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Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

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Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#31

Post by joeblubaugh »

TeMPOraL wrote: post #28
quickthrower2 wrote: post #5

These goal escrow sites, like stickK, beeminder are not my thing but glad they help people. Here are some other hacks: 1. Set your standards ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUck-umj2WI , yes it is him, but it is good.) 2. If plausible, release something shit / half done. You will feel embarrassed and want to fix it up. 3. Just get started. Do a minute. Soon you will be in work mode, and forcing yourself to no to do…

> 5. Habits are very powerful. Your brush your teeth, right? You'd be surprised. For some, brushing teeth is an explicit act of will every day, that never seems to habituate. ADHD perhaps?

This is actually how I figured out I should pursue a diagnosis, so yeah, maybe.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#32

Post by ChanningAllen »

DeathArrow wrote: post #27

Why complicate things? Make a plan, start executing it, review and adjust. There's all there is to it. If you put down hours in a mindful way towards your objective, you will progress, regardless if you want to learn to play piano, discover a revolutionary drug or get rich.

Complex goals often require complex solutions.

Keeping it simple is probably a good policy for most people most of the time. But for those who want to break through the plateaus that simple solutions will inevitably lead to, they can look to posts like this one.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#33

Post by ChanningAllen »

waprin wrote: post #19

Always great to see indie hackers content. Since Channing mentions interstitial journaling, I want to share my interstitial journaling app called Interstitch at https://Interstitch.app I shared it here on HN and PH and got 2 upvotes and zero people checking it out. But I realized half the problem is most people don’t know what interstitial journaling is. Many people understandly confuse it for a journaling app. But i…

Nice app! I've rolled my own custom solution inside of Notion, or else you'd probably have another signup.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#34

Post by ChanningAllen »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #18
chaosharmonic wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 4. Try to do fun stuff if possible. Going to the gym is not fun, but it feels good after. But if you have a side project, make it a fun one, something you really are in to. I'm not entirely with you about gyms in particular. Weights might just not be your thing as an individual, but "going to the gym is not fun" is often about the logistical problems of timing around gyms (peak hours, January rushes especially) and…

It depends. Sometimes it feels like a pain (which coincides with fewer reps to fatigue etc.). Sometimes I get a buzz. Body isn’t in the same “mood” every time. And I space out sessions.

> It depends… Body isn’t in the same “mood” every time. And I space out sessions.

I have to say that physiological randomness of this kind is one of the main "use cases" for structured routines.

Before I lived such a structured life, I also felt like I would enter various activities with a roulette wheel of emotions. Which I found to be a big problem! But these days, and due to my structure, a) my mood is highly stable and predictable and b) on the rare occasions when my mood deviates, I usually have a very good idea of why, e.g. deviations in sleep.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#35

Post by edmundsauto »

DeathArrow wrote: post #27

Why complicate things? Make a plan, start executing it, review and adjust. There's all there is to it. If you put down hours in a mindful way towards your objective, you will progress, regardless if you want to learn to play piano, discover a revolutionary drug or get rich.

Part of the depth of the article is what to do if you’re stuck. How do you get out of writers block? Then they offer some concrete techniques that are effective.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#36

Post by edmundsauto »

jvanderbot wrote: post #4
bbor wrote: post #2

Wow, this is… this is amazing. I thought my system was genius only I could derive, but here you’ve got a ton of it written down, plus a whole bunch of other ideas that sound great - I love “ABZs” in particular, and the “three Me’s” is great. On that note, read some Extended Mind philosophy if you haven’t, originally from Chalmers I believe Out of curiosity, do you think this is self-treatment for attention deficienci…

OODA loop?

This mindset is more useful in a competitive environment where you want to cycle new information in a faster loop than your opponent. Thinking about it, I’m not sure it would be that valuable in my typical corporate experience - no outer loops to get inside of. Maybe my managers so I can stay a step ahead?

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#37

Post by ChanningAllen »

fwip wrote: post #6
bbor wrote: post #2

Wow, this is… this is amazing. I thought my system was genius only I could derive, but here you’ve got a ton of it written down, plus a whole bunch of other ideas that sound great - I love “ABZs” in particular, and the “three Me’s” is great. On that note, read some Extended Mind philosophy if you haven’t, originally from Chalmers I believe Out of curiosity, do you think this is self-treatment for attention deficienci…

> I thought my system was genius only I could derive. Spoilers: Nobody is that special. Even the greats in history stand out only due to a complex combination of talent, dedication, position, and opportunity.

Couldn't agree more. I always return to the following quote [1] from Marvin Minsky, who's an intellectual hero of mine:

> Most people think that accomplishments like [those of geniuses] require "talents" or "gifts" that cannot be explained… [but] I suspect that genius needs… unusually effective ways to learn. It’s not enough to learn a lot; one also has to manage what one learns. Those masters have, beneath the surface of their mastery, some special knacks of “higher-order” expertise, which help them organize and apply the things they learn. It is those hidden tricks of mental management that produce the systems that create those works of genius.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Society-Mind-Marvin-Minsky/dp/0671657...

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#38

Post by sleazebreeze »

quickthrower2 wrote: post #18
chaosharmonic wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> 4. Try to do fun stuff if possible. Going to the gym is not fun, but it feels good after. But if you have a side project, make it a fun one, something you really are in to. I'm not entirely with you about gyms in particular. Weights might just not be your thing as an individual, but "going to the gym is not fun" is often about the logistical problems of timing around gyms (peak hours, January rushes especially) and…

It depends. Sometimes it feels like a pain (which coincides with fewer reps to fatigue etc.). Sometimes I get a buzz. Body isn’t in the same “mood” every time. And I space out sessions.

I've been lifting weights for 20 years and this is what I have discovered too. You can keep your sleep/nutrition/work schedule very consistent and some days things will just be harder in the gym. On those days, I will do a little less extra exercises and just stick with the basic compound movements that I was going to do.

On the flip side, there are great days too. Take advantage of those and get a little more done in the gym. Overall it's about consistency of the practice, not about an individual session being great.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#39

Post by jvanderbot »

edmundsauto wrote: post #36
jvanderbot wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OODA loop?

This mindset is more useful in a competitive environment where you want to cycle new information in a faster loop than your opponent. Thinking about it, I’m not sure it would be that valuable in my typical corporate experience - no outer loops to get inside of. Maybe my managers so I can stay a step ahead?

Observe situation as it is, Orient yourself and resources in this new situation, Decide on next action, Act.

The application is identical. TFA just renames it to Aim Fire Scan with an even more conflict-oriented sequence name.

The main "get inside the loop" takeaway from OODA is just "Be agile and respond quickly to outcomes" rather than "March forward on your original plan", when applied in a non-competitive environment.

Same schtick, different pile.

Re: Aim, fire, scan: the 80/20 of executing on big projects

#40

Post by efields »

etrautmann wrote: post #15

I like this post and find some of it quite helpful as a framework, but certain pieces are sufficiently vague that I actually have no idea what's being said: "As a rule with few exceptions, you want to move forward through iteration loops, not backward. (Too often, moving backward is a sign of problems with doing, not problems with planning.)" What does that mean? a short example here would help. How do I know if repr…

I agree that some of this was kinda weird or just meant for those "in the know," but it was mostly a good piece. I especially appreciate the ABZ idea, because it comports with one of the best pieces of advice I got in college, "Work from the end, to the beginning." What does the finish product look like and how did it get there? It frames your (my) thinking better when I don't have an answer. If I take the learned experience of what I've done (A) what I'm working on already (B), and I know I want to make (Z), that's end-to-beginning thinking.
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