Shipping code on small chunks of time
For those that don't have maker's time available on their schedule.
I’m finding that my experience working on a micro SaaS is pretty similar to when I was previously acting as a tech lead: there is a lot of other stuff going on in my work life, and I only get to code on it now and then.
You do get used to jumping in and working in small time chunks, and having experience doing this have been really useful to move this project forward.
Many developers want a “maker’s schedule” with huge blocks of more than 2 or 3 consecutive hours to work on something, but that’s rarely true in my life. It’s already hard enough for my work that pays the bills!
I have not shipped yet, but here are a few bits of advice that helped me get going and work on tiny time chunks:
Jot down all the tasks you need to do to complete the project. When you have the time to work is not the time to figure out what you should be doing. No long planning session required here especially if you’re alone: just throw things in a Trello board as you think of them.
Break down your work in small part so you can still have the satisfaction of completing something. You can always split the tasks you have if they are too big.
Use all that planning to keep your MVP as lean as possible. You can keep all your ambitious ideas in there, but you’ll throw everything that’s not top priority at the bottom of your backlog.
Liberally add TODOs and other notes and documentation to your code. You can be interrupted at any time, so the context should be clear when you come back.
It’s easier to get back in the flow if you leave a little something to complete when you finish up a work session. If you have one new huge feature starring you in the face it can be hard to start and you’ll waste time.
If your time is as limited as mine, you’re never going to be as fast as someone with no kids and few other obligations, but as long as we keep moving forward we can ship something.
Ways I can help you
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For my Canadian friends preparing their garden, I have a nano business selling seeds from my garden at https://sentiersperdus.com/en. Sorry, due to various phytosanitary concerns, it’s hard to ship those outside Canada.
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