The Cult of Done: How To Get *Started* 

ERRATA - The Rubik's cubes have unsolvable colours on their faces - woops! - 0:38 James contacted me mere HOURS before publishing, and while I'm infinitely grateful, you can HEAR that I've made this edit from a hotel room, can't you! Ah well, perfection is boring! 😀 - It's not you, this video is indeed at an unusual aspect ratio (16:10 I think) my very high-tech production pipeline requires I use my machine's resolution, and I'm uploading this on the road from my laptop!

5:02 "The art isn't the art. The art is never the art. The art is the thing that happens inside you when you make it." - Absolute banger of a quote.

"everything is a draft" is such a great line. especially for "perfectionists" like myself

loved the video! item 9 is very similar to a quote i've always liked: "The master has failed more times than the beginner has even tried."

I’m too lazy to check if someone else thought of and commented this (my sincerest apologies if someone already did), but I read a story in a Tumblr post once where half of a pottery class was instructed to make as many things as they could, and the other half of the class was instructed to make the highest quality things they could, even if there weren’t many of them. How it basically panned out was that believe it or not, the group assigned quantity over quality (making more vs. making higher quality) actually ended up having better quality things made anyway just because of the sheer number they made! And getting better each time. That’s what this video and philosophy reminded me of. Thank you so much for this video, as a recovering perfectionist it’s super helpful!!!!

I called it analysis paralysis; a habit that plagues me to this day, though less and less. I used to think I was a perfectionist, but in reality I was just petrified of failure. Self-improvement is a daily test and is the only thing that will never be done. Fantastic video, thank you.

‘Life is full of small minded people with narrow horizons. And they’re all trying to kill you. They’ll kill you with words like: “Be reasonable”, “Play it safe”, and the worst: “Stay in your lane”‘ I needed to hear this today. Thank you for igniting my waning inspiration 🖤

3:54 The idea of "discarding" everything and starting fresh is one that ALWAYS worked for me for the last 10 years. It's amazing how just giving up, taking a break and then try again in a different way, works marvelously. It gets stuff done and even better, it's faster than the first time.

I got news of another failure in a string of failures yesterday and I've been in a zombie-like state all day. Your video has changed that. I still feel like crap but now I have enough energy to get up and try again. Thanks

Hold on. These videos all start with the same introduction. Almost like it's some boilerplate

I tried writing a book called “Learning Rust through Advent of Code”. I got through the first 10 challenges, only to find that I have nothing more to say. I’ve been wracking my brain for two weeks trying to contrive new things to teach through these challenges. But now, I’ll just accept that I’m done. I’m using what I learned in writing the book to make an axum web server for work, so I have more important projects to do.

I love how your videos don't shy away from intentionally, literally trying to change lives

“Perfection is boring,” yet that’s what defines some of us. I’ve long been aware of the weight and peril inherent in the pursuit of perfection, yet I found myself trapped in an unending cycle. Your video has provided me with a tremendous sense of relief and insight. Thank you so much.

the concept of creating a podcast specifically every full moon is kind of badass tbh

I wish this would have been released earlier. It is something that I really needed to hear, as someone who can't feel like I finished projects until they are perfect.

The unsolvable Rubik's cubes weirdly illustrate the strength of this philosophy. In a parallel universe, you took a long time to make this video, found the problem, and then found or made a tool to check if a cube was solvable, but you didn't do that. You hit the main points, finished the action phase, and now you both have an informative video, and can make more videos with more knowledge, as opposed to having one perfect video 1-2 weeks from now. I wouldn't want everything made this way. I like my planes and bridges painstakingly precise, but for projects with low or zero penalty for failure, this mindset probably produces better results over time.

"The art isn't the art, the art is never the art, the art is the things that happen inside you when you make it and the feeling in the heart of the beholder". 🤯

Man... This video feels like it has been made especially for me. Since my early twenties I felt dissatisfied with everything I did, couldn't get anything done, felt I wasn't the best version of myself... Because of that I let go of ideas and projects, because thought I didn't have the skills to complete them with perfection. That passiveness and paralysis before perfection infected every part of me. Now I'm 25 and I keep trying to better myself: GTD, Notion, Obsidian... everything I try doesn't work, or at least doesn't work for me. I'll try to apply these principles to my life and projects. Thanks for this video, I cried a couple times while I watched it, I loved it.

woah, the cult of done sounds like a cool cult, on my way to join it

My biggest problem with “banish procrastination” is when I order something for an idea and it takes more than two weeks to deliver

I love your videos man. There's tons of resources to learn all of these things in depth. Whole books, 45 minute videos, long articles... But you have to go _seeking_ for them, and then still the depth of the resources can be overwhelming. I love how you introduce all of these topics in an engaging manner, without overwhelming anyone and giving us the taste we needed to dig further.

