[keenahn]

Well, you will inevitably get the advice that you should quit.

Barring that, I say create strict barriers for yourself to ease the mental context-switching. Say for example, you will focus 100% on your day job from 10AM to 7PM weeknights, and you will go nuts on your startup at all other times. Even just writing down these rules will help you focus. By working more effectively during the day, and assuming your boss isn't a nazi guarding your time, you can actually finish your work earlier and spend more time on your startup.

Another suggestion, wake up one or two hours earlier to work on your passion project. Since you mention being too tired when you come home at night, this is a way to make sure you are making incremental progress day by day.

Eventually, you really will have to "burn the boats" so to speak and quit. I'm not sure what's keeping you from quitting, but I'm assuming you have good reasons (mortgage, kids, debt). It will be tough to bootstrap all the way until profitability. Is there any way you can work on contract while you continue developing your startup?

Best of luck

[xpop2027]

I am currently doing #2 on my own startup. Getting up earlier in the day to work on a passion project is ideal since I have the most mental capacity at that time of the day. Also, giving a strict 2 hours workspace, I know exactly what I need to focus on for that day.