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Things that aren't doing the thing

strangestloop.io

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Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#101

Post by chairmansteve »

wnc3141 wrote: post #85
saulpw wrote: post #31

In the Viable System Model[0], "doing the thing" is System 1. Yes of course you need System 1 or the thing won't get done. But in any viable system, you also have the "meta-systems", Systems 2-5: - System 2: coordination between multiple Systems 1 (which includes prioritization, communication, and exceptional conditions) - System 3: resource allocation and process development - System 4: strategy and risk management…

This would have been neat in business school

Business school is a great way to postpone doing the thing...

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#103

Post by bvanderveen »

Sometimes doing the thing is just doing a thing and then you get done with some milestone on the thing, you're like "why am I doing this thing. am I crazy for undertaking this thing?"

And yeah you probably are. Only in retrospect will it be knowable if it was worth it or not. Perseverance is necessary but rarely sufficient.

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#104

Post by Jweb_Guru »

nrhrjrjrjtntbt wrote: post #27
manmal wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, you’ll still need to do it.

Yes just do it without knowing how to do it! That always works out well.

In software, where the consequences for initial failure are extremely minimal, sometimes it does actually work well.

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#105

Post by Aurornis »

> Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing.

For some types of work, the work we call prep work is 90% of the work and most of what determines how well the finished product turns out.

Painting is a good example. You can grab a bucket of paint and paint brush and start “doing the thing” by slapping paint on the surface. Your paint job is going to be very poor and fail early relative to a professional who properly sands, cleans the surface, preps the work area, and does it right. You might save some time now by skipping straight to doing the thing, but you might also lose more time later when you have to repeat the job because the paint is peeling or you’re cleaning up a paint mess that spilled on to another surface because you didn’t prepare.

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#107

Post by markburns »

Aurornis wrote: post #105

> Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing. For some types of work, the work we call prep work is 90% of the work and most of what determines how well the finished product turns out. Painting is a good example. You can grab a bucket of paint and paint brush and start “doing the thing” by slapping paint on the surface. Your paint job is going to be very poor and fail early relative to a professional who properl…

I think in this example those prep work items _are_ doing the thing.

But then telling people about a new product could also be doing the thing.

There’s definitely something to be said for defining what the thing really is being an important part of doing it, but that can also spiral out of control into not doing the thing.

I think thingness is more of a variable property of the current thing you are doing. Than a binary is or isn’t the thing.

All we can really do is regularly check how much the thingness of the current thing is aligned with the main thing’s thingness.

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#108

Post by code_biologist »

I have a print out of this on my wall. I also have pretty bad ADHD. It's been on my wall a year and I still haven't done the thing (really a series of small aversive, timeliness and administration heavy things). I oscillate between trying to do the thing, and trying to treat ADHD or at least not regress (sleep (difficult), exercise, nutrition, intoxicants socially only, stay away from digital dopamine sinks (really hard)). Then I have a burst of panic that trying to improve executive function is itself not doing the thing.

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#109

Post by nowittyusername »

Yes, holy shit yes.... This has been my sentiment for a while now. I see lots of people everywhere especially on social media talking about the thing and no one actually did the thing or is even attempting to do the thing. Honestly thats why i dont have youtube channels or write blogs or anything past casual posts here or reddit... i always think to myself why waste time talking about the thing when i could be doing it now... anyways ima go back to doing the thing. cheers. !

Re: Things that aren't doing the thing

#110

Post by code_biologist »

Aurornis wrote: post #105

> Preparing to do the thing isn't doing the thing. For some types of work, the work we call prep work is 90% of the work and most of what determines how well the finished product turns out. Painting is a good example. You can grab a bucket of paint and paint brush and start “doing the thing” by slapping paint on the surface. Your paint job is going to be very poor and fail early relative to a professional who properl…

Prep work sucks. In whatever field, I always love hearing from the greats how they make the hard work a little less sucky. Good tools, better workflows, figuring out what they can let slide, accepting the struggle and getting zen. The people who do it 80% right and manage to make peace with that always seem the most productive.
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