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Slow Projects
By Steve Hopkins | May 24, 2010
Good things take time. I’ve just watched the following Do-Lecture talk, where Russell Davies uses the term, the ’slow project.’ I like that. Essentially, he theorises that there is this ‘eternal triangle’ in projects: that you can do things good, cheap or fast - but only 2 at a time. So something can be cheap and fast - but not expensive. Or fast and good - but not cheap. You get the point.
Matt Jones: How to Make the Invisible Visible from The DO Lectures on Vimeo.
He talks more about slow projects…
There’s a new sort of project arriving, which I think of as the slow project…in the same way you have of slow food, or something like that. There does feel to be this thing emerging, of the slow project. What this is about is you’re asking for volunteer help. People are doing it at evenings and weekends. And you want these things to be good, otherwise you wouldn’t bother doing it. You’re not going to do it for no money if it’s not going to be any good. So, kind of inevitably, that’s going to be slow.
There’s much we can take from this for our own projects. Good things do take time, and some of the best things have become so good because they have been going for a while. Think about the things you enjoy doing, and think about why you enjoy doing them. And just like all things, your project is going to take time to become that awesome. So let it. David Alan, in Getting Things Done, says it best.
“Write down the first task you need to do to get your project started..”
Doing this, and then understanding that it’s going to take time for your awesome project to flourish, will help you stay sane and positive as you make strides towards getting your project ‘done..’
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May 25th, 2010 at 11:36 am
Nice Mr Hopkins
Here, here for #slowinnovation
May 27th, 2010 at 8:38 pm
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