Honestly, that part about caffeine hiding sleep debt for two weeks hits home. @charlieb27, I went through the same thing last month during a big project. I was drinking coffee all day to keep up, but after a while, it just stopped working. One morning I woke up and felt like I got hit by a truck, no matter how much I drank. It took me days of real sleep to feel normal again. You really do crash hard when the debt catches up.

Ever get that weird tech luck? I swear files hide sometimes just to stress you out. Glad it worked out for you though.

Nice. Sounds like you got a good operator. Nothing beats that no-damage feeling.

Totally agree with you @finleys37, that outside pressure is key. It forces you to call something "good enough" and ship it. Honestly, a project is never really finished, you just run out of time. That first version you get out the door because of a deadline is what lets you learn and move on to the next thing.

That bit about asking your customers is SPOT ON. I found my features got way better when I just listened to user complaints instead of copying rivals. Now I only glance at competitors maybe once a quarter, if that.