This is definitely a struggle for me as well. If I have a story rattling around in my head for a few weeks, I'll take a day to work out a high-level outline in a Google Doc and then just let that sit in a "someday" folder. Over time, I've cut some of those outlines loose. Others, I've added to and they've gotten better, and someday, I hope I get to do them.
But nobody knows those things exist but me, so I try to keep my talking to the things I'm working on *now*, instead of vague promises about cool stories later on. That has somewhat helped me thread this needle you're talking about.
I think your instincts are right -- prioritize the main thing you've got running, keep the other pots boiling and look for opportunities.
This is definitely a struggle for me as well. If I have a story rattling around in my head for a few weeks, I'll take a day to work out a high-level outline in a Google Doc and then just let that sit in a "someday" folder. Over time, I've cut some of those outlines loose. Others, I've added to and they've gotten better, and someday, I hope I get to do them.
But nobody knows those things exist but me, so I try to keep my talking to the things I'm working on *now*, instead of vague promises about cool stories later on. That has somewhat helped me thread this needle you're talking about.
I think your instincts are right -- prioritize the main thing you've got running, keep the other pots boiling and look for opportunities.