About six weeks ago, I quit my job. I had a nice, steady, Rails gig here in Chicago that had been a challenge for a while but had gone stagnant. When I was hired, it was clear that their application needed a total overhaul: it had minimal test coverage (less than 20%), the content was difficult to find, and there were a slew of other usability issues from a development and end-user standpoint. They also did not have in-house processes in place for development, having outsourced all development before this time.  

It was a whirlwind year in which we re-allocated in-house resources to redesign the application based on research and need; implemented a daily stand-up meeting; built a development team; rewrote critical parts of the site and streamlined others, and whipped the site into shape, increasing the performance by 100% and the test coverage to 90%. It was a fun time, we had built a strong team, and the company was better for it as they now   have the in-house tools to grow their site as needed.  But, after this was over there wasn't that much left to do; it was rapidly becoming more of a maintenance job.

During this same time, in the summer and the fall, Corey Haines and I started working together to build MercuryApp.com -- an application I'd built a version of for personal reasons a few years back, then let languish.  In a nutshell, MercuryApp helps people make decisions by tracking their feelings over time. We got caught up in developing and got excited about the project.  I was able to go part time at work during the summer and we ended up spending many full days coding and planning. We learned that we work well together and were both excited about the potentials of MercuryApp. We could see a lot of possible uses. Talking to other people we found they would often suggest new ways to use MercuryApp to track different aspects of their lives.

Add these two things, and a few dollars we each had stashed away in savings, and suddenly the idea of working full time on MercuryApp seemed like a possibility. We tried a few avenues for additional funding to avoid hitting our savings, but found we were at too early a stage to attract interest.  It didn't feel like it mattered, though: filling out the applications and practicing "pitching" was helpful. We learned, fine-tuned our ideas about MercuryApp, and thickened our skins. It was fun! And it was fun because we knew that whatever happened, we would take the time to work on the project.

So as I sit here writing, I am entering 2011 from my beautiful home in Rogers Park where we have set up MercuryApp Central: a wonderfully warm and bright office where we work side by side, testing, coding, building, talking.  I feel a huge sense of excitement to be in a space focused on making things and writing code.  No matter what happens with the MercuryApp, I will be the better for it, as every day I am getting up and coding, and creating something I am passionate about. 

The other day we went to the Chicago Bootstrappers Breakfast and met a lot of folks in Chicago who are also on this path. It is invigorating to be around people who are taking small or large leaps to work on their ideas. There are so many developers who have ideas and the skills to implement them.  There was a lot of energy in the room as people shared their own experiences and ideas. I felt proud to be in their company.

For a long time I've been wanting to take a "sabbatical" -- a self-funded year to work on my own projects. This is not the shape of the sabbatical I envisioned -- for one, there's a lot less money saved up, and less time paid for -- but it's the sabbatical that's feasible right now. I'm looking forward to coding, building MercuryApp, growing stronger as a developer, and finding time to explore other aspects of life as well by taking walks, exploring Chicago, relaxing, and doing other types of side-learning (hint: I got an arduino for Christmas!).

I'm using this blog entry to mark where I am in time, and also to encourage people who feel stuck and/or passionate about something to find a way to start working on it. I think doing this will make life more fulfilling and more of an adventure.