Day 862 - Things frequently optimized that are not worth optimizing - https://golifelog.com/posts/things-frequently-optimized-that-are-not-worth-optimizing-1683858757877
[James Clear's](https://jamesclear.com/3-2-1/may-11-2023) has a knack for asking interesting questions. In his latest newsletter, this one struck me:
> What's the one action that moves the needle more than 100 other actions? What's the one choice that renders 1000 other choices irrelevant?
>
> Most things are not worth optimizing. Master the big moves and move quickly and peacefully through the other stuff.
That got me thinking:
What are some of these "most things" that are not worth optimizing in indie hacking? What do *I* try to optimize frequently that are actually not worthwhile doing so?
Things frequently optimized that are not worth optimizing:
- Refactoring codebase to achieve clean code. No customer cares about clean code (obvious caveat is of course, if you're selling a boilerplate to other developers).
- Getting to the last few points of Google Lighthouse score, because there's not much difference in terms of a user's experience between 98% and 100%.
- Optimizing your second brain note-taking systems when 99% of your notes are unused or applied.
- Making a product perfect (but not launching). Perfection is the enemy of great. If your product is perfect but no one sees or uses it, does it exist?
- Rewriting tweets multiple times before publishing. For ephemereal tweets with an average lifespan of 24h-48h, you're over-doing it if you had to rewrite and edit it multiple times before publishing. Your tweet just needs "good enough" level to send out.
- Spending weeks editing a blog post. Similar point above re: tweets. You can tweak the blog post using feedback after publishing.
- Sleep biohacking without getting enough sleep time (e.g. 8h). I do a lot of sleep hacks, but nothing beats just getting enough sleep hours to start with. The rest are just toppings. I didn't have a choice when it comes to sleep hours back when the kiddo was still a baby, so the hacks helps me keep my head above water, but they are only stop gap measures.
- Getting a LLC, bank account, logo, before you have a product. No you don't need those things. Get a product out first. Get interested customers.
- Perfecting the business plan. The plan will change the moment you launch. Yes, have a rough plan, but you don't need to get to 100%.
- Getting likes, impressions, followers. Those metrics doesn't always translate to revenue. If it does, yes knock yourself out and chase it. But very often, our customers are not directly on Twitter, so going viral on social media isn't mission-critical.
*What are some other things you frequently optimize that are not worth optimizing?*
> What's the one action that moves the needle more than 100 other actions? What's the one choice that renders 1000 other choices irrelevant?
>
> Most things are not worth optimizing. Master the big moves and move quickly and peacefully through the other stuff.
That got me thinking:
What are some of these "most things" that are not worth optimizing in indie hacking? What do *I* try to optimize frequently that are actually not worthwhile doing so?
Things frequently optimized that are not worth optimizing:
- Refactoring codebase to achieve clean code. No customer cares about clean code (obvious caveat is of course, if you're selling a boilerplate to other developers).
- Getting to the last few points of Google Lighthouse score, because there's not much difference in terms of a user's experience between 98% and 100%.
- Optimizing your second brain note-taking systems when 99% of your notes are unused or applied.
- Making a product perfect (but not launching). Perfection is the enemy of great. If your product is perfect but no one sees or uses it, does it exist?
- Rewriting tweets multiple times before publishing. For ephemereal tweets with an average lifespan of 24h-48h, you're over-doing it if you had to rewrite and edit it multiple times before publishing. Your tweet just needs "good enough" level to send out.
- Spending weeks editing a blog post. Similar point above re: tweets. You can tweak the blog post using feedback after publishing.
- Sleep biohacking without getting enough sleep time (e.g. 8h). I do a lot of sleep hacks, but nothing beats just getting enough sleep hours to start with. The rest are just toppings. I didn't have a choice when it comes to sleep hours back when the kiddo was still a baby, so the hacks helps me keep my head above water, but they are only stop gap measures.
- Getting a LLC, bank account, logo, before you have a product. No you don't need those things. Get a product out first. Get interested customers.
- Perfecting the business plan. The plan will change the moment you launch. Yes, have a rough plan, but you don't need to get to 100%.
- Getting likes, impressions, followers. Those metrics doesn't always translate to revenue. If it does, yes knock yourself out and chase it. But very often, our customers are not directly on Twitter, so going viral on social media isn't mission-critical.
*What are some other things you frequently optimize that are not worth optimizing?*