A snapshot of my current approach and some sense of priority for the process of building things (like products, websites, apps, code, hardware, understanding/knowledge, etc)

People first

Prioritize the experience of both the people using it and building it with you.

Simplify

Make it easy to use and understand.

Prioritize UX, create good summaries & abstractions, write less code

Organize

Make it easy to explore and understand.

Good structure, group logic & functionality together, follow common patterns, etc

Add value

It should make life better (big or small) for someone and allow them to:

Do what they’re best at, be creative, get things done, learn something new, play, explore, make a decision, develop connections, find a flow state, help others, use their intuition, build more things, etc

Automate (the boring stuff)

Reduce complexity and leave room for the fun stuff.

Tooling, formatting, spell checking, automation, templates, etc

Compound

Create things that can be built on, and contribute back to things that you use to build.

Longevity

Choose technologies or platforms that will likely last as long as possible and are less dependant on single points of failure (like a closed platform)

Safety

Safe to: use, update, change, release, forget about

Pick a foundation

Choosing a standard (that’s been around for awhile and not shrinking) means more builders, community, common knowledge and some peace of mind about the future.

Code language, file format, communication standards

Place Bets

New tech and ways of working can bring a lot of productivity, joy and energy to the process. But try to balance bringing these in with the chance they’re just a temporary trend, or just mask other necessary work.