I hate maximization. “Maximize your time! Maximize your value!”
No.
I’d rather swat mosquitoes than slay dragons.
Small things that add up over time, not heroic one-shot deals. Direction matters more than “value”. Compounding interest wins.
But the intent of the question is two-fold:
- Can you communicate the value of what you’re working on?
- Are you working on the most valuable thing right now?
I appreciate #1. I despise #2.
If I’m building a new debugging tool for a software product, it’s important for me to be able to explain why that’s worth my time (cost and time savings that scale, reliability, customer confidence, etc.). But debates about what’s “most valuable” are exhausting. Usually, the difference is marginal, and switching gears (and abandoning my current work) would cost more than the potential gain, so what are we talking about? We’re day traders losing on transaction fees.
(Is blogging the most valuable thing I could be doing right now?)