--- title: "Prototyping is Not Wasting Time" id: "4621" type: "post" slug: "prototyping-wasting-time" published_at: "2014-11-30T02:19:28+00:00" modified_at: "2014-11-30T03:52:19+00:00" url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/prototyping-wasting-time/" markdown_url: "https://johnpoelstra.com/prototyping-wasting-time.md" excerpt: "I hate wasting time and I often have the unrealistic expectation that processes should be efficient. It’s easy to think that prototyping is a waste of time and inefficient, but it’s not. Here’s an interesting quote of a quote from......" taxonomy_category: - "Productivity" --- [Skip to the content](#site-content) [John Poelstra](https://johnpoelstra.com) ### Bringing order to chaos and clarity to confusion - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) Toggle search field - [One Conversation](https://johnpoelstra.com/) - [Podcast](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/podcast/) - [Coaching for Directors](https://johnpoelstra.com/coach/) - [About](https://johnpoelstra.com/about/) # [Prototyping is Not Wasting Time](https://johnpoelstra.com/prototyping-wasting-time/) I hate wasting time and I often have the unrealistic expectation that processes should be efficient. It’s easy to think that *prototyping* is a waste of time and inefficient, but it’s not. Here’s an interesting quote of a quote from page 71 of [Die Empty](https://johnpoelstra.com/avoiding-aimlessness/) . > Tom Kelley, general manager of IDEO, described the benefits of the prototyping process in his book, *The Art of Innovation*. He writes, “Prototyping is a problem solving. It’s a culture and a language. You can prototype just about anything — a new product or service, or a special promotion. What counts is moving the ball forward, achieving some part of your goal. Not wasting time.” In other words, prototyping allows you to make progress before you even know what progress should look like. He continues, “Prototyping doesn’t just solve straightforward problems. Call it serendipity or even luck, but once you start drawing or making things, you open up new possibilities of discovery. It’s the same method that’s helped scientists unlock some of the greatest secrets of nature.” One challenge I find with prototyping is that it’s not a natural inclination when I’m under pressure to finish or don’t have any time to spare. Sometimes a shortcut to prototyping is creating lists of ideas or solutions (no matter how wacky they might be) to a particular problem. In [Choose Yourself by James Altucher](http://www.amazon.com/Choose-Yourself-James-Altucher-ebook/dp/B00CO8D3G4/) , Altucher is all about generating lists and strengthening the *idea muscle* in our brains. For $0.99, even if you don’t like Altucher’s writing style or believe some of his stories, there are tons of good take-aways and encouragement to be found in this 276 page book. Could it be that if we are intentional with our time it is not possible to waste it? By intentional I mean, setting out intentionally in a particular direction versus scrolling twitter, news sites and daily bargains websites. And setting out in a particular direction is often a prototype. #### John Poelstra John Poelstra coaches directors in finance and software. Trained through the Co-Active Training Institute, he has coached for more than 10 years, with over 520 clients and 3,150 sessions, including people at well-known Fortune 100 companies. In over 30 years of professional experience, he spent 25 in technology and finance: software testing, project management and team leadership at Red Hat and Dell/EMC, and finance as a bank auditor at Wells Fargo and a CPA at Grant Thornton. He hosts The John Poelstra Show podcast and is based in Portland, Oregon. [Author archive](https://johnpoelstra.com/author/john-poelstra/) [Author website](https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-john-poelstra-show/id1130635146) November 29, 2014 [Productivity](https://johnpoelstra.com/category/productivity/) [Previous post](https://johnpoelstra.com/becoming-better-version/) [Next post](https://johnpoelstra.com/morning-questions/) ### Leave a Reply [Cancel reply](/prototyping-wasting-time/#respond) ### John Poelstra [https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756](https://johnpoelstra.com/?attachment_id=3756) ### Work With Me I coach directors in finance and software who want to prioritize, delegate, and lead with clarity. Start with One Conversation, a complimentary 60-minute coaching conversation. 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