PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS TOP SECRET. Don't tell ANYONE. OKAY? Okay.

Here it is:

You do the things you do well first, and then do the rest.

So for example, in preparation for the LD48 compo, I took the list of judging categories:

Innovation Fun Theme Graphics Audio Humor Mood Overall

...and I re-sorted them in order of what I can do best, to what I do worst.

• Theme - In Bennett Foddy's NYU game-a-week class (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9O9Q8OVWrFA) he found that "good work answers at least one unanswered question". Turning the theme into that one question is Step 0 for me.
• Humor - I don't know if I'd call myself "ha-ha funny", but I have a lot of experience turning a passable bon mot quickly and I'm comfortable with my "voice". Plus, my last LD entry (43) landed 77th out of 1000 or so entries in the Humor category (hashtag humblebrag) so I'm confident that if nothing else I can get a chuckle out of most players. I'll start here.
• Audio - I'm also comfortable knocking out sound effects and a melody or three, so I'll probably tackle this sooner rather than later.
• Mood / Fun - Humor plus audio, with a sprinkling of weird graphics, will get me most of the way to mood. Ideally, it's a fun mood?
• Graphics - This is where I'll struggle the most, so I'll need to cut myself some slack here. Trash art in a funny game is better than one amazing walk cycle that goes nowhere.
• Innovation - Unfortunately for all of us, I won't be revolutionizing the games industry this weekend. I'll keep it simple and let the game's uniqueness shine through my own personal style or whatever.
• Overall - Can't really target this, since it's the most subjective category and a culmination of all the others.

And there it is! Now I have a foundation for building my game, before the final theme is even announced. Your sorting will probably look different, but hopefully it'll help reveal a path towards making the most you game you can make it 48-72 hours.

BUT ALSO PLEASE REMEMBER NOT TO TELL ANYONE ABOUT THIS

Good luck!