One thing that helped me a lot was to learn to aim for "Good enough" and not chase perfection I love that because the definition of "Good enough" can vary wildly from project to project. Anything ranging from quick and dirty to super clean and polished can be good enough. Whatever is enough to make the product good is good enough

As a procrastinating perfectionist ADHDer, these are lessons I've had to learn the hard way. To have them broken down into these 13 principles and expressed so succinctyl and clearly is really helpful. Thanks for sharing!

7:08 "Failure is good" I think if I can go back in time I'll tell this to myself I used to be trapped in what people would say is a "tutorial hell" during the beginning of my programming career. I think that quote illustrate clearly my experience during that period, in that: You can't make mistake by following a tutorial, and that once I drop it and just "made something" it teaches me way more than anything

as a perfectionist I feel both inspired and devastated after watching this video, I think I have more to talk about with my therapist

no joke your channel is something that helps me improve as a person not to put a burden on your shoulders but rather saying that it feels like good company

This is the kind of videos where you slow down playback instead of speeding it up :) Thank you for this amazing piece.

Sometimes at work, I do things wrong because it's the fastest way to get things done, and getting a lot of things done wrong can lead to better outcomes than getting nothing done right.

the “no editing” boggles me

I've been trying to create the perfect pizza for a while. Today, I created an extremely delicious pizza in my home oven by combining a couple recipes I've gathered over time. However, the sauce was a little sour, and the cheese wasn't browned in the center. But you know what? I'm done 😄

Thanks, just a pure human "thank you", because you always seem on point to help with the problem I currently struggle with. This approach looks very refreshing, I'll try to follow the advice.

All of your videos are incredible and this one is no exception. It’s so short. So on point. So specific. There’s not ifs buts or maybes here, just a consistent opinion. Take it or leave it. And I will be taking it, thank you very much. People say this all the time here, but I feel the need to repeat it. You’re one of the only creators were I feel like my time is respected. Important even. Thank you for that.

I really needed to hear this. In 2014 I started making RU-vid videos. I was never fast at it, nor did I particularly care to churn out content quickly. But I found genuine, authentic joy in creating the videos I ended up making. Some of my early videos were met with positive reception, which was encouraging, and one in particular did quite well, much better than I had ever anticipated it would. It sounds dramatic, but it felt like I'd found what I'm supposed to do. Not long after that, I became struck with a kind of creative paralysis when it came to making videos. I knew it's what I wanted to do more of, but I was so afraid of making a bad video, and so obsessed with attaining "perfection", I would rarely even begin writing one. I felt like I had no ideas, but in reality I was just terrified of even pursuing the ideas that sprang to my mind, because they wouldn't "fit" with my channel, or they were overdone, or "what do I know about that topic, what right do I have to make a video about it?" Most of all, though, it's the perfectionism. It's a horrible thing. So, I became creatively dormant. I went into a kind of hibernation, resting in a safe equilibrium that meant I didn't have to confront these creative fears, but in exchange for that I didn't make anything. Nothing ever got "done". It's a sad state, especially because that inner charge to create isn't ever extinguished; it's restless. So not allowing oneself to create is suffocating. For me, it meant the ghosts of these stillborn ideas haunted me. Whenever I'd chat with friends about my channel or video ideas, I'd bring up the same ones I'd talked about the year before. "Still working on it, here and there," I'd say. These half-abandoned projects would float around in my head saying "See? You can't do it. You can't even start." When I started making creative content, project ideas came from a place of curiosity and play. "What if I tried making a video essay?" "What if I tried making a podcast?" "I wonder what x would say about y, or what would happen if I combined y and z." Eventually, purely due to my own neurosis, I buried that curiosity with fear of failure and disappointment. Those tantalising questions that would feed genuine enthusiasm for a project were drowned out by louder insecurities, such as "What if this fails? What if nobody watches it? Or worse: what if people do watch and think it sucks and you're just a hack?" This video is what I needed to hear. It contains some kernels of truth that deep down I've "known" but never quite heard put this way before. I think the most important lesson I take from it is that we must give ourselves permission: to fail, to finish, and to try. That's what I'm going to do, to finally get some things done.

