My process building fflags.com so far
I am now a big believer of setting the right process to get things done. This is not something that I always believed in, I only came to this realization pretty recently.I used to wing things and get them done, but only to realize that I could have done them better and faster if I had a process in place. I often used to end up burnt out and slack off for a while. When I am back to work, I would lose context and have to start over.
Now, that I am building fflags.com, these things became evident where I used to write days code in few hours and for days I would do nothing. I wanted to change this and started to set a process in place. I am still learning and iterating on this process, but I am happy with the progress I have made so far.
1. Plan a week ahead
I have too many ideas on what to build in fflags.com. I used to jump from one idea to another and end up not finishing anything. I started prioritizing the tasks and plan a week ahead. I use GitHub Projects to plan the tasks and set a goal for the week. This way, I know what I am going to work on and I can focus on that. Another value add GitHub Projects brings is that I don't have to context switch a lot between tools. I can see the tasks, issues, and PRs in one place.
2. One task at a time
Since, tasks are based on the priority it is okay for me to spend more time on the priority items. I used to jump between tasks and end up not finishing anything. I am trying to change this by focusing on one task at a time.
3. Weekly release cycle
I have set a weekly release cycle for fflags.com. A soft deadline keeps me motivated through the week to finish the tasks. I can see the progress I have made in a week and plan for the next week.
4. Let it spill
I plan the tasks in a way that one or two tasks can spill over to the next week. This way, I have enough motivation for next week to finish the incomplete tasks.