This post is about working on and finishing personal tasks and why getting them done on time is so hard. For the time starved, the lesson here is:
Create Self-Imposed Deadlines. With Punishment for Failure.
The longer version:
Many of you have commented about the lack of frequency in my recent postings. This is something I acknowledge to struggling with a bit! Trust me, it isn’t because of a lack of motivation or anything like that, because writing on this blog is something I would really like to keep going.
What’s wrong with Time Boxing?
I know I’ve been writing about Time Boxing, but it seems the strategies there alone aren’t sufficient to help me Get Things Done.
I don’t think there is any inherent flaw with the Time Boxing strategy. After all, if you want to finish something, you first need to allocate time to it, then work on it for a fixed period and finally judge if it is finished or not. The boxing aspect allows us to focus on the “time” or “duration” component of the task, without which we may aimlessly prod along without being conscious of how long something is taking.
The problem with Time Boxing however, especially for personal tasks, is there is no tangible effect from a delay. There is no accountability and no punishment for going over-time. Writing on this blog is a hobby, so if I don’t publish an article for another week or month, what’s the penalty?
Nothing. Nada. Zip.
In contrast, this is totally opposite when dealing with work related matters. We do it all the time. Homework is due next Monday, so let’s get to it now. The client demands a modification to a site or we don’t get paid, so let’s get cracking. Our boss is waiting for the status report, so we’d better launch the word processor and start typing.
The two biggest problems with doing personal tasks
I realised the other day, I don’t have well defined goals for blogging. This stems from the realisation that the two biggest problems with finishing personal tasks (like writing on a blog) are:
- The absence of a hard deadline
- The absence of punishment when failing to deliver
Seems obvious! Why hadn’t I thought of it before? Without a concrete deadline, how can I judge if I’m behind or not? Also, how can I plan my time to ensure I meet it? Also, if there are no real consequences for not making a deadline, what’s going to stop me from playing on my Xbox? And, what’s to prevent me from procrastinating time and time again?
Nothing. Nada. Zip.
Treating work and non-work tasks the same way
The lesson here is that we need to treat our hobbies and personal projects exactly the same way we deal with work and other important things in our life. If we don’t, then it’ll always play second fiddle and we won’t get the great results we hope or expect.
This means we have to elevate personal hobbies, tasks and projects to the same level as our work. Yes, they may not be life-sustaining activities (ie doesn’t pay the bills), but if we want the same kind of results we get from our work, then we have to treat them the same.
Make yourself accountable in your startup
This applies to all you aspiring Entrepreneurs out there.
Are you having trouble launching your latest startup? Is it taking longer than you thought? Are you spending enough time on it? Is time being spent on a piece of code which won’t matter for another year? Are you working on the right things?
If any of this sounds familiar, then you’d do well to head my words.
Make yourself accountable for everything in your business. Every action and delay must be defined and quatified. How long will it take? What’s the benefit? What’s the cost? Who will be affected?
If you don’t have anyone you are accountable to (eg no investors and customers), then you have to make something up. For example, perhaps donate $100 to a worthwhile charity for every week you are late. Now, that’s going to hurt. Are you feeling more motivated now?
With great pleasure, I can now say Mobiusly is back on track. I deviated a little over the last couple of months, but it’s all good now especially since I committed to a deadline and understood the consequences of being late. I’m hoping to launch the first product in 1-2 weeks time, depending on how well beta testing goes. I’ll post more details here or via Mobiusly’s official blog, so make sure you subscribe to it too if you’re interested in seeing what’s being cooked up.
In the meantime, examine your own lives. Are you getting things done?
UPDATE: A healthy discussion is emerging at Hacker News about the disadvantages of focusing on the negative as motivators. More about it here.
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What is a bootstrapper?
A bootstrapper is someone who uses his own time, money and resources to get a business launched and be successful – whether it is a small one-man shop or a big multi-million dollar company. Bootstrappers believe totally in the viability of their businesses and their ability to execute – otherwise they wouldn’t be doing what they do. After all, they’re risking their own money!
Some folks have emailed me asking how I’m funding Mobiusly and the products we are planning to launch in 2009. The answer is by bootstrapping. Here at Mobiusly, I’m funding the entire operation with no outsiders. Instead of raising finance from angels, venture capitalists, friends or family, I’ve decided to put my (and my wife’s) savings into it. It’s not because I couldn’t raise the money, it’s because I don’t want to raise the money.
That’s crazy you say!
Maybe, but there is a method to my madness. Raising money with outside funds may be appropriate for some businesses, but I don’t think it is right for Mobiusly. If I was starting a company which required lots of initial funds (eg massive infrastructure, marketing, people, tools etc), then I wouldn’t be able to bootstrap.
The good news is I’m not building that type of company
Mobiusly is a micro-ISV. We’re small and lean but super agile. We’re completely virtual and operational costs are low. We don’t need common office space, so we don’t have to worry about rent. We don’t need a shop front as our services are all Internet based. We don’t need to run massive advertising campaigns – we’re hoping clever use of blogging, Twitter and other social media outlets can get the word out as effectively as a 20 second slot during prime time tv. We don’t need to hire developers to get things done. We write our own code.
