I’ve recently posted a blog here detailing my plan to generate $10,000/month from various sources (by making software, of course). The plan was to make many apps and monetize them in a various ways. Time is limited since I still have a day job. So, I came up with the idea of 10 hours apps. The backbone of this idea is one app/game should take at most 10 hours from idea to the first MVP (most viable product) to be used by the users.

10 hours doesn’t seem to be much. However, with careful planning, I believe I can create decent apps in that time frame. 10 hours isn’t short for concentrated coding and planning.

Here is the plan that I’m going to use that 10 hours:

• Hours 0 to 1: Drawing the interface, find out the requirements of the app, what libraries I need to use.
• Hours 1 to 2: Break down the components that comprise the app. By doing so, I can see the map that I need to go through to actually build the app.
• Hours 2 to 10: Build components by components until the app is completely built.

Here are the advantages of this method:

• It makes me more time conscious: For a long time, I think time is an unlimited resources, not anymore. Careful use of time is the most important thing in life.
• It makes progresses measurable: Instead of spending months and months on a app. I can now see how many hours I’ve worked and how much progress I’ve made.
• It minimizes the risk of app’s failure: If the app is a failure, I will move on to next app. 10 wasted hours isn’t good but surely better than 10 months.
• It makes me more careful when picking ideas to work on: As I have only 10 hours per project, I will need to be very careful when picking ideas to start. If projects that costs a lot more than 10 hours, it will be put on the shelf.
• It force innovation: Limited resources promotes innovation. I will need to come up with better way to manage my time and work more efficient.

Some concerns

• Does this mean the apps will be crappy: No, the app will be released after 10 hours of work. However, I will work to improve them gradually, depends on their potential.

So, that’s the plan, now comes the execution.