One of my biggest issues when starting to write new code on my own is that I find myself quite often being carried away. So what I force myself to do these days is to write down a few user stories, nothing too fancy but just to have an outline of what I really want to do. Next steps are unit tests and then coding up the model which goes hand in hand with db design. Putting together the UI is another one that requires a lot of discipline as I often find it too tempting fiddling around with design details instead of putting together the functionality first and do the design bit in the end. So yeah, after models build controllers and the views, not worrying too much about the looks. Just my way of doing things, would be interested in other peoples approaches!
I agree. The sames true with me. I find myself getting distracted and fiddling around with new frameworks and libraries. I think I'll try your approach of nailing myself down to a Functionality First approach !
