Five tips to aspiring humans

George R. R. Martin's five rules for fiction writers — start, finish, ship, move on — turn out to apply to everything. It does.

Via D. Keith Robinson, five tips for aspiring fiction writers from George R. R. Martin:

1. Write.
2. Finish what you write.
3. Market what you write.
4. Don’t rewrite a finished work unless an editor tells you to.
5. Start with short stories.

And I’m thinking, doesn’t this apply to productivity in general? Let’s try:

1. Do something (get started and keep going). Don’t stop.
2. Finish what you’ve started.
3. Use the results; move on to the next step. (I could elaborate on this. Some other time.)
4. When you’re done, you’re done. It’s good enough. Don’t go back to change it.
5. Take on small tasks to gain momentum. This will give you the feel of progress, and more energy to keep the ball rolling.

It does.