For some reason it's usually late at night when I get the most motivation. Tonight it was an application for Twitter, called TweetDeck,  that got me excited to do some work. I see how much work this guy has put into this project and can't help but feel a little disappointed in my own progress over the past year. Thankfully I don't dwell too much on the past, and instead just get excited about what I think I can accomplish now.  I'm at a point right now where it feels ridiculously easy to feel overwhelmed, though most days I can keep the balance between being busy and overwhelmed pretty even.

I decided to take some summer courses, because it turns out I'm really behind in my math skills and need to take 3 algebra classes before i qualify to continue my computer science degree. In that process, I found I'm only 3 other classes short of getting a second associates degree, this one in Networking. All relatively easy classes, so I'm gonna get those taken care of ASAP. That way at least I don't feel like I've wasted 3 of my 5 years in college failing classes for degrees I've since abandoned. I spend 2.5 hours a day, 5 days a week in my math class. We usually have 2-4 assignments due every day for homework, varying in length, and a quiz every Thursday and test every Friday. After class I get a 30 minute break then work till 7pm 6 days a week at the computer lab (well, till 5pm on Fri./Sat.).  So for the past week I've skipped breakfast and lunch, and just waited to eat any meal till after I get home at 7. None-the-less the schedule has had me stretched a bit thin. But I get home at 7 and am quickly reminded I still have plenty of work to take care of on GDA.

GDA has always been some sort of mix between a hobby and a job. I don't get paid enough to consider it a job, but I do enjoy the time I get to spend on there. At times it feels more like a chore (thats when it feels like a job) but I'm still grateful for the chance to run the site. Right now there's about 6 different projects, all at different points in the pipeline that I'm trying to keep track of for GDA. There's the ideas that are still at the start, just floating around in my head (new articles section, new quotes section, new poll system, new tabs page, new charts section, better comments layout,  new navigation layout, updated Picture Vault theme, redesign Admin center, new contact forms) - there's the ideas that have been started, but need to be finished (song meanings, gda chat, discography, merchandise, record a sawng project, wristbands, affiliates, wallpaper, extra media downloads) and then there's projects I've given up on. On top of all that stuff, I still have plenty to keep me busy with other random projects like updating the servers, moving over content from the old server (still) to the new one. Just reading all that makes me realize it's not a huge surprise that I forget bills.

I need more people on the team. I want a news editor, another web designer, and more importantly, I want to find some funding for the site to be able to give something back to the people who help and volunteer their time. I really love being in charge of a team, but there's plenty to do that I've always been hesitant to delegate to other people and I need to start if I want GDA to be as successful as I think it can be.  What I end up doing is working on a small part of all these projects, and added to school and work, I don't actually end up accomplishing much. I have a lot of good ideas that never get out of my head because I can't find the time to sit down and get them out. I sat down at the computer tonight after making my dinner (Ramen) and watching some TV, only to sort through 90 emails for the contest we're running now, and start the planning for the next contest, tomorrows news update, and still the thought of my homework due tomorrow morning lingers in the back of my mind. It's nearly 2:45am, looks like I might end up staying awake all night anyways (i slept a solid 6 hours last, impressive by my own standards, so I think i can make it till 7pm tomorrow).

I think I would be impressed with my schedule if I really felt that feeling so busy was paying off with results. The site is doing pretty good, we've had nearly 500,000 visits in the last 30 days, but we're at a point where a lot of the traffic comes in on it's own and there's plenty of work that I could be doing to bring the site up to some higher standards. Just as I feel there's plenty of room for improvement with my school work. It doesn't seem worth the trouble of feeling so swamped with projects and ideas when all these things end up feeling mediocre at best for me. I need a healthy routine. I need proper sleep (and breakfast). I need more team members, more money, and in general, more time. The best I can do is try to sort everything out, take it a day at a time, and be proud of the fact that at least I'm giving some effort.