I’ve had problems with seeing projects through to completion in the past. Whenever I have an idea, I tend to work on it for awhile, but I gradually lose interest or hit a road block that causes me to focus on other things in life despite my progression.

I don’t want the same thing to happen with my current efforts I’m putting forth on a Facebook application that I think has strong potential. That’s why I decided to come up with a way of motivating myself and seeing this project through.

I’ve been drooling over the concept of Halo 3 ever since its initial speculations and first official announcement years ago. However, I don’t have an Xbox 360 on which to play it. Tonight I purchased both the system and the game, and I made a deal with myself. I won’t allow myself to open either until my Facebook application is complete.

Unfortunately, simply giving myself the goal of completing the application in order to play Halo 3 has one major flaw. It means I could potentially half-ass my programming efforts due to my excitement to play the game, resulting in a poor product that doesn’t generate the kind of money it otherwise has the potential to make. For this reason, I’m imposing a second requirement before I’ll allow myself to open my new system and game: I have to earn at least $150 per week with my application.

By imposing the requirement of earning $150/week before allowing myself to play Halo 3, I’m forcing myself to make a strong effort in my project such that it will have the ability to earn that much money. I will have to see my application through to public release, ensure that I market it well (both internal and external to Facebook), and find parties that are interested in advertising relevant content within the application.

Lastly, I must sell my current Xbox (the first generation system) for a price higher than what Electronics Boutique offers (i.e. more than $20) to partially cover the expense of the new system. Additionally, I will be organizing my existing Xbox games to see what doesn’t play on the Xbox 360 to sell along with the old system.

I expect this to provide a great deal of motivation, and I hope to reveal the new application by Monday at the latest. Wish me luck — looking forward to seeing you all on Xbox Live!