After reading this, it helped me write a blog post I had just been thinking about. Nothing big, it was just a blog post but I feel so much better about getting it off my chest!
Finish one thing today
41–50 of 52 posts
Re: Finish one thing today
#42"Write Code Every Day", John Resig:
http://ejohn.org/blog/write-code-every-day/
He set himself similar rules.
Re: Finish one thing today
#43> SHIP ONE THING TODAY.
> RELEASE IT TO THE WORLD.
> If you don’t have an idea, imitate something else.
> You will think it’s not important enough.
> You will think nobody will care.
> You will overestimate its importance.
> You will sometimes fail.
Counterpoint: Instead of focusing on quantity ("hack it together and ship it", "ship it today", "finish it and release it to the world", etc.), let's take a step back and think about quality. I have personally been bitten from having to maintain side projects that I shipped prematurely just to "finish them".
I'm not saying you shouldn't finish things, however I do think there's value in raising standards for what you consider "finished", and that finishing something every day is a goal that is likely to be at odds with those standards.
Two articles that I recommend reading:
1. Generation Javascript by Manuel Bernhardt (http://manuel.bernhardt.io/2014/12/30/generation-javascript/)
2. A Generation Lost in the Bazaar by Poul-Henning Kamp (https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=2349257)
Re: Finish one thing today
#44> SHIP ONE THING TODAY. > RELEASE IT TO THE WORLD. > If you don’t have an idea, imitate something else. > You will think it’s not important enough. > You will think nobody will care. > You will overestimate its importance. > You will sometimes fail. Counterpoint: Instead of focusing on quantity ("hack it together and ship it", "ship it today", "finish it and release it to the world", etc.), let's take a step back and…
I think there's something to be said for getting the habit of getting things done without getting hung up on their quality, and then moving towards quality once you have some level of cadence established.
IME, people hit a point where they start introducing quality or breaking down bigger tasks because their goal requires it. You don't need to encourage that so much as just getting them doing something in the first place.
Compare to the classic advice to set an egg-timer for 5 minutes if you're having problems getting started with something. 9 times out of 10 you'll continue and finish it after the timer goes off, but makes it much less intimidating to start if you know you can legitimately bail after 5 minutes.
Re: Finish one thing today
#45"Write Code Every Day", John Resig: http://ejohn.org/blog/write-code-every-day/ He set himself similar rules.
Also see Stephen King's memoir "On Writing" : http://www.amazon.ca/On-Writing-Anniversary-Edition-Memoir/d...
Re: Finish one thing today
#46Similar comments from a University of Texas, Austin commencement speech by Adm. McRaven [1]: "Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket…
I'm a big believer in this method. At first, I agree - it doesn't seem rational. But human beings are rarely rational creatures all the time. Personally, a method like this works for me. On days where I make the effort to wake up earlier and get in some exercise/a workout, I find I'm more prepared and motivated to handle the day. Of course, there is the tangible physical benefit, but there's also a psychological one…
A while back somebody commented that this very effect was a strength of TDD. It's easy to gain mental "momentum."
I'm not a strong TDD guy, but when I'm feeling a bit slouchy (or even overwhelmed) I'll often start with unit tests to get the ball rolling.
Re: Finish one thing today
#47Counterpoint: I spend 8+ hours a day at work focused on shipping. I need to spend time learning, experimenting, and "playing".
Re: Finish one thing today
#48> SHIP ONE THING TODAY. > RELEASE IT TO THE WORLD. > If you don’t have an idea, imitate something else. > You will think it’s not important enough. > You will think nobody will care. > You will overestimate its importance. > You will sometimes fail. Counterpoint: Instead of focusing on quantity ("hack it together and ship it", "ship it today", "finish it and release it to the world", etc.), let's take a step back and…
I think there's something to be said for getting the habit of getting things done without getting hung up on their quality, and then moving towards quality once you have some level of cadence established. IME, people hit a point where they start introducing quality or breaking down bigger tasks because their goal requires it. You don't need to encourage that so much as just getting them doing something in the first p…
Also, I am sure most people are aware of it but still worth mentioning - The Pomodoro Technique:
Re: Finish one thing today
#49Similar comments from a University of Texas, Austin commencement speech by Adm. McRaven [1]: "Every morning in basic SEAL training, my instructors, who at the time were all Vietnam veterans, would show up in my barracks room and the first thing they would inspect was your bed. If you did it right, the corners would be square, the covers pulled tight, the pillow centered just under the headboard and the extra blanket…
Yeah, the nice old recipes blindly executed to give a fake sense of control.
To cover your bed as soon as possible is not a so good idea in fact. The dust mites will love be carefully protected of the sunlight and trive on your perfectly square bed giving you more probability of develop asthma and alergies. Not a good thing if you need to run for your safety, or to avoid to snooze in a inconvenient time. Some countries have more bed bugs than others.
I'll better try to stay creative; there is more than one way to do a bed.
Re: Finish one thing today
#50I lived with my girlfriend's parents many years ago and at the time her father was building a Morris Minor 1000 and a Triumph Bonneville bike (in his spare time). The final results were showroom condition vehicles; absolute works of art. I was fortunate enough to be there for most of the duration of the projects. I learnt _a lot_ about how vehicles work from those days. It was fascinating working on machines like tha…
That sounds like an amazing feat from a productivity/finishing projects standpoint, but I'd be really interested to hear about the organization process for a thing like that. I'm sure one can't rely on memory alone to remember which tiny washer goes with each widget. For a smaller project, I'd sort the screws into cups or something. But for an entire bike? Huh.
I think he just knew his way around so well that it wasn't an issue. He had a compartmentalised box in his workshop where he put all the bits. The other thing is that the various washers and bolts are of standard sizes.
After 35 years of working full time fixing motor vehicles I guess you have a pretty clear picture of how everything comes apart and goes back together again.
After he'd reconstructed the engine we were about to hoist it in the car and I asked how he was sure it was to work. He said that because he'd put every last part in himself (after reconditioning them) he could guarantee it to be correct. To humour me he fired it up while it was still on the ground, started without any problem.