Swipe File #36: Working with purpose

Hey All,

Enjoy this week's articles and if you're feeling inspired, pass it on.

Good. Better. Done. via @danoshinsky

Here's a little reminder to ship.

All of us who are doing the work — you, me, Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bruce Springsteen — are all chasing the same thing. We’re all trying to create work that lasts, that has impact and that matters.

But no matter what you’re building or doing, there are only three stages that matter when you’re doing the work:

  • Good.
  • Better.
  • Done.

The Local Maximum via @bokardo

When you test an email, landing page or button, you collect data that allows for incremental improvements. The more you test, the better your work gets. But when the tests get so small that you can hardly tell the difference, you've reached the local maximum.

And that's where this article comes in.

...After a while these low-hanging fruit get few and far between and as UX designer you have two choices: continue to try ever-increasing alternatives (optimize) that are small enough to test or to try and make a bigger, structural change that really shakes things up (innovate).

A Few Thoughts on Content Creation, Monetization, and Strategy via @tferriss

Here's an excerpt from a Q&A with Tim Ferriss on content creation. Tim is an author, but his blog attracts more than one million readers per month.

I write about what most excites me and assume that will hold true for 10,000+ people... if I write about it well. If I get 100 die-hard fans per post like that, I can build an army that will not only consider buying anything I sell later (assuming high quality — most critical!), but they’ll also promote my work as trustworthy to other people. This compounds quickly. The product — here writing — needs to stand on its own two feet.

How Music Affects Your Productivity via @GregoryCiotti

I'm so relieved that I'm not the only person who listens to white noise while I work.

Researchers have shown that a moderate noise level can get creative juices flowing, but the line is easily crossed; loud noises made it incredibly difficult to concentrate. Bellowing basses and screeching synths will do you more harm than good when engaging in deep work.

How great leaders inspire action via @simonsinek

This is one of the most-watched TED videos ever. Whether you've already seen it or not, it's worth watching.

Have a great week!

Jimmy

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