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A newsletter you’ll want to share…
My team at Figma is working on a really cool editorial project. I can’t say much about it—only that it’s designed to earn its way into your inbox. Visit our blog, Shortcut, and scroll to the middle (“Subscribe to Shortcut for an instantly better inbox”). Subscribe to the mailing list to be the first to…
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Last mile pressure
Sometimes, for whatever reason, the experience of finishing the final task (or putting the final touches on a project, or solving the final problem, etc.) feels absolutely impossible. This post is one such example. There are a lot of possible reasons why, as well as a lot of solutions. My favorite one is to scope…
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No interruptions, please
Creative work compounds, so long as you keep practicing. “The first rule of compounding: Never interrupt it unnecessarily.” Charlie Munger See also this post, this post, and this.
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Don’t be precious about promoting your work
You will promote your work, and nothing happens. Someone else will promote your work, and nothing happens. Someone else will promote your work, and nothing happens. Someone else will promote your work, and it’ll go completely viral. Someone else will promote your work, and nothing happens. I’ve seen this happen over, and over, and over…
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Boredom feeds creativity
Sit in any waiting room. A doctor, dentist, or car inspection garage where you have absolutely nothing to do for about an hour. Or take a flight with no Wi-fi, and no leg room. Get stuck in traffic. Make sketches on a very small lined pad (even a napkin will do) with a good pen.…
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Making it happen
If you want something to happen, don’t be ashamed or embarrassed to go make it happen. In the case of creativity, if you want people to pay attention, don’t let reluctance or a fear of embarrassment or shame get in the way of you putting your work and yourself out there. 50 Cent writes in…
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Creative Doing, at Figma
During Config, I visited the Figma office in San Francisco. My book was on the book wall! Please give me a shout if you want a few copies for your office.
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A ladder of independence
Almost a year ago, I wrote about the importance of finding ladders to help structure your work. I just found a good one, “The Spectrum of Financial Dependence and Independence,” by Morgan Housel. There are 16 levels of independence, with clear definitions. I appreciate it because it’s much more flexible than what the typical label…
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Serious possibilism
People often call me an optimist, because I show them the enormous progress they didn’t know about. That makes me angry. I’m not an optimist. That makes me sound naïve. I’m a very serious “possibilist.” That’s something I made up. It means someone who neither hopes without reason, nor fears without reason, someone who constantly…
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Quantity and the long tail
A small amount of what you do is like to deliver most of the returns. When visualized in a graph, this phenomenon is known as the power law or the long tail. The problem is, you don’t know which amount it is; it’s impossible to predict, because the world is so complicated. Instead, the better…