Interesting video, thanks! But at 7:22 I can't disagree more. We don't learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on our experience. That's why some people make the same mistakes over and over again, or why people that wins continue on winning. The former never reflects on why they fail, while the second always reflect on why they win. Of course, loosing stings a bit more, that's why people tend to reflect more when they loose :)

Wonderful video, and something I plan to rewatch again a few times until it really sinks in. I struggle over these issues a lot. Even more since entering the videography scene where I can no longer just "fix" mistakes after they have gone out. It's a real struggle for me and has led me to become more and more critical of my work, with each iteration, until it burns me out. Your video couldn't have come at a better time, so thank you for the calming reminder that *done* is what really matters.

I like these illustrations, but whoever made them either doesn't know or doesn't care how Rubik's cube works

2:22 “Painting has no editing, if you make a mistake you start again.”

I really like point number 8. Too many abandoned projects just because I wanted them to be perfect, but my pursuit of perfection caused me to get burned out. Thanks

1:07 That cube is not solvable, two sides have white in the middle

Needed to hear this. Started my internship recently and haven't made much progress out of fear of not doing everything perfectly.

I disagree with the idea that one can’t learn from success; for me past success allows me to “learn by copying” on my own work, I find success to be more effective than failure but failure to be more motivating. On the subject of one project/week I’d say it is true but you are allowed to delay the beginning of a project (we do agree that you shouldn’t delay progress or completion though). Overall very good work! Expected no less from you.

This has become one of those RU-vid channels that makes me very excited when I see a new video pop up. Actually its the only channel like that for me at the moment. This video did not let me down. Hadn't heard of the Cult of Done, will definitely look into it and put more thought into it. Thank you!

This video has really helped me think about old projects because I have a lot of projects that I've spent a lot of time on and I learned loads but I never finished them so I kind of viewed them as failures but this really helps me appreciate how much more I know now not just focusing on the fact that they aren't finished.

I am very happy to have found this channel. I like the minimalist and straight forward style of your videos. Thanks.

This has to be the most wierdly motivational video i've heard in years

I swear you read my mind sometimes, this is the exact thing I need right now. Another great video, as always!

This is fantastic. Thank you for sharing. Also, thank you for having put in the work to make your audio quality top notch. It really makes a difference!

That was the smoothest patreon plug I've ever seen and it actually gave me joy. You've earned yourself a new subscriber.

"You're watching me learn to be a youtuber" That is a really nice realization

I needed to hear this. A reminder that "perfection" gets in the way when you're exploring and developing.

Great video, glad it popped up, thanks. Reminds me of the attitude of “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt those who are doing it”!

I get that the point is that everything is a draft and I shouldn't hold on to something for too long, especially when I don't have the skillset for it yet. But, I think to myself a lot: "What if I try hard enough? Surely, I'll end up being done if I put enough effort." This thought plagues me constantly, sometimes it works and I end up making something I'm extremely proud, or I spend days basically achieving nothing and wasting my time. Failure counts as done, I know. But it's the knowing of when something should be "done" that always has me at a loss.

2:00 That's basically how I'm writing now. I get an idea, I only write down what I have in mind, I'm not required to finish this scene yet. This really helps me to get started, especially since I sorted my scenes, so I know which scenes are unfinished. Sometimes it's just a single line of text, sometimes it's a few key points, sometimes it's a pretty long key point list describing the scene very detailed, just without caring about the exact wording or if something necessary is missing between the key points. Sometimes I write down the first half of a scene, or the core part of a scene which still needs some proper introduction and ending, sometimes I get more ideas during writing and I write everything down completely. When I'm not really inspired to write, I can still finish some of these drafts by converting key points into real text, which is often pretty straightforward the more detailed it is, or just rereading one of the basically finished scenes and maybe adding some introduction, fixing typos, adding important lines inbetween, or improving some sections I don't like anymore.

5:35 "People without dirty hands are wrong. Doing something makes you right. Life is full of small-minded people with narrow horizons, and they’re all trying to kill you. They’ll kill you with words like ‘be reasonable’, ‘play it safe’, and the worst, ‘stay in your lane.’ " That's so good.

