Time Commitment & Expectations
ℹ️
The Most Underestimated Factor
Time investment is the #1 reason contributors quit. This page gives you honest numbers so you can plan accordingly.
Time Investment Reality Check
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ WEEKLY TIME COMMITMENT BY LEVEL │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ LEVEL HOURS/WEEK DURATION EXPECTED OUTCOME │
│ ───── ────────── ──────── ──────────────── │
│ │
│ Casual 2-5 hrs Ongoing Learn, occasional PRs │
│ │
│ Consistent 5-10 hrs 6+ months Regular contributor │
│ │
│ Serious 10-20 hrs 1+ year Core contributor path │
│ │
│ Core Team 20+ hrs Multi-year Maintainer status │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘⚠️
Be Honest With Yourself
If you can't commit at least 5 hours per week for 6 months, your contributions will likely fizzle out. That's okay—but know it upfront.
The Contribution Timeline
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ YOUR CONTRIBUTION JOURNEY │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ MONTH 1: LEARNING PHASE │
│ ═══════════════════════ │
│ Time: 10-20 hours total │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ • Reading documentation │ │
│ │ • Understanding codebase │ │
│ │ • Setting up environment │ │
│ │ • Finding first issue │ │
│ │ OUTPUT: Maybe 1 small PR (typo, docs) │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ MONTHS 2-3: FIRST CONTRIBUTIONS │
│ ════════════════════════════════ │
│ Time: 5-10 hours/week │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ • Your first "real" PR │ │
│ │ • Responding to feedback │ │
│ │ • Learning project conventions │ │
│ │ • Building relationships │ │
│ │ OUTPUT: 1-2 small PRs merged │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ MONTHS 4-6: BUILDING MOMENTUM │
│ ═════════════════════════════ │
│ Time: 5-10 hours/week │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ • Tackling bigger issues │ │
│ │ • Faster review cycles │ │
│ │ • Helping other newcomers │ │
│ │ • Understanding project priorities │ │
│ │ OUTPUT: 3-5 PRs merged, maybe a feature │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ MONTHS 6-12: ESTABLISHED CONTRIBUTOR │
│ ════════════════════════════════════ │
│ Time: 5-15 hours/week │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ • Assigned to issues directly │ │
│ │ • Reviewing other people's PRs │ │
│ │ • Participating in roadmap discussions │ │
│ │ • Mentoring newcomers │ │
│ │ OUTPUT: Regular contributions, recognition │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ YEAR 2+: CORE CONTRIBUTOR / MAINTAINER │
│ ══════════════════════════════════════ │
│ Time: 10-20+ hours/week │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ • Triage rights or write access │ │
│ │ • Release management │ │
│ │ • Architecture decisions │ │
│ │ • Community leadership │ │
│ │ OUTPUT: Project depends on you │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Where Your Time Actually Goes
The Hidden Time Costs
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ TIME BREAKDOWN FOR A TYPICAL PR │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ YOUR ACTIVE WORK │
│ ════════════════ │
│ Finding issue 1 hour │
│ Understanding codebase 2-4 hours │
│ Writing code 2-5 hours │
│ Testing 1-2 hours │
│ PR description 30-60 min │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Total active work: 7-13 hours │
│ │
│ WAITING (50% OF YOUR "TIME") │
│ ════════════════════════════ │
│ Wait for first review 3-14 days │
│ Wait for follow-up 3-7 days │
│ Wait for final approval 2-5 days │
│ ─────────────────────────────────────────── │
│ Total elapsed time: 2-4 weeks │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Visual Timeline
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ YOUR PR JOURNEY TIMELINE │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ [You work: 8 hours] │
│ │ │
│ ▼ │
│ [Submit PR] ════════════════════════════════════════════╗ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [Wait 2 weeks] ║ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [Review received] ══════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [You respond: 1 hour] ║ │
│ │ ║ │
│ ▼ ║ │
│ [Push changes] ═════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [Wait 1 week] ║ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [More review] ══════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [You respond: 2 hours] ║ │
│ │ ║ │
│ ▼ ║ │
│ [Push changes] ═════════════════════════════════════════╣ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [Wait 3 days] ║ │
│ │ ║ │
│ [MERGED! 🎉] ═══════════════════════════════════════════╝ │
│ │
│ Total active work: 11 hours │
│ Total elapsed time: 4 weeks │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Communication Time
More time than you expect goes to communication:
| Activity | Time | Frequency |
|---|---|---|
| Writing detailed PR descriptions | 30-60 min | Every PR |
| Responding to review comments | 15-30 min | Multiple times |
| Asking clarifying questions | 15-30 min | As needed |
| Participating in issue discussions | 30-60 min | Weekly |
| Reading project announcements | 15-30 min | Weekly |
| Community chat (Discord/Slack) | 30-60 min | Weekly |
Setting Realistic Goals
🎯 Good Goals
- ✓ "I'll make one meaningful contribution per month"
- ✓ "I'll spend 5 hours per week for the next 6 months"
- ✓ "I'll become a recognized contributor to [Project] by end of year"
- ✓ "I'll learn this codebase well enough to fix medium-sized bugs"
🚫 Unrealistic Goals
- ✗ "I'll become a core maintainer in 3 months"
- ✗ "I'll get hired by contributing for 2 months"
- ✗ "I'll contribute to 10 different projects this month"
- ✗ "I'll have 100 PRs merged by end of year"
The Compound Effect
💡
Consistency Beats Intensity
5 hours/week for a year beats 40 hours in one month. Consistency builds reputation, relationships, and deep knowledge.
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ THE POWER OF CONSISTENCY │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ │
│ Month 1: ▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Beginner │
│ Month 3: ▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Known face │
│ Month 6: ▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Trusted contributor │
│ Month 12: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░░░ Go-to person for area X │
│ Month 24: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░░░ Core team candidate │
│ Month 36: ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓░░░░░░░░░ Maintainer / Leader │
│ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘Time Management Strategies
Batch Your Work
Set aside 2-3 hour blocks instead of 30-minute snippets. Deep work is more effective.
Use Dead Time
Code review, issue reading, and documentation can be done on mobile during commutes.
Accept Wait Times
Don't let waiting block you. Work on multiple PRs or projects in parallel.
Track Your Time
For the first month, track how you actually spend time. You'll be surprised.
Quick Self-Assessment
- I can commit at least 5 hours per week
- I'm prepared for this to take 6+ months to see results
- I understand most "time" will be waiting, not coding
- I have a system to track my contributions and progress
- I won't give up after my first PR sits for 2 weeks
- I accept that context switching will add overhead