I find it’s a common problem in building a startup that the pipeline of work approaches infinite length while the hours in the day and LOC output level I can sustain remain markedly finite.

There are a few tricks I’ve found for keeping a semblance of sanity in the face of it all.

First is GTD. I’ve never really been a structured-process guy, but incorporating some basic principles of Getting Things Done into my daily flow has made a huge difference. I keep meticulous lists, live to prioritize them, and try to use inbox-style mangement for keeping incoming work from overwhelming ongoing productivity.

At GameChanger we’ve also adopted a policy of respecting Maker Time (see Paul Graham post on same). We keep our meetings to the morning and early afternoon, and the office is quietly humming after 2pm.

I haven’t been involved with the movement that is Lean Startup, but the ideal of the minimal viable product (and feature) is one that has long seemed critical to me. Rather than get bogged down in the perfection of any one feature, constantly iterating gives us the ability to approximate a faster pace, by broadening the scope of what can be worked on in the short term.

So I’m still feeling dreadfully lacking in infinite capacity, but not too daunted (most of the time) by a seemingly infinite pile of work.

What helps you approach infinity?