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Are you familiar with the Done Manifesto? Essentially it lays out 13 rules for getting things done, or getting to the point of “done.” Most importantly it emphasizes progress over nearly everything else. You must continue moving, you must continue to create momentum, you must continue to move forward.
Here are the 13 foundational rules of the Done Manifesto:
- There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
- Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
- There is no editing stage.
- Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t and do it.
- Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
- The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
- Once you’re done you can throw it away.
- Laugh at perfection. It’s boring and keeps you from being done.
- People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
- Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
- Destruction is a variant of done.
- If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
- Done is the engine of more.
One of my favorites is #8 and #10. I love these because they help the creative and those that struggle with tons of ideas to continue to move forward into action. Said another way by Cliff Kuang:
The idea of creating prototypes as soon as you can, and failing as fast as possible so you can evolve your way to something great. It isn’t to say that you have to make these failures public. But the failures have to be made and not just thought about. Get it done.
I think a lot of us could take even a few of these and adopt them personally to get your ideas into motion, especially you creative-types.
Just because we’re near the end of the calendar year doesn’t mean you must give yourself some time “off” – go get it done people!
This is great thought….Failure counts as done…..I wonder how you manage to give out such ideas…superb…and Thanks…
-Vineet Saxena
thanks! i just find neat stuff and post it!
“Pretending you know what you’re doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing…” That’s poetry in motion! Thanks for the morning inspiration.
sure thing mozart!
I really like “Destruction is a variant of done.” I’ve tossed many a draft for many a reason hahahah!
i like destruction myself.
I like number 5. If you’re not willing to quickly act on something, is it really worth your time? Nope, scrap it and move on.
i think about this a lot. it does help.
#5 is an issue with me. When I come to a task that I don’t want to do in a project I will drop the ball and find something else that is more enjoyable to work on first. While this can be helpful at times, it certianly prevents many projects from getting done as quickly as they should.
i think there are things that you just know that you will continue doing. these don’t fit in the picture as much perhaps for you.
If only companies would embrace this as well, so much more could get “done”.
oh. you’re telling me…
Love it! I am now a fan of the “Done Manifesto”. I love #5, #8, & #10. They tie in very well with a recent post I did about “inaction”.
you’re a fan of it all!
I like #4; however, I also agree if you sit on an idea too long, abandon it. I have held off writing about something that inspired me and trying to make it happen later is really hard work. It usually translates into hours and hours of trying to get it down on paper.
it’s true. there is no better time to act than right now.
I agree with certain points but strongly disagree with others. I like the idea behind #2, #3, #5, and #8: perfectionism is dangerous. But I take issue with #6, #7, and #10. It sounds like what they’re saying to me is that the finished product doesn’t really matter, it’s just the fact that you’re doing something. But doing something just do something is stupid. What’s the point of doing things if they’re not worth completing? If you just “throw away” (#7) something when you’re done, why even do it in the first place?
I think they’ve taken the dangerous course of making the process the end: making the act of doing the sum total of all that you care about. But doing needs to be a means, not an end – a means to well thought out goals.
i’m not sure if i’ve ever “completed” a project. everything is in constant motion.
i think the process is the point in this manifesto… and i think the “process” materializes in other worldviews too.
I am having a hard time following the directions with my Rubik’s Cube.
I peeled the stickers off like step 3, then I stuck them all over my hand like step 9. Now the stickers don’t stick and my cube now looks like step 11. Awe…. in step 3 it said do not remove stickers!!!!
Sigh ….. I miss the ’80s.
… that’s cheating!
I really like this. I tell myself to Get Goin’ all the time. Great lesson. Good Days.
go for it!
I like #6 because it helps provide a big picture. Get it done. Move on.
The image also seems to communicate that just because something is solved doesn’t mean you can’t mess it up and create a new problem to solve. Might get to a better solution that way.
the solution isn’t necessarily the point! i love that idea.