4 title/thumbnail changes in 2 days, and I see this exactly after the latest change - you're doing great g

one of the hardest and realest thumbnail i ever saw, this got me motivated fr

Holy Shit this is one of the most concise, most beautifully simple yet profound videos I think I’ve ever listened to.

you are a legend and turning point in my life, your videos helped me and you've introduced many things like obsidian, polyphasic sleep, lost terminal(you've also made this...) and etc. to me, and these helped/helps/will help me a lot, thanks for this! and now this video, this also helps me learn to ban procrastination and posting an idea on the internet as it is worthless.... and etc. Procrastination has always been my strong suite, but i am slowly getting rid of it by seeing the bigger picture of procrastination and my future, that example of jonathan goulton is so good and want to implement it my life and will definitely implement it. Overall thanks for everything! you are a true legend!

I’ve been searching for a channel that focuses on topics like these from the perspective of a software engineer - glad I finally found it. Amazing video, as always.

You posted this on my birthday. I wish I had seen it on my birthday because it is an excellent present. Especially your 80/20 comment.

My Autistically ADHD brain is exploding with motivation because of this video. Thank you! 🤯🙏

The "not knowing" stage is categorized by not knowing how a Rubik's cube works.

I like how the manifesto of done is a life changing realisation for most people, and im glad it is. This is actual proof that thankfully not every bit of useful information has to be monopolised on in the form of a paid book or course. I am not here to hate on people that try to make money off of passing on their knowledge. But we should praise those more who provide us with effective knowledge and do it in a digestible and simple way, let alone do it for free. I know he is just covering someone else their work, but all love to No Boilerplate for fitting that type.

I am absolutely in love with this video. I legitimately cried half way through, as a particular part hit me in a way that was very cathartic due to recent events, and I think it’s changed me for the better. Thank you.

Wow! I had never heard of the Cult of done before but it makes so much sense, thanks for showing me new ways to connect these idea's! :)

i am lucky for know the knowledge of perfection is killer of motivation early in life. It is from my older friend said "It is better to nake a sh*tty stuff, than not making anything"

This video and list of ideas came at the perfect time thank you

I really like 9. People get incredibly caught up in the concepts rather than the substance, letting things like narcissism of small differences block actual progress. Good stuff, I'll have to keep an eye on this channel, find more gems.

i need to listen to this once a day until it gets through my frustratingly thick skull!

For those struggling to get things DONE, this is really inspirational, thanks a ton!

Goodness I needed to hear this. Thank you so much.

Every once in a while, I come back to this video, and it reminds me that it is okay to not be 100% certain and that the works of my hands need not be perfect. Thank you. I just wish that someday I would develop into the person who does not need to be reminded so often.

Brilliant video, it's quite weird to think that anything that you do is essentially 'progress'. Very inspiring topic, thank you for creating this video!

Damn, this channel is much more than about Rust or programming in general. I'm sure it'll grow immensely over the next few years.

this is amazing, i understood that i was partially already living by these guidelines but some of these points changed my opinion on my current projects thank you so much for lighting me up!

Mark my words: this channel is going to grow exponentially. such great work... I can count with my hands the number of times I've commented a RU-vid video, this one really deserves it. I've been struggling with content creation indecision, procrastination, creating and deleting projects since the pandemic (this channel included). Existential crises, excessive self-criticism and utopian perfectionism are a real problem. Great to see that it isn't only on my mind. Please, keep up the great work!

I think in theory this is great but it can be difficult to apply. Primarily because it's hard to define the initial task and bound to a scope. How do we define 'done'? Where do we draw the line between high quality and chasing perfection? If failure counts as done how do we know if it's failed and done or work in progress and not done?

Number 4 hits hard for me. Imposter syndrome kicks my nuts and makes me think I'm just someone pretending to be good at what I do. My years of experience should make me think differently haha

Wow, that was a really awesome idea. I've heard of some of these concepts before but never in such a complete way. Fantastic video, thanks for posting it.

This is profound. This idea that muses give us an idea and we're supposed to hack it out any way possible while it still holds energy for us, it hits deep. And the idea that it's supposed to be as unrefined as my level of competence or lack thereof while the idea still has energy makes me happy. It's very freeing. It was never supposed to be perfect, if it was it never would have chosen me. It just wants to be free. That's light and energizing.

