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The Secret to my Productivity

2017-10-27 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:57 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Everyday life · mode: Advice & reviews · tags: self promotion

Formerly titled The Embarrassing Secret to my Productivity.

Hank shares his secret to productivity: he takes every creative project 80% of the way to as good as he can make it and releases it, because 'best' is subjective, multiple, invisible and changing, the last 20% costs most of the work, and shipping often teaches more than polishing.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Why Hank hesitated to make this video: he works too hard and is lucky

  • ★★ Hank avoided making this video for years partly because he works too hard, which is a problem, and such content assumes everyone wants the maker's life; there are many great lives. — 00:00:04
  • ★★ Hank says he is extremely lucky: a key to productivity is financial, mental and social stability, and he simply lucked into all of it. — 00:00:18

00:00:31 — The 80% rule: 'best' is a lie in four ways; throw the dart; the last 20% is most of the work

  • ★★★ Hank's secret to productivity: he gets everything creative he does about 80% of the way to as good as he can make it and goes no further, never trying for 100%. — 00:00:31

    “I do my best to get it 80% of the way to as good as I can make it”

  • ★★★ Aiming for the 'best' is a lie in four ways; first, no one knows what best is: it is subjective and differs in every person who consumes the work. — 00:01:04

  • ★★ Second, there are different categories of best: Hank wants his videos to do several things, and improving at one goal can mean pulling away from another. — 00:01:13
  • ★★ Third, even if 'best' has hard outlines, Hank can never see them: they lie in the future, and he won't know until he gets there. — 00:01:23
  • ★★ Fourth, best is always changing, because people's opinions and ideas change, and so do Hank's. — 00:01:39
  • ★★★ You can raise your odds of hitting the bullseye, which is what the 80% is for, but you never know where you'll hit until you throw the dart; endless planning may be wasted work. (hedged) — 00:01:49
  • ★★ Hank says the last 20% of getting to what he thinks is best is about 90% of the work, which is why he releases at 80%. (hedged) — 00:02:14
  • ★★★ Hank learns most of what he learns by doing the first 80% and releasing the work; in the final tweaks he learns nothing and is just scared, and they may or may not improve it. (hedged) — 00:02:19

00:02:34 — Why stopping at 80% is hard; you see your own flaws; done is success; the new 80% beats the old 100%

  • ★★ Stopping at 80% is hard, especially for beginners whose 100% isn't good yet, and harder still with good taste, which cannot be taught, because you know how bad your thing is. — 00:02:34
  • ★★★ A separate tip: you know your own work better than anyone, with all its imperfections and what it could have been, so your things will always look worse than other people's. — 00:02:50
  • ★★★ In Hank's mind, getting it done is success and getting it perfect is not, especially because perfect doesn't exist. (hedged) — 00:03:12
  • ★★★ The 80% rule helps Hank learn new things and gather data on what works and what people and he like; repeating it fast, his new 80% surpasses his old 100%. — 00:03:20

00:03:45 — Sign-off; Halloween show in San Francisco with a costume contest

  • ★★ Hank says their Halloween show in San Francisco still has tickets, with an optional Halloween costume contest he looks forward to. — 00:03:47

In the description and comments

  • ★★ The description adds that this is not the best or only way: Hank's friends who go to 100% every time are prolific, effective creators who make better things than he does. — video description
  • ★★★ Hank says people selling a life-vision of being ultra-effective really try to make you feel you haven't accomplished enough so you need them; he hates that and hopes he isn't doing it. — video description
  • ★★ Everyone will find different ways of helping the world and other people, Hank adds, but don't let perfection hold you back from making or doing things: revel in imperfection. — video description
  • ★★ Tickets are still available for the tour shows in San Francisco and Pleasanton. — video description

Threads in this video

Mentioned

Central: perfectionism · productivity

Also: Halloween (holiday) · San Francisco

Only in the description or credits: Pleasanton, California

Also centred on perfectionism: You're Not Good Enough

Also centred on productivity: what's wrong with taking the back streets? · how we spend our days · I have been playing a small trick on you. · The Productivity Lie

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