Good advice from the irrepressible Dijkstra on this matter: "Before embarking on an ambitious project, try to kill it." (http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd1

Good advice from the irrepressible Dijkstra on this matter: "Before embarking on an ambitious project, try to kill it." (http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd10xx/EWD1055A.PDF http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/EWD/ewd10xx/EWD1055A.PDF) If you try honestly and still fail to kill it completely, whatever's left that you can't kill because it seems doable right now is one way to go.