.