If you’re trying to do something efficiently you’re probably stalling.
Premature optimization is the root of all evil for engineers, but it’s also an excuse that prevents progress in personal goals.
Looking for efficiency in daily life is similar to seeking “the best way” of doing something.
And it’s insidious because the logic isn’t all that bad…
“If I’m going to try and, say, lose weight, I might as well do it in the best and most efficient way possible, right?”
Wrong!
You need momentum. You need progress. You need forward movement happening right now.
The importance of morale is vastly underestimated.
I want to lose weight, what are the best exercises to do?
Get down RIGHT THIS SECOND and start doing push ups. Go for a run in whatever clothes you already own.
I want to start a SaaS business, what stack should I use?
Pick up the phone and call 10 potential customers to see if they want the thing.
I want to sell an online course. What’s the best way to make a website?
Send 5 emails right now to the first 5 people you can think of who might need this. Do not write templates – bang out the email and hit send. If they actually need the product they won’t care about typos.
I want to be a photographer, I wonder what gear I should buy.
Use your iPhone.
There might be a parking space closer to the entrance.
There’s tons of parking 50 feet back; pick a spot and just walk.
So much "work" is merely distracting ourselves from the reality: we have no customers, we don't know what people want, we don't have a sales channel, and on and on.
Read more about how the world actually works at my newsletter How It Actually Works.
I agree! For my last project, I was stalling on it for months because I couldn't efficiently or automatically get some data that I needed to start.
Eventually I said screw efficiency and went to a website where I needed the data, copy and pasted the values I needed into a .txt file with a newline for separation.
This took probably a few hours over a week to do but once I got the textfiles filled up, I was finally able to build my backend and serve my data.
I still need to figure out a way to do this more efficiently but I released v1 of my web app. If I was trying to get my data in an 'efficient' way then I might not have even started.
Preach! This is especially easy to justify for developers IMO because literally EVERYTHING can be made more efficient. The option to write some code is always available.
Yes and there is always some unproductive discussion about the latest frameworks and libraries and ways of coding. From language to design patterns to whatever, everyone is always talking about the 'best' way to create software.
I've learned to just tune out all the noise and only focus on my tech stack and just create shit. People like Pieter Levels are fighting the battle against 'devsplainers' who try to make people change their way of coding because it's not the same as their way.
It doesn't really matter if you code in php, or javascript, or ruby, or whatever! It matters if people are actually using the apps you make!
"Do the simplest thing", "talk to people", and "just get started" are common sayings in the startup world. If your goal is simply to re-emphasize those sayings, then this post does exactly that. If your goal is to do something more, for example to give a novel perspective or start a discussion, you might consider expanding this essay:
Your thesis seems to be that lack of efficiency is efficient in the long run, at least when it comes to executing lean projects under uncertainty. This is interesting and ironic. You could start with the irony and show its limits. I'd love to read that.
You could explore in more depth how people irrationally assess risk, where premature optimization is a specific case of that. In what other cases do we irrationally assess risk? What unites these things? I'd also love to read that.
@edahlgren I've been thinking about this more and your points are very good, any chance we could talk in more detail? You can email me @ trevormckendrick at gmail
Thanks!
No problem, I'll be in touch.
Your two bullet points are smart and very useful WRT expanding the post (or writing others). Much thanks!
"Premature optimization is the root of all evil for engineers "
dammm...you hit that right in the head ....+1000
After reading this post, I've repeated the title ("Efficiency Is An Excuse To Not Do The Actual Work") in conversations at least a half dozen times. It's a great mantra.
Love how you were straight to the point and super honest Trevor, keep up the great content!
Definitely something that a lot of people struggle with without noticing it or even denying it, something I always try to keep in check.
Amen!
Yeah, and it's a common thing. It's easier to look for efficiency and live in future and not to concentrate on the things that must be done right now. People tend to think big and do little:)
MOMENTUM, exactly. I put as an excuse, "the perfect moment" and if I do not have it, I lose the day! #justdoit. I need to learn to multitask in multiple situations.
there's an xkcd on this
Well, for weight loss you do a need a plan of attack but I get the point of this article. I dig this!
I've been procrastinating on a project and I really need to sit down and finish it.
You need a plan to go for a run?
You need a well planned diet. You can run but if you eat like shit it won't really help.
Unless you're one of those genetically gifted individuals who can eat as much and whatever and not gain fat.
That's like saying there's no point in starting a business unless you have angel investors, unless you're a workaholic freak like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk.
And a decent diet is so simple. Is it coke, or like coke? Don't drink it. Is it McDonalds or like McDonalds? Don't eat it. Is it an apple or like an apple? Eat it.
I consider myself in great shape, and I only drink water, coffee, almond milk. I never eat junk food. Eliminating bad food is the best and most simple option for improving your health.
Even when you start a business, you don't just go about building the product. One should check first and see if people need the product/service otherwise your wasting your time on something nobody wants.
I understood what Trevor meant from his article. Start taking action and don't delay it.
With that said, eliminating fast food, eating fruits, and drinking milk doesn't mean it's healthy.
You can eat as many "healthy" foods as you want but if you're over or under your calorie/macro intake than your dieting isn't really helping you towards your goal. A great workout will never beat a bad diet. I've trained folks, and most of them always think they can outwork a bad diet. 90% of the them can't.
And considering yourself in great shape is subjective and your dieting doesn't works for everyone.
There isn't any bad foods, just bad quantity amount.
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Thanks!
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