The Sketch loop

I've had a lot of ideas of things I want to build lately. Which is awesome. But the thing is that, I don't have enough time to build them. So how can you manage that? Well, one thing I've observed when I build stuff is the time it takes to go from idea and initial sketches to actually building it. The thing is that, I've noticed that most of my time is spent after the first rough sketches and before actually coding it. The time is spent iterating mockups.

So, say Hello to the Sketch-Loop, as I call it. It's the dark lands you get to after your initial sketches and before building your idea. Time is spent changing colors, fonts, alignments and other small fixes. In the end, you've probably iterated just enough to be back where you began. A loop.

How can we avoid this? Well, in my next project I will try to exit the mockup phase as quickly as possible to get something build as fast as possible and take it from there. More specifically I will create initial sketches on paper and make a quick mockup in Sketch where I'll just pick the core concept of coloring, fonts and layout. Then I'll quickly start building it. Sure, I could probably miss some great concepts I would have come up with iterating more but something built is better than nothing built right?

Get it built, get feedback, then iterate. Don't get stuck in the loop.