Outcome over effort

When one values time by the hour, it’s easy to focus on those hours of effort. How many hours will take the next feature, the next chapter, the next video?

But if we look back on any creative endeavor, we don’t care much about the time it took (psychologist call this the duration neglect), we care about whether we did our best or not and whether the outcome was well received or not.

If we focus on doing our best to get great enough outcomes, almost any amount of work will be justified.

If we focus on the hours spent, we will ship a half-baked product and achieve a lukewarm outcome. And lukewarm doesn’t get you anywhere.

Focusing on hours is for accountants and cubicle workers, focusing on outcomes for businessmen and creatives. If you care, focus on the outcomes.

What’s the outcome that matters to you? Do your best and work as many hours as necessary to get there or fail clearly.