I’m currently reading a book on software development practices. It’s not a regular book about the boring old, regular process. (Software requirements, use-cases and all that boring shit.) But, I will not bore you with the details, I just wanted to share something I realized while reading. While I’m sitting here reading about their approach to software development I can’t help but notice how extremely relevant this is for life in general. Read this (my notes):

• Create a clear vision
• Fuck the details, get the stuff working
• Don’t deal with problems that doesn’t yet exist
• Don’t try and please everyone
• Focus on the absolute minimum, features can come later
• Essentials only, cut the crap
• Better be a no-man, than a yes-man (Perhaps not applicable to all, but certainly to some!)
• Make only promises I can actually keep
• Iterative development is key

See what I mean? Pretty much all of these (except for, you know which one) are totally applicable to life. Take ‘Fuck the details, get the stuff working’. I could definitely use some of this in my life. How often do I find myself obsessing about details, when all I should focus on is to actually get something done. It’s almost laughable how often I do this. Details, details, details…

‘Essentials only, cut the crap’, another good one. Sometimes I’m overwhelmed with all the stuff I have in my house, and it’s distracting. These days, since having become aware of the problem, I make an effort into telling myself no, especially when it comes to ‘getting stuff’. Thinking in terms of ‘Essentials only, cut the crap’ isn’t exactly bad advice.

My favourite is probably ‘Iterative development is key’. This really is true for life. Don’t try and design and figure out life in one go, it will never, ever go the way it was ‘supposed’ to. It’s much better to start doing something, anything, then make small adjustments through an iterative process. Trying to get rid of a bad habit? Iterative development! Do it in stages. Don’t try and do it all at once… do it iteratively, one small piece at a time. Trying to learn how to paint? Don’t bother with getting amazing results the first time, it won’t happen (definitely not for me anyway). Iterate, one stroke at a time until you reach some results, they may not be the desired results, but they are results nonetheless.

If you’re interested in reading the book yourself, you can find it here.