Cutting Things Out

Simple can be harder than complex, because one must have a deep, comprehensive understanding to be able to identify the essential parts and know what can be taken away to maintain or improve the overall functionality. This is true for both design and for life.

So, today, I sat down and identified the nonessential parts of my life and will work over the next few weeks to cut them out completely. These are parts of my life that, overall, have been distracting or haven't made me a better person (i.e. defensive tasks). I'm excited for this as I've always been minimalist in nature, and removing these will simplify my life. This will in turn decrease my cognitive load so I can devote more of my focus toward bigger and better things.

Stephen King's Pencil

Tim Ferriss's interview with Seth Godin about the ways ideas spread, marketing, strategic quitting, leadership, and challenging the status quo was one of the best interviews I've heard. It is a powerful combination of informative, helpful, and wise, which is nothing short of what I expect from a 17-time bestselling author with the top marketing blog on the internet (seriously, it's the first link to pop up if you Google "Seth"). 

While I could go off on a large tangent about everything I learned in this interview, I don't want to spoil it for you. I'd like to point out one small part in particular that agrees with something I've been pondering lately.

Tim asks Godin about his writing warmup as well as the times of the day Godin typically prefers to write. Godin responds with the story of Stephen King's Pencil, in which one writer at a writers conference inevitably asks Stephen King, "Stephen King, you are one of the most successful, revered writers of your generation. What kind of pencil do you use?" Godin proceeds to explain that this doesn't matter, because it's a way to hide. Tying this back to Tim's original question, Godin elaborates on why it is an uninteresting question because there is no correlation that he's ever encountered between how writers write and how good their work is.

I agree with Godin and feel very strongly that this principle also extends outside the realm of writers. It's easy to irrationally assume that doing something one way is the best way, just because someone we know who is great at that activity does it that particular way. We have to keep in mind that productivity and effectiveness are artistries that must agree with our own tendencies and idiosyncrasies. Hence, there is no "one size fits all" for the optimal warmup or time of day to work, and you should do what works best for you.

Peace

What it means to be truly happy has been discussed time and again but, to me, happiness means peace.

And peace to me means lack of stress. It means being able to learn through fulfilling work knowing the deadline (if any) is far in advance, or being able to take a walk knowing that the most hassle you're dealing with that day is making a cup of coffee. It means being able to seamlessly focus on the present without worrying about the past or the irrational uncertainties of the future. It means being able to workout knowing your body is healthy enough to workout again the next day. It means being able to grab lunch with a best friend.

It means waking up in the morning knowing you'll be going to bed the following night.

Finishing Tasks

It's easy to look at your to-do list and feel overwhelmed, so I'm writing out this reliable step-by-step plan as a reminder for you as well as for me:

1. Rank your important tasks by urgency. If it's not an important task, drop it!
2. Break down your most urgent, important task into baby steps—no matter how small.
3. Now, as Nike preaches, just do it. Once your current task is finished, go back to step 2.

This may be obvious, but you'll be surprised (or maybe not surprised at all) by how many people don't differentiate between important and unimportant tasks, jump around between tasks, or can't bring themselves to get started.

If you find it difficult to get started (which is often the hardest step), I find it helpful to remind myself why my current task is important. Examples: I should finish this workout to get in shape so I can be healthy later to spend more quality time with my family, I should finish this paper to improve my writing skills and land my dream job, I should finish this lab early so I am not stressed two weeks from now. Whatever it may be, spending a few minutes to visualize the "why" makes it so much easier to get started.

And, with that, I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes:

You're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Your mountain is waiting,
So... get on your way!
- Dr. Seuss, Oh, The Places You'll Go!

Worst Case Scenario

We often fear the worst case. We fear getting rejected, settling for a job we don't want, or being poor.

But why not let these fears help you?

Consider, for one week, to live as if you were extremely poor. Wear only a white T-shirt and jeans, eat cheap food such as rice and beans, use the cheapest bathroom appliances you can find, and walk or carpool instead of driving. In general, minimize costs wherever you can.

If you follow through, I think a few interesting things will happen. I think you'll realize dressing well, eating fancy foods, or driving a nice vehicle may not be so important for your well-being. I predict you'll gain more confidence to pursue what you desire, even if it doesn't follow the beaten path, because you'll realize the worst case isn't so bad.

Make Yourself Bored

We often dread being bored, which is why we make accounts on multiple social media sites, impulsively check our phones for any notification, watch television, and the list goes on and on.

But, the truth is, these aren't the best ways to fill the void because you're playing defense. What exactly does this mean? Let's consider football, for example. The team playing defense reacts to the team playing offense. The team playing defense chooses their actions based on the offense, who is calling the shots to score more points.

In the context of social media, phone notifications, watching television, and much more, you are playing defense since you are reacting to whatever content Facebook, your phone, or your television chooses to show you. Truth is, you really don't have as much control over what you see as you think you do and somebody on the other end is keeping you hooked and running to the bank with a large paycheck.

Contrarily, playing offense means you proactively call the shots, whether it's learning something new, going to the gym, or making progress toward your creative endeavors. But playing offense is inevitably harder than playing defense. It's easy to sit there and allow everyone else to tell you what to do, but it won't be fun looking back in a few years knowing you could have been more productive, creative, and independent.

And this all ties back to being bored. I've come to realize that boredom isn't necessarily a bad thing. In fact, I've taken initiative to eliminate defensive tasks from my life to actually produce boredom, and I encourage you to do the same. This might sound crazy, because who the hell wants to be bored? I hear you, and it can suck. Sometimes I sit there and wish I had something to do. But do you know what eventually happens? I get my butt off the couch and go to the gym. Or I'll get on my computer and start writing code. Or I'll pull out my Kindle and read an informative book.

My point is that producing boredom by eliminating defensive tasks will encourage you to fill the void with offensive tasks, which will make you smarter, more fit, strengthen your relationships, and generally make you a more effective person.

Cut the crap. You'll be thankful.

Multidimensional Mindset

I had a conversation recently with an engineer whose mindset was particularly unidimensional: he badmouthed liberal arts, cared only about grades, and talked down on a few student organizations. Sure, you might not learn engineering skills by exploring liberal arts, interacting with non-engineers, or trying new things in general, but you'll likely cultivate a broader, more empathetic perspective that is essential for both effective teamwork and optimal design.

As an engineer or entrepreneur, how can you build something for someone else if you don't even have enough glancing familiarity with them to imagine the world through their eyes? How can you define the feature set? How can you think about pricing? How can you identify the pain-points of a product if you can't even empathize with your user?

Try also fostering those intangibles you learn outside of your curriculum: balance, thoughtful, compassionate, interesting, understanding, experience. I think you'll get a little further, my friend.