deadlines
When there's a deadline, there's also a destination, a context, a reason for something. And that's what makes me finish it. Up until that point, it's an experiment. It's sitting on my shelf and I can take it down again as I often do, work on it again, put it back on. [Then I can take it] out two years later and work on it some more.
So everything's ... See more
So everything's ... See more
Deadlines really help human beings get things done. The only way that I've written books is because I set myself a challenging, but not impossible, schedule with the publisher. This contract of external accountability keeps the fire going through the long slog, and it forces me to make clear-cut decisions about what to include, what to leave out, a
... See moreJames Stanier • Parkinson's Law: It's Real, So Use It
Collaborators might be the most powerful forcing function for me. I could never tell someone: “Hey, I know what you think I made is great, and I know we said we were going to publish in an hour, but I suddenly realize a better way to do this and I need to redo everything. It’ll only take another 2-3 weeks/months.” Shared stakes prevents a kind of b
... See more