319 lost about 8 days this year as well.
Here are a few tips from what I've learned over the years (in no particular order).
- Make a basic schedule. Try to plan out how long you'll prototype, when the final robot concept will be decided, how long you'll work on your design for, and when you want to have your robot done. Don't get too detailed, keep it broad so you can be flexible if you need to be. Post this schedule where the whole team can see it so you think about it often.
- CAD as much of your robot as possible. Solidworks and PTC both offer sponsorships and ways in which you can get your hands on their software. CAD will help you plan things out spatially, and making your robot after it's been designed in CAD is much faster.
- The kit chassis is really good. It's robust, simple, and easy to attach to. Try to assemble your chassis by the end of the first week, then you can wire it and hand it off to the programming team to learn with while you design and build the robot.