Most anyone who has come up with an idea for a new project but is having trouble self motivating will appreciate the "Done Manifesto," 13 rules to live by when working on an independent project. Entrepreneur Bre Pettis, known for his DIY video podcasts "I MAKE" and writer Kio Stark gave themselves a set deadline of 20 minutes to create the following 13 maxims:
1 There are three states of being. Not knowing, action and completion.
2 Accept that everything is a draft. It helps to get it done.
3 There is no editing stage.
4 Pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you are doing, so just accept that you know what you're doing even if you don't and do it.
5 Banish procrastination. If you wait more than a week to get an idea done, abandon it.
6 The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
7 Once you're done you can throw it away.
8 Laugh at perfection. It's boring and keeps you from being done.
9 People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right.
10 Failure counts as done. So do mistakes.
11 Destruction is a variant of done.
12 If you have an idea and publish it on the internet, that counts as a ghost of done.
13 Done is the engine of more.
Regardless of the type of project, from starting a small business to renovating or redecorating your home, getting started and following through can be difficult. What helps keep you motivated when working through a project?
• Read More: Bre Pettis
• Via: Fast Co. Design
(Image: James Provost)
Veronica & Keith's Handmade Chic 
Before & After: A Bathroom Goes From Pinky Peach to Sleek and Chic
Good Food to Share 
The Big Book of Small, Cool Spaces 
Apartment Therapy Presents 
The Eight-Step Home Cure 
Hunslet Dinner Plate
A Beginner's Guide to Superb Stir-Fry: Quick, Healthy Meals from a Wok
Easy Pitcher Cocktail Recipe: Strawberry Basil Margaritas
Comments (8)
To which I would add the advice my advisor gave me when I was writing (or not writing) my dissertation. He said that feeling blocked is part of the process and when you meet with an obstacle, don't stop going forward, just walk around it.
This is sooooooooo true. I've used it so many times in my life. It may have made as much of a difference to my life as actually completed the dissertation has.
(3) what's wrong with editing?
(5) i've waited 3 months, 6 months, a year, even decades on some projects or activities, then found it rewarding to do them. but maybe giving up after a week is good for more things than non. OTOH, a lot of parents and working people have to wait longer than a week
Editing is awesome and a way to grow. Maybe they meant "don't call it editing"?
I agree about #5: I'm a percolator and sometimes ideas bubble around for months, years, before they come to the surface. If I discarded everything after a week, I'd get nothing done.
I LOVE #6: The point of being done is not to finish but to get other things done.
But I would add (as a structured procrastinator) that the opportunity of being stuck is to get other things done.
I love it. I need to post this in my studio.
@herong I don't think they mean "don't edit," I think they mean to focus more on the word "stage". There is no "editing stage," as in, it's ALL editing. :)
Agree with Repressd on the interpretaion of editing. Thank you, Bre! And now, onto my state of action!!
Nice! Just ordered a print for my office.
I think #6 is why a some men are slow to complete projects around the house. They know that as soon as they finish, their wife will come up with more projects to do!