The Cult of Done Manifesto was created by Kio Stark (author of When Strangers Meet) and Bre Pettis (Founder & CEO of MakerBot) in about 20 minutes.
But its implications far outweigh 20 minutes of work.
Visual Illustration of The Done Manifesto by James Provost
The 13 Tenets Of The Done Manifesto
As understood by me and implemented in my life philosophy.
When Kio and Bre wrote these down, they did so through the lens of their life philosophy.
But I am not them, so I had to clarify each of the 13 points to myself to understand what they meant to me before I could implement them.
You should do the same.
1. There Are 3 States of Being
Not knowing, Action, and Completion
2. Everything is a Draft
You could spend 10 minutes making something and feel like its not ready.
Or you could also spend 10 hours doing the same thing and still feel like its a draft.
Accept that everything is a draft, it helps get things done.
3. There is no Editing Stage
Things are either done or not done. Don’t get stuck in editing hell.
4. Pretending You Know What You’re Doing Is The Same As Knowing What You’re Doing
So just accept that you know what you’re doing even if you don’t.
And just do it.
Because you’ll never have 100% of the knowledge. Avoid analysis paralysis.
5. Banish Procrastination
If you find yourself waiting more than a week to get started on an idea, abandon it.
It is not a strong enough idea and you aren’t going to follow through if you meet an obstacle.
6. The Point Of Being Done Is Not To Finish But to Get Other Things Done
What happens after something is done? You’re going to focus on the next thing.
Keep that next thing in mind.
7. Once You’re Done You Can Throw It Away
Focus on the next thing. It could be an iteration of what just got done. Or it could be an entirely new thing.
Don’t get stuck thinking about what you just got done.
8. Laugh At Perfection. It Is Boring And Keeps You From Being Done
The cliche “Done is better than perfect” applies to everything you do.
Perfection has its place, but most things don’t need to be perfect.
9. People Without Dirty Hands Are Wrong. Being Done Makes You Right
Doing > Not Doing. Fail fast, iterate. It’s the only way forward.
The alternative is doing nothing.
10. Failure Counts As Done. Allow Yourself To Make Mistakes
This is the only way to overcome imposter syndrome. Give yourself a chance to fail; more often than not, you’ll come out feeling confident in yourself.
11. Destruction Is A Variant Of Done
Explored an idea, spent some time executing, and realized it’s a dud? Toss it. It’s done. Clear it from your table.
12. If You Have An Idea And Publish It On The Internet, It Counts As Done
You have done your job. Let others execute it. Delete the folder on your desktop.
13. Done Is The Engine Of More
The more things you get done, the more things you will do. Without done, there is no more.