I recently read “Scrum” and several points hit home. In reflecting on my own intellectual and creative pursuits. While I’ve been doing product for well over a decade now there are definitely areas of continued improvement that are needed.
It Causes Frustration
It’s like Zeno’s paradox; with each touch there’s a further distance from the finish line. Why? Because the habit of non-finishing accrues. So there’s a lack of urgency that begets further non-finishing patterns. With each touch you actually move farther from the finish line. It’s a head game.
It’s like inventory sitting on the shop floor.
It’s pure waste. I used to have this notion that having lots of partially completed projects would create a flywheel effect; I could jump from one to the next.
Is objectively ineffective
Measure: how much value was created? How many posts were produced? How many visitors generated etc. How many Heuristic: how pleasurable is it? I’d argue that on both counts this fails against the focused and deliberate approach.
Creates unhelpful patterns
A lack of completion begets more non-completion. It’s like inbox zero vs. thousands. At some point it stops mattering. Theory Why does this work? I’m not sure but if I had to guess I would argue that cultivating downtime is a key part. Downtime is when the subconscious gets to work. And so focusing on fewer items actually means that both the conscious and unconscious minds both work in concert, like the stroke sequence of an engine. By cramming too many items we starve the engine of oxygen required for full power output.