%% Last Updated: - [[2021-02-10]] - [[2020-08-31]] - [[2023-04-08]] Related - [[Productivity]] [[Performance Testing]] [[Creativity]] [[Writing]] [[The Good Manager]] [[Management]] [[Marketing]] [[Reducing Inertia]] [[Containerization]] [[Software Development]] date:: [[2023-02-23]], [[2023-04-08]] %% # [[Bottom-up approach]] The problem with planning and outlining before beginning is that we can sometimes treat them as immutable. We want to set a goal for ourselves before we've even started the race, and that is a recipe for failure and discouragement. ## Liberty as a prerequisite A key prerequisite of the bottom-up approach is some liberty or freedom on the part of the individual component or idea to identify an outcome for itself. This doesn't require an intelligence per se, but it does require the ability to come up with outcomes that are surprising within the context. Among humans, a person's [[Weltanschauung]] and the liberty to pursue goals according to it can lead to [[Diversity]]. ## Applications ### Bottom-up approach in [[Personal Knowledge Management]] For creative endeavors, setting a "plan" can be too restrictive. It can be like deciding beforehand what type of building to make when we don't yet know the resources that we have to build it. In an ideal world, we would start with the plan and then purchase the resources required, but too often, the reality is the reverse: we start life with finite resources and then have to decide what to make of them. What we can do instead is simply consume content based on what resonates with us and let our interests emerge gradually. In doing so, we are building the foundations of buildings we have a vested interest in. The [[Zettelkasten]] is an example of a bottom-up approach to note-taking. ### Bottom-up approach in tech In software, we can see this in the way that [[Docker]] containers are used to create independent modules. [[Principle of Atomicity]] ![[sources/Book/How to Take Smart Notes#^195e05]] ![[sources/Book/How to Take Smart Notes#^0acfd7]] ## See also - [[sources/Book/How to Take Smart Notes]] - [[Be a door knocker, not a window opener]] - You don't always need to have an overarching goal or guiding principle. Sometimes, it can be more rewarding to do things for their own sake and see what opportunities that opens. - [[Writing does not help us learn - it IS how we learn.]] - [[Make the question of willpower moot by changing your environment to remove inertia.]] > [!NOTE] > - Part of building an environment that reduces inertia is not requiring yourself to have a plan.