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| It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work |
A company is like software. It has to be usable, it has to be useful. And it probably also has bugs, places where the company crashes because of bad organizational design or cultural oversights. When you start to think about your company as a product, all sorts of new possibilities for improvement emerge. When you realize the way you work is malleable, you can start molding something new, something better. Whether you own it, run it, or “just” work there, it takes everyone involved to make it better.
Curb Your Ambition
You can absolutely run a great business without a single "goal". You don’t need something fake to do something real. And if you must have a goal, how about just staying in business? Or serving your customers well? Or being a delightful place to work? Just because these goals are harder to quantify does not make them any less important."For years, my only metric of success was building a billion dollar company. Now, I realize that was a terrible goal", Gumroad started to thrive once the VCs left, the growth-uber-alles mentality faded, and the founder just focused on doing good work. https://t.co/6dC554sIxk— DHH (@dhh) February 8, 2019
Defend Your Time
Your time in the office feels shorter because it’s sliced up into a dozen smaller bits. Most people don’t actually have 8 hours a day to work, they have a couple of hours. The rest of the day is stolen from them by meetings, conference calls, and other distractions. So while you may be at the office for 8 hours, it feels more like just a few.The myth of the collaborative wonders of the open office debunked in new study. A tyranny of interruption, distraction, and stress for workers that require uninterrupted time for creative work. A way to squander the attention of highly paid workers to save money on real estate. https://t.co/IqywDJewFX— DHH (@dhh) July 7, 2018
When you cut out what’s unnecessary, you’re left with what you need. And all you need is 8 hours a day for about 5 days a week. You can’t expect people to do great work if they don’t have a full day’s attention to devote to it. Partial attention is barely attention at all.
Effective > Productive. When people focus on productivity, they end up focusing on being busy. Filling every moment with something to do. And there’s always more to do! Being productive is about occupying your time—filling your schedule to the brim and getting as much done as you can. Being effective is about finding more of your time unoccupied and open for other things besides work. Time for leisure, time for family and friends. Or time for doing absolutely nothing.
I really do regret ever using the word “productive” when referring to my efforts or anyone else’s efforts. Being productive is not a noble goal or pursuit. Being effective is. That’s not a function of output or time, it’s a measure of impact.— Jason Fried (@jasonfried) December 2, 2017