Biting Off More Than You Can Chew

If there is one fault that I have it is that I continually make ambitious plans and take on every little project that someone suggests.  The big iOS game that I was working on for the last month is looking like it’s too much for one person to complete in a reasonable amount of time.

Lesson learned:  If a company of 50 is developing an application and it takes them 6 months to complete then it will not be possible to do something similar on my own in half the time.

God.  That is actually hard to admit.

So the big project is going in storage for a while and I will focus on smaller deliverables.  More easy to build games and build up the infrastructure, code libraries, and cross-promotion network of apps needed to push a good game to higher heights.

There are two factors I have found to being able to be productive:

1. Setting small goals and short timelines seems to be the best way for me to make progress on things.  I love to ship products and updates.  Give me just a handful of features to add to an application and I’ll be able to hammer it out quickly and deliver the update.  Too big of a change makes me nervous that I’m going to break too many things.
2. Headphones.  Removing distractions and getting into the zone with my code is crucial.  With the headphones on I can work for hours without getting distracted by people or what might be on TV.  It’s amazing how often you forget to go to bed or eat when you can maintain your focus on the task at hand.