[el conquistador]

When people want to be more productive, they usually obsess over tools, gadgets and software that promise to get more done. In the last few months, I've realized that good old-fashioned rules are more important that the latest software. Technology and tools change all the time but principles are timeless.

The best productivity principles I've found come from the simple "Cult Of Done Manifesto".

Here are the 13 tenents of the Done Manifesto:

1. There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2. Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3. There is no editing stage.
4. Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6. The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7. Once you're done you can throw it away.
8. Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10. Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11. Destruction is a variant of done.
12. If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13. Done is the engine of more

I printed out these rules and I have them on my desk so I'm constantly reminded to get shit done, get things off my to-do list and move on to the next thing. Perfectionism is a curse.

The biggest thing I've learned from the Done Manifesto is to "close open loops" as quickly as possible. What this means is, as soon as I get an idea, a task or whatever, get it done (80/90% good enough) and move on to the next task. By getting it done quickly and out of the way, that task is off my "mental plate". Do you remember the kids who always got the highest grades in school? They did their homework the same day the teacher assigned it. All the other kids would leave the homework "open" for a few days and then scramble to finish it the night before.

The rules also helped me get comfortable with doing things quickly and "good enough". They also made me realise that I didn't have to finish everything; scrapping an idea, ditching a terrible book half way through and quitting is often the best move. This was difficult for me because I'd always been raised to "finish what I started".

Anyway guys, here's the original blog post:
http://www.brepettis.com/blog/2009/3/3/t...festo.html

[Ensam]

(03-09-2016 06:08 PM)el conquistador Wrote:  

The rules also helped me get comfortable with doing things quickly and "good enough". They also made me realise that I didn't have to finish everything; scrapping an idea, ditching a terrible book half way through and quitting is often the best move. This was difficult for me because I'd always been raised to "finish what I started".

I don't think I agree with all of the rules but the end result is a good attitude. Knowing when to quit is very important.

The main issues I have are points 3, 5 and 9.

Quote:

3. There is no editing stage.

Some work deserves refinement. Most work doesn't but there are certain projects that need to be revised and edited before they can be considered 'done'. My editing process is actually fairly disciplined. I view editing as a primarily subtractive process. I remove the things that don't help me achieve my aims, if I develop new ideas I jot them down on the side to add during a creative period. I find it helps for me to separate subtractive and additive phases. Keeps my ideas from getting muddled and maintains continuity.

Quote:

5. Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.

Procrastination is a tough one. I think it's a necessary evil. If i'm procrastinating there's almost always a reason. Finding the reason can be rewarding and help me get something done I wouldn't have if I'd just abandoned it at the week of inactivity stage. That said I'm a big believer in writing things down and then dropping them until they come up again. Good ideas will come back.

Quote:

9. People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.

There's an arrogance to this attitude that will eventually bite you. Not every critic is wrong, even if they don't know something you do because you're more hands on. Different people see different sides of the picture. If it's someone important you better figure out how to see their side and address it. If it's someone unimportant you can probably still learn something. If they people who aren't doing it constantly misunderstand what the people who are doing it say then there's a problem with the way the people are doing it are communicating it.

[Phoenix]

Mostly agree with that list. 'Getting it done' is absolutely critical. Otherwise you're just playing around, and nothing ever gets anywhere. You need that attitude to keep momentum over the hurdles, otherwise you stall.

I don't see how procrastination is a tough one, Ensam. It's an absolute killer that should be actively fought against at all times. I fail to see what useful purpose it serves.

[Ensam]

(03-10-2016 05:27 AM)Phoenix Wrote:  

Mostly agree with that list. 'Getting it done' is absolutely critical. Otherwise you're just playing around, and nothing ever gets anywhere. You need that attitude to keep momentum over the hurdles, otherwise you stall.

I don't see how procrastination is a tough one, Ensam. It's an absolute killer that should be actively fought against at all times. I fail to see what useful purpose it serves.

I'm not arguing you shouldn't fight against procrastination - just in how you should fight it. The manifesto states you should drop projects you haven't done in a week. My point is that there's value in understanding why you're procrastinating and attacking the root of the problem rather than just dropping projects and moving on. Personally I've noticed that procrastination is often a cue about an emotional intuition that I hasn't quite formed into a complete thought. Sometimes the intuition is this project sucks I should move on but sometimes it's about a flaw that can be fixed. Once the flaw is addressed the urge to procrastinate goes away.

[Courage Reborn]

Love this. The 80/20 rule applies to everything;

Fitness - stop obsessing about the perfect form, diet, and routine. Just get your ass out of the house, and into the gym/court/running.

Daygame - stop thinking about the perfect opener. Just sack up, walk over, and let the cards fall where they may. Simply opening your mouth, and letting words fall out, is 80% of daygame. If not 90%.

Money - forget about the perfect job, or perfect business idea. Take action now. Reach out to your best prospects. Put up a website. Fuck up your pitch. Fail at getting a win. You will learn what worked, and what didn't, putting on path to an inevitable success. Just take action now. Finesse later.