This is a really well-written short article, and I agree with it completely.
I just wanted to add as well that, as someone who has read quite a lot of books on self-help and productivity, there is one that makes a lot of similar points: "Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be"
I think I would avocate actually against processes. Processes are nice, handy, and sage, but that assumes you have unlimited time. A baby crying and death approaching really make you rethinking useless 1-1s and meetings.
> Both of these examples demonstrate a process, or a decision made in advance
A decision made in advance is not a process. Unlike all the other real-world examples of committed processes in the article, premade decisions don't require discipline - the actual substitute for motivation - to execute in a meaningful way that ensures actual progress.
There's surely something to be said for bundling behaviors and triggers, but I do wish the world of software development hadn't missed the whole damn point of agile.
A good process deletes decisions (the Glasgow northbound rule) by focusing you on exactly the steps you need to take. A bad one might remove a few but spawn fifty more (suddenly you're debating story points/t-shirt sizes, velocity arguments, Definition of Done, but hey, at least you know it's all scheduled to start at 09:30)
> I was burdened with the mental labour of making this decision
But why, I always enjoyed having a choice. I also drove for a long time with several roads to choose, and I liked that each time I could like "naah, the sunset must be better on that road tonight, let's check it out" or "hopefully there's some fog going down the slopes today on another road". It's not labour, it was fun to play, kept out of boredom. Sometimes I even took roads that took longer just to have something new.
I believe you dread choices only when you try to min-max your life, overoptimizing every single choice. Just relax and let the life go its way.
> ... I would just have a rule which I had to follow.
I don't mean to be a downer, but to prevent anxiety I try not to be so strict with myself.
A process can be freeing at first, but eventually the idea can seep in that I'm missing out, wasting precious time on earth, or that I'm "trapped". Nothing triggers a panic attack quite like depersonalization/derealization.
I try to question whether my motivations are covering up fear. I don't want to be so afraid of decision fatigue that it locks me into even more misery.
Anyway it's for that reason that I treat processes as recommendations instead of rules. At the crossroads, I'd prefer visualizing a blue star or green checkmark projected onto the turn. Like a GPS, I'm totally free to ignore it and force it to recalculate the route. Now it's a fun adventure when I deviate instead of "breaking the rules".
e.g. "You broke the rule! Now something bad will happen!" vs "I wonder what's new since the last time I came this way"
I think I would use "habit" rather than "process" to describe this. Process perhaps implies a bit more intent and structure, whereas a habit is doing the same thing repeatedly because that's what you do.
16 comments
[ 2.2 ms ] story [ 6.8 ms ] threadI just wanted to add as well that, as someone who has read quite a lot of books on self-help and productivity, there is one that makes a lot of similar points: "Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts--Becoming the Person You Want to Be"
https://www.goodreads.com/en/book/show/22544758-triggers
I recommend it to anyone who agrees with this article and feels like a book-length treatment of similar ideas would be helpful to them.
Why not letting Google Maps decide?
A decision made in advance is not a process. Unlike all the other real-world examples of committed processes in the article, premade decisions don't require discipline - the actual substitute for motivation - to execute in a meaningful way that ensures actual progress.
Agile is "responding to change over following a plan". https://agilemanifesto.org
There's surely something to be said for bundling behaviors and triggers, but I do wish the world of software development hadn't missed the whole damn point of agile.
Opinionated linters is an example.
Sometimes you just gotta turn your brain off and move forward.
But why, I always enjoyed having a choice. I also drove for a long time with several roads to choose, and I liked that each time I could like "naah, the sunset must be better on that road tonight, let's check it out" or "hopefully there's some fog going down the slopes today on another road". It's not labour, it was fun to play, kept out of boredom. Sometimes I even took roads that took longer just to have something new.
I believe you dread choices only when you try to min-max your life, overoptimizing every single choice. Just relax and let the life go its way.
I don't mean to be a downer, but to prevent anxiety I try not to be so strict with myself.
A process can be freeing at first, but eventually the idea can seep in that I'm missing out, wasting precious time on earth, or that I'm "trapped". Nothing triggers a panic attack quite like depersonalization/derealization.
I try to question whether my motivations are covering up fear. I don't want to be so afraid of decision fatigue that it locks me into even more misery.
Anyway it's for that reason that I treat processes as recommendations instead of rules. At the crossroads, I'd prefer visualizing a blue star or green checkmark projected onto the turn. Like a GPS, I'm totally free to ignore it and force it to recalculate the route. Now it's a fun adventure when I deviate instead of "breaking the rules".
e.g. "You broke the rule! Now something bad will happen!" vs "I wonder what's new since the last time I came this way"
Huge difference.
The cycle was a "process".