My life has just changed.

watching this while having my plenny shake during my lunch break

Thanks for this. Working on my PhD dissertation has been feeling like a chore rather than the condensation of everything I've studied, struggled to understand, and put together. This might help me get through the process with a little more joy.

I've come to apply these principles over the years in my learning path, for work or any passion of mine. So many books, tutorials, conversations and wrap-ups have remained unfinished but sure feel "done". I sometimes return to a specific programming course's last chapters, a guitar method's chapters which I last worked on, etc. and it feels not as a continuation but as starting all over again. Because it's me who has changed in the meantime. This video is well loaded. Bless you, Tris

Assistant: Uh... sir.. you're about to sever the brain stem. Surgeon: It's okay. Move fast, break things, get it done. This is how we innovate! There are plenty of brains - perfection is boring!

Esse foi o melhor vídeo que eu assisti nos últimos tempos

This was much needed for me. Thank you for making it, considering it done and letting it out into the world.

I just realized thanks to you that I've followed this for a long time without knowing about it. I'm by no mean perfect, but I like "doing" things: did international travel, military deployments, published a musical album, switched career, I am releasing a video game soon, etc. As some point you get "used" to "doing" things, it's not as "hard" as people think: point 13 is 100% right. I'm always in a project and it's always fun. (Although to be fair I have to thank my wife and kid for keeping up with my BS lol). I really like your channel, this video was great.

My feeble attempt at rebellion: > Cult of Done > Never addresses Doing. >> #4 my man > Some Things Do Not Get Done. >> #9 bruv > Exists only in the state of having done something. >> #10 or gtfo > Fail in sandboxes or face Charon. Refutations: 00. This is a lie. 01. There is no completion. 02. As there is no completion, there is no draft. 03. As there is no completion, an editing stage exists, which is the only one. 04. ^ 05. Procrastination is not necessarily a rational process. 06. There is no completion. 07. Entropy increases in a closed system. 08. There is no perfection. 09. ^ 10. ^ 11. There is no destruction. 12. True. Ghosts must be remembered to exist. 13. More exists without completion.

While a lot of this is potentially nice advice, it really seems to run close to "move fast and break things" which as we've seen has real, serious consequences to peoples lives. In the context of writing or pottery, maybe good? As general life advice, stopping to listen isn't a bad idea. Not being ableist by judging who seems to be "doing something", also good practice. "pretending you know what you're doing is almost the same as knowing what you're doing"? I don't even want to start going for examples on why that one is bad advice because it's such a range, tell that to Sam Bankman-Fried, good intentions and confidence aren't enough.

Your content here is great, but what really makes me want to get something done is your narration. You present these concepts with urgency and energy - well DONE!

As a person who has the defect of forget to complete a bit lot of protects, I really appreciate this principles.

"Success teaches us nothing." Wrong! You take for granted what success has given you. Look up the Matthew Effect, success teaches you to expect success, which motivates you, and without success you eventually run out of motivation, because constant failure teaches you the opposite, that nothing you do ever works, so why bother with anything? And every single privileged rich kid I see ignores the fact that his/her brain has experienced a disproportional higher amount of success, compared to someone less fortunate, and then they think the poor are poor because "they don't work", when in reality it is because "they don't succeed".

I think this is a pretty good video and I mostly agree. However I would have to disagree with number 4, faking it till you make it is unhealthy and can be damaging. For proof look at Forbes' 30 under 30 list, or for a more down to earth example you wouldn't want someone who doesn't know medicine or engineering to pretend they do when treating a patient or making a bridge. I think something a lot healthier to believe in is to not let our lack of knowledge paralyse us from trying things when theres nothing to lose and we will gain that knowledge from doing so.

As a recent grad going through job hunting, I was in my worst mental health possible. I am always someone who thinks what to do next, however, all hope was lost for me. After watching this, I don't know why I decided to delete all of my resumes and start anew. And it have given me hope again. The concept of this video is really powerful no matter which part I tried. Thanks for making such a gem.

Lovely to have seen this this morning. I’m actually on the verge of tears… thank you for sharing.

this video is not about rubiks cubes ... SAD

On day 7, God didn't say, "It is perfect". He still had work to do. But he launched the Universe in Beta so he could get on to the next project, like making dogs and Texas.

This is exactly what I needed and was what had me subscribing and going through you library of content.

My guy spoke to me perfectionist soul. Thank you.