Napkins. The solution you're looking for is napkins. But, it's true, they're hard to write on, so we'll compromise.
Take a pad of paper and a good pen (hint: Pilot G2) and go to a place that is entirely free of computers. Coffee is optional.
Start sketching. Your goal is a set of notes, an outline, a diagram or two, and/or some paper-based UI wireframes that describe your project. Imagine that you're trying to invite a recent comp sci grad to work on your project with you: What might you sketch? Draw that.
You can use emacs if you want, but on no account should you allow yourself to choose a font for your spec. If you find yourself reaching for the Fonts menu, or wondering whether your spec should have a standardized header and footer, you have stopped planning and started procrastinating.
You need to do some planning, because you don't want to waste time implementing stuff that doesn't even work on paper. But you don't necessarily need a capital-D Document, or even a real presentation. Once the napkin sketch of your finished product is complete, to your own satisfaction, it's time to build the prototype and observe all your mistakes. ;)
Yeah, indeed. The word to eject from the process is "formal", not "documentation". Write stuff down however it works for you: be it email, IRC logs, napkins, whiteboards, whatever. Refine as needed. Write summaries every few ideas.
If the problem is of the right size, bang out prototype scripts and let these serve as "documentation" too.
But scrap the endless cycles of proposals, reviews, designs and revisions. Do that stuff implicitly.
Yes I think this hammers an important point. Write with what helps you think, For me It has to be an uber size blank sheet of paper and I just start planning. After the paper I can usually go to a laptop an either make a rough prototype or at least a structure in code. I don't know why I can't seem to code directly.
To repeat do what helps you think faster/clearer/better
Until your company is fairly large (maybe 20 people?) document for yourself. It's your business, so you can do whatever you want, but I'd suggest writing things down that will help _you_ in three months when you have to look over something you did before.
With that in mind you should decide what you value. The small company teams I've worked on have exchanged virtually all knowledge verbally, and we would only ever draw whiteboard diagrams of things for new hires, which was convenient because the stuff seems to change as fast as the ink dries.
Take a pad of paper and a good pen (hint: Pilot G2) and go to a place that is entirely free of computers. Coffee is optional.
Start sketching. Your goal is a set of notes, an outline, a diagram or two, and/or some paper-based UI wireframes that describe your project. Imagine that you're trying to invite a recent comp sci grad to work on your project with you: What might you sketch? Draw that.
You can use emacs if you want, but on no account should you allow yourself to choose a font for your spec. If you find yourself reaching for the Fonts menu, or wondering whether your spec should have a standardized header and footer, you have stopped planning and started procrastinating.
You need to do some planning, because you don't want to waste time implementing stuff that doesn't even work on paper. But you don't necessarily need a capital-D Document, or even a real presentation. Once the napkin sketch of your finished product is complete, to your own satisfaction, it's time to build the prototype and observe all your mistakes. ;)