So why bootstrap?
The obvious answer is because we don’t need the money. We’re doing fine on our own, despite the current lows in the global economy. The less obvious answer is because we like to embrace constraints.
When you have less money, you have less bull-crap. We don’t have 10 people in meetings that last for 3 hours. We don’t spend 2 months writing design documents before we start coding. We don’t go on expensive trips to meet clients or chase a sale. We don’t need to appease investors.
Instead, we meet for 5 minute sessions when needed. We think about a problem, quickly discuss options and then implement solutions. If they are not right, we see that early so we can explore alternatives. We don’t try to chase after the expensive corporate enterprise clients who are hard and expensive to win over. Our products focus on small to medium sized companies and consumers.
We could have that 3 hour meeting, take our time with documentation or go on expensive trips. But we don’t, because we don’t have the size or money to do so. Instead we embrace our constraints and organise our teams and processes in ways that make us effective, responsive and agile. We cut through the red tape and bureaucracy – something our bigger competitors cannot do. We’re quicker to innovate and we do so more often.
Because we don’t have investors, we don’t need to answer to them. We don’t have to write a business case or go through an approval process in order to get funds released from the finance department. Instead, if we see a product or feature worth implementing that obeys our credo and genuinely helps our customers, we go ahead and just do it.
We’ve got what our bigger competitors don’t
Our competitors boasts expensive offices and their sales people wear expensive suits. They have teams of hundreds of developers, designers and business analysts – all cranking away at their keyboards. Tap. Tap. Tap.
By constrast, I do product design, write code, create graphics and work on the marketing myself (at the moment). We will also answer all support questions and emails ourselves. We like to think we’re more personable and pleasant to deal with. Also, because this is our business and our money, you can count on us doing our very best to make sure you are happy and you get what you need.
If you have to boil things down to a few words, we have a small and agile team, who can innovate quickly and often. We don’t have red-tape to slow us down and we cut through the bureaucracy to get to the underlying problem. We don’t have investors, so we can make decisions quickly. We have low overheads, so we can take risks our competitors dare not.
Ok, so we are the underdog. But don’t we all love rooting for the underdog? Check back soon for our first product announcement!
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First of all, let me apologise to you all dear readers for seemingly abandoning this blog. It has always been my intention to keep writing new articles, but this year has flown by and again we find ourselves on the eve of another year end. Where did 2008 go? How can it be December already?
Whilst I haven’t been able to write much, I have been extremely busy and productive! This blog has always been an outlet to describe my journey from being an Engineer to an Entrepreneur. Just because I haven’t been writing, doesn’t mean I haven’t been busy working towards my goal.
If you’re going to talk the talk, you have to walk the walk. So after years of procrastination and self doubt, I have decided to finally start living my dream and be an Entrepreneur.
Introducing Mobiusly
Mobiusly was registered on 3rd December 2008 with the Australian Securities and Investment Association as a fully fledged limited liability company. It represents my passion for creating great software to improve life and to help people do what they do better. Everything I do and every software I write will be governed by the company credo. Mobiusly will create things that:
- Get the job done: Always fulfill their intended purpose without exception or compromise.
- Make you look good: By allowing you to do amazing things with lasting effect.
- Are easy to learn and master: Thus allowing you to do things you couldn’t do before.
- Create quick and beautiful results: So that you get what you need when you need it.
- Work with you: By anticipating your needs and knowing your intent maybe before you do.
- You can really depend on: Because your life is precious and work is important.
Starting a new company these days mean you need to have an online presence. I’ve setup a website at www.mobiusly.com and have started another blog. If you’re interested in how I get on with Mobiusly, head over there to read about my journey, lessons learnt and product updates. You may of course get regular updates with your favourite feed reader.
Taking Action
I’ve talked about being an Entrepreneur for years with tips to accomplishing goals, staying focused and time management. Yet after 2 years, I still wasn’t any closer to being an Entrepreneur.
I don’t know if there is a single thing that finally triggered me into action. I do know that over this past year I realised (for various reasons) that life is precious and it is short so we shouldn’t waste it. If you’re unhappy and ever had dreams of doing something different, then you should act now! Don’t wait for the perfect moment. It will never come. If you’re unhappy in a relationship, try to figure it out or end it. If you’re unhappy at work (see Are you Happy Employee?), then change your job.
I can finally say I’m eating my own dog food. Here I am at last taking action and living my dream. What are you waiting for?
Renewing my commitment to this site
I look at my last post with mixed feelings. Whilst I’m really happy to accomplish a 6 year dream, I’m saddened by the fact that the post was dated 26th January 2008. I haven’t given this site the attention it deserves. I haven’t given you my readers the attention you deserve.
For that I apologise deeply.
Let me also announce then that I’ll also be rebooting this site, giving it new coat of paint and producing more awesome articles you have come to love and expect. It’ll be a challenge managing two blogs for sure (I have enough trouble with one already). But it feels good to be back writing. Let me take this opportunity to thank you all for your comments, emails, kind words and loyalty over this past year. Your words of encouragement truly make it all worthwhile. I hope you continue to stick around and I can earn your respect and readership again.
Stay tuned for more exciting things here and at Mobiusly.
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