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by
Greg McKeown
Read between
March 18 - March 26, 2022
DEFINE What “Done” Looks Like
But to get an important project done it’s absolutely necessary to define what “done” looks like.
how clear is your idea of what completion looks like?
Sometimes important projects remain undone because we keep tinkering with them endlessly.
But there comes a point where the law of diminishing returns sets in—a point where our efforts begin to outpace our improvements.
“done” as the point just before the effort invested begins to be greater than the output achieved.
establish clear conditions for what “done” looks like, get there, then stop.
As soon as you define what “done” looks like, you give your conscious and unconscious mind a clear instruction.
“Done for the Day” List
this is a list of what will constitute meaningful and essential progress.
You are getting things done—the way you want them done—while you still can.
all you have to focus on is the very first step.
what we think is the first step is actually several steps.
The best way to go about it is to hone your skills as you part with your possessions.
“that version of a new product which allows a team to collect the maximum amount of validated learning about customers with the least amount of effort.”
the “now” we experience lasts only 2.5 seconds.
“The goal was to make it easier.”
The Simplest Steps Are the Ones You Don’t Take
No matter how simple the step, it’s still easier to take no step.
sometimes the second half of a project seems much more daunting than the first.
“What are the minimum steps required to complete this?”
answering exactly, and only, the questions asked.
What are the minimum steps required for completion?
channel all your energy toward getting the important project done.
use six slides, with fewer than ten words total.
There is rarely a need to go that second mile beyond what’s essential.
It’s better to go just the first mile than to not go...
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the goal is to create value
“Simplicity—the art of maximizing the steps not taken—is essential.”
PROGRESS The Courage to Be Rubbish
“We all start out ugly. Every one of Pixar’s stories starts out that way.”
Giving ourselves permission to fail takes courage.
To make effortless progress on what matters, learning-sized mistakes must be encouraged.
it’s simply letting go of the absurd pressure to always do everything perfectly.
“You’ve taken the first step. You may feel wobbly now, but you’ve begun. You’re going to get there.”
George Bernard Shaw once said, “A life spent in making mistakes is not only more honorable but more useful than a life spent doing nothing.”
write a version of that first chapter that’s so rough it wouldn’t even qualify as a first draft.
write anything.
Even rubbish words are more powerful than a blank page. In fact, they are much more powerful, because there can be no magnum opus later without those rubbish words now.
simply lower the bar to start.
And once we begin, we become a little less rubbish,
the cost of that sprint was more than the loss of just one race.
Holding back when you still have steam in you might seem like a counterintuitive approach to getting important things done, but in fact, this kind of restraint is key to breakthrough productivity.
“Pace yourself. If you write too much, too quickly, you’ll go off at tangents and lose your way and if you write infrequently you’ll lose your momentum. A thousand words a day is a good ticking over amount.”
when you go slow, things are smoother, and when things are smooth, you can move faster.
Never less than X, never more than Y.
Essential Project: Complete the first draft of a book Lower Bound: Never less than five hundred words a day Upper Bound: Never more than one thousand words a day
The Effortless State is an experience many of us have had when we are physically rested, emotionally unburdened, and mentally energized.
“What if this could be easy?”
“How am I making this harder than it needs to be?”
