Building your project - like a video game - Each epic is a level, and anything else that doesn’t work toward completing that epic (finishing that level) is a side quest. Focus on beating the game first, then go back and complete the side quests.
Writing Epics
Focus on the “why”. Why is this epic important? What problem is it solving? What important feature is it adding? How is it adding value to the user? If your epic’s have titles like “set up backend” then you need to shift your mindset up a level. Why do you need the backend? For convenience, so I can view my data on multiple devices. There’s your epic. Backend is a checkpoint in completing that epic. Think of the epic like a level in the video game.
Focus on Completing Your Personal Project: Video Game Analogy
Think of your personal project like playing a video game, where each major task or "epic" is a level. You have to beat these levels to win the game. Distractions that don't contribute to beating that level are just side quests. Stay focused on beating the game before getting lost in side quests.
Crafting Epics
When it comes to writing your epics, it's all about 'why'. Why does this epic matter? What problem is it solving? What feature is it adding? How is it making things better for the user? If your epics are titled something like "set up backend," then you need to take a step back and try to view the bigger picture.
Ask yourself: “why do I need a backend?” Maybe it's so you can check your data from any device. There's your epic! Setting up the backend is just a checkpoint (story) in finishing this level (epic).
The way to look at it is, each epic should answer "why am I building this?". Each story within the epic should answer "what am I building". And each task in a story should answer "how am I building this".