my old boss used to say that "a shortcut was the longest way around" and for the most part he was right. there were many times when id try take a shortcut to get the job done quicker but mess up along the way and blow out a job. im glad that you are feeling more relaxed, and IMO, if your worried about taking a long time to push a release or people are seeming restless, release some teaser images :P or some renders that arent in game to make the characters in the game, seem a bit more real :)