This is all great advice. I know we "try" to follow similar schedules
One thing that has not yet been mentioned is research. FIRST is not a new competition, over the last 13 years
thousands of robots have been built. Teams have learned from each other and developed new systems for completing tasks (picking up balls, lifting things, moving around...).
One of the best things you can do after kick-off is go back and look at photos and videos of past competitions and learn from the success and failures of others. If you find a concept you really like, figure out how to make it better.
CD media and the
FIRST Mechanism Library are great places to start.