□ Placeholder: 05 — How we do anything as how we do everything

Hello from Amsterdam, from the middle — that is, the cloudy, the rainy and some times a tad chilly — of August. I am hiding in my apartment, in a corner, looking through the window whenever sun shines on the distant window and gets reflected to my face.

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In today's letter I want to think out loud about a quote that I stumbled upon recently.

How you do anything is how you do everything. I first came across this quote a few days ago in one of the blog posts by Ryan Holiday. He writes:

> Everything we do matters — whether it’s making smoothies to save up money or studying for the bar — even after we’ve already achieved the success we sought. Everything is a chance to do and be our best. Only self-absorbed assholes think they are too good for whatever their current station requires.

Details matter. Mastery of mundane matters. Attention to details matter.

I have been thinking about this in the context of my profession. Design is a craft and I am not a craftsman. I believe that close enough is good enough. Iteration over ideation. I don't live in the details. I am happy with design that mostly works. Surely something is wrong with me.

This didn't matter much when I started, because my scope was smaller and unambitious. As I move up, I'm am now working on applications that are used by millions of users. Real users. These people depend on the stuff I build to make their life easier. When I do a half-assed job, I am making their lives harder. Less joyful. More painful. This is not the best feeling.

Taking care of even the most insignificant details has the ability to enrich lives. Doing the most mundane part of the job whole heartedly fulfills us and people around us. Be it people working at the grocery stores who are just damn efficient at scanning the items and packing them or be it people sweeping the floor who don't leave a trace of dust behind. That simple interest in doing their job in the best possible way has the ability to make our day.

I want to draw your attention to a documentary called Jiro Dreams of Sushi. I watched it around couple of years ago but I still think about it every now and then. It's about a Japanese sushi chef, now 93 yrs old, who has been making sushi for the past 68 years. In the documentary he remarks:

> Once you decide on your occupation... you must immerse yourself in your work. You have to fall in love with your work. Never complain about your job. You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill. That's the secret of success... and is the key to being regarded honorably.

Even after spending more time making sushi than the average human lifespan he thinks he still has scope of improvements:

> I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit. There is always a yearning to achieve more. I'll continue to climb, trying to reach the top, but no one knows where the top is.

Imagine making sushi and improving bit by bit for goddamn 68 freaking years.

It's at once devastating and inspiring. Devastating because I expect I'll never get there, and inspiring because I know that is the top and we have to get there bit by bit.

Until next time,

K