Are your projects 110s, 80/20s, or 50/50s?
Everyone I know who does great work obsesses over quality from time to time. And I mean really obsesses.
From Walter Isaacson's Leonardo da Vinci:
A peasant who worked in Vinci one day made a small shield of wood and asked Piero to take it to Florence and have it painted.
Piero gave the task to Leonardo, who decided to create a terrifying image of a dragon-like monster breathing fire and belching poison. To make it naturalistic, he assembled parts from real lizards, crickets, snakes, butterflies, grasshoppers, and bats. “He labored over it so long that the stench of the dead animals was past bearing, but Leonardo did not notice it, so great was the love that he bore towards art,” Vasari wrote.
When Piero finally came to get it, he recoiled in shock from what in the dim light appeared at first to be a real monster. Piero decided to keep his son’s creation and buy another shield for the peasant.
This dragon artwork represents what I call a "110 project." I put projects [1] into three buckets: 50/50 projects, 80/20 projects, and 110 projects.
- A 50/50 project is one you engage based on how you happen to feel at a given moment. Watching Netflix, hanging with friends, scrolling social media, relaxing on a beach. It's mood-driven. If you're in the mood, you do it. If not, you don't. 50/50.
- It's an 80/20 project if it follows the Pareto principle: you do the 20% of the work that will deliver 80% of the results. Usually this applies to projects you have to work on but don't want to work on. Or projects you think you want to work on but which mostly serve as means to the ends you truly want. Going to the gym to look good in a bathing suit. Reading a book to sound smart in front of others. Preparing TPS reports to avoid getting fired. And so on. When thinking about these projects, you'll often use terms like "diminishing returns" and speculate on the ROI on your time, energy, and attention.
- This bean counting goes out the window with 110 (110%) projects. If 80/20 projects are about satisfying standards, 110 projects are about setting standards. Your central preoccupation becomes making the thing better, and a desire for "efficiency" only enters the equation when a deadline approaches or other demanding projects intrude on your attention. The zoomed-in view of working on a 110 project might look like a flow state, and the zoomed-out view might look more like "passion" or "obsession" or "perfectionism."
I was discussing this with a friend a few days ago, and she said: "So basically it's a spectrum between play and work. 50/50 projects are play, 80/20 projects are normal work, and 110 projects are really hard work."
This felt off to me, but I couldn't put my finger on why. Then it hit me:
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Footnote:
[1] I've always liked David Allen's definition of "project" from Getting Things Done:
I define a project as any desired result that can be accomplished within a year that requires more than one action step. This means that some rather small things you might not normally call projects are going to be on your Projects list, as well as some big ones.
Writing to me feels like a 110% project.
For company building, it depends on what I am working on, some areas feel like work and play others feel more play only.
Same. I usually have to create time constraints around writing or else it'll monopolize my day.
I love this concept of yours.
I've never felt more reassured I'm on the right path.
I have so many 50/50 things (tons of near completed apps, non sw-biz ideas, songs, stories), literally anything, and I let them float in and out of my attention as they come.
The 80/20 is a half dozen things that are clear cut concise goals, that I make time for and commit to.
The 110 - This is what I've been experiencing a lot more of as I've put my 50/50 and 80/20 into a fraction that's maybe no more than 60%.
That other 40% means I'm just IN (most likely / preferably in a flow state) and I am accomplishing things that by mere accomplishment have entirely changed MY OWN METRICS for accomplishment.
Yep, this is what my life used to look like. But eventually my two 110 projects (Indie Hackers and a book) became so demanding that I had to dial them up to 90%+ and put all my other projects in cold storage. Will write a post about it soon.
Looking forward to it! Really enjoyed this.
I love this framework. It's crystallized some thoughts I've had for a while. And will likely spark some change in my priorities
Reflecting on my own work:
I guess as an (aspiring) indiehacker, I see my priorities at odds with one another.
My stated preference is to focus more on my side project, while my revealed preference is to focus on the day job.
For me, I need to find a side project that will be a 120, trumping the focus on the day job.
A lot to think about this weekend!
The trick might be to identify and sacrifice some of your 50/50 projects.
At least that's what I've done when I've found myself in similar positions. For me, 50/50 projects are usually forms of entertainment: gaming, scrolling social media, TV, etc.
Ha, interesting that you count those activities as 50/50 projects. That's a new framing to me.
I like it.
I've always put my entertainment into a separate mental bucket entirely. Even though they're still taking my time and focus.
Life and work really do just come down to a series of trade-offs.
I like this idea of 110s and the competitive edge it gives.
But I see two dangers
**Danger 1 ** : Being passionate is good, but earning a living doing it is even better . Did Pierro had access to all the Shield Makers in the world in a click? No. How much time did Leonardo spent on the shield and how much did he sell it for? Enough to make a living?
I agree with your vision but I will had that the goal is to find the perfect crossed path between 1/Your passions 2/What the market reward. This wil give you quick win and reinforce you into your flow state.
**Danger 2 ** : Being too passionated makes you blind A lot of mistakes of founders are made because people are too passionated. So passionated about product that they forget customers feedback, or market need.
My honest conclusion
Best ideas are between 80/20 and 110s.
On the first hand, they will give you the necessary detatchement to evaluate rightly their potential, work on the right things and listen to your customers, and they will reward you with money.
On the other hand, they will give you that little passion no one else has so that you work harder, love more your customers, and work for the right thing (solving problems, helping people over just money that won't be enought).
Do you guys agree?
I don't know if everyone agrees on this or not but I think ik how my brother kickstarted his journey fast...
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