So I have this problem somtimes, as you may have noticed from my Secret Project Update Club posts.
Sometimes, in the middle of working on a project, I get hit with an idea that I just HAVE to work on. Sometimes they are little things, sometimes its a short project. Sometimes, it’s a massive undertaking that would require several months of work by more than one person.
Like the one that hit me today.
To say that I got kicked in the head by the muse today would be like saying I have a couple irons already in the fire. The idea is fantastic, compelling, exciting, and everything I want to work on right now.
And I can’t. Not without shelving every other project I have on deck. Some of which have deadlines, others of which have momentum. I can’t just drop every other game I am working on right now to work on the new one.
I know other people deal with juggling projects. What do you guys do when this happens? Do you sit on it? Do you clear your table and dive in? Do you try and juggle? How do you keep you brain from catching fire?
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I try to figure out how to kill two birds with one stone. If that doesn’t work then the project that others have vested interests in will usually win out. If that doesn’t work then the project that I feel will be done quicker. So I guess it comes down to efficiency, responsibility, and productivity…
…unless I’m lazy then I end up doing whatever’s the most fun at the time.
Comment by Mike(aka kaeosdad)
— February 26, 2010 @ 9:26 pm
I have this problem and I think most creative people have this problem. The key to dealing with it is experience and discipline.
Once you’ve been through the cycle a few times you recoginize that your current project was also once one those “OMG! I must do this now” type ideas. It is just that knuckling down and doing the hard work a project needs takes off a lot of the glamour off an idea.
With this experience and awareness you can realise that there is no “killer idea”. The difference between a truly great idea and an ordinary idea is the hard work and dedication that turns an idea into something real.
When you have a great idea, take an hour to write it down and then put it to one side until after you’ve finished your current project. If it was truly a great, it will still be a great idea when you review your notes a few months later and as a bonus, you will have the needed time to work on it.
This takes real discipline but it is the best way of dealing with a mind bursting with ideas.
Comment by Chris Tregenza
— February 27, 2010 @ 3:07 am
[...] discusses working on several good ideas and being taken away by a great one. Haven’t we all been there at one point of [...]
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