Ship it: Six Months In

I am a little more than six months into a year long challenge to deliver something new each month. Forcing myself to make something new every month is proving to be pretty challenging, but also fun.

I went into this experiment with the expectation that it would force me to do a couple of things.

First, it would force me to dedicate the time needed to create. I have a difficult time sitting down & focusing on my work. I am easily distracted & generally impatient. Having a public commitment is one of the most effective ways for me to put in the time. I will do a lot to avoid feeling embarrassed.

The second expectation was that I would finish up some half finished projects. I anticipated looking at the calendar and realizing that it was the 20th & I hadn't started anything.

Last, I knew I was going to need to be more creative than I typically am. I live my life in a very SaaS oriented world, so it can be difficult for me to come up with ideas that are not "Enterprise SaaS" products. With a one month time box on every project, most of the time enterprise thinking was not going to be an option.

After six months, I am happy to report that all 3 of these expectations are holding true. I have felt the pressure of a public commitment & delivered something every month (you can find a full list here). I dusted off some old project ideas & source code to ensure an "easy win" on more than one occasion. I was even able to come up with a non-software project in selling some of my old (and not-so-old) Magic: The Gathering cards.

Being able to stretch creativity & skill set is proving to be exciting & challenging. I would definitely recommend challenging yourself in this way, especially if you are a struggling wantrepreneur like me.