We used to throw the term MVP (minimum viable product) around a lot during my time in the tech industry.
No, it doesn’t mean most valuable player. But yes, you could very well turn into an MVP of life if you read on.
We used to come up with MVP products all the time. Most times our digital skills courses were simply a hodgepodge of cookie-cutter subjects, which were then culled and filled as new needs arose.
But the power of MVP isn’t just confined to tech or business. It applies to everyday life as well. So let’s explore how this technical (and boring-sounding) jargon can improve your daily decisions.
My personal realisation
I learned early on in my writing career that just because you put effort into your work doesn’t mean it automatically qualifies as ‘good’. Conversely, the articles you drafted in fifteen minutes could be someone else’s definition of ‘amazing’.
Which is why, when it came to professional writing, I chose to churn out work according to the brief. Nothing more, nothing less. No polishing a draft five times or surfing the thesaurus for the perfect word. If my boss wanted a thousand words, they got a thousand words.
Because over-optimising would only mean hours of wasted time should there be a need for edits. And there were lots of edits. Rewrites, even.
So the best way to finish the job was to corral my editors down a path of least dislikes. It was like playing a game of Mastermind, guessing a different combination each time, working off the previous feedback that I got.
That’s how I fell into the MVP mindset. I began treating my initial submissions as a query, not the final product. And you know what? My workflow improved significantly after that.
The minimum way
The MVP mindset isn’t just applicable to the creative field. You’ll find its principles applicable to every other part of your life. In fact, I’ve written a variation of this topic a long time back.
But let’s focus on the present. So you want to learn a new skill. Okay. How?
Say you want to learn Chinese. Where do you start? Probably by memorising the 10 most common characters. Then 100. Then 500. Each step gives you a good-enough sample of the task—and with minimal investment too.
How you should not approach it, however, is by spending hours googling the best workbooks to buy, figuring out the cheapest prices on Amazon, learning about the different Chinese dialects, and then deciding that you’d much prefer learning French instead.
Will you fail by diving headfirst into a new pursuit? Of course. But that’s the beauty of the MVP mindset. You’re not putting out the final product. It’s a functional standalone, but it’s something that gets you to the next step.
So let’s say you’ve memorised your first 100 Chinese characters and decide that you’d be better off learning phrases instead of single words. You would only come to that conclusion after taking those first steps. Because how would you know that sentences suit your learning style better if you don’t even start?
Basically, that’s my roundabout way of saying ‘you’ll never know till you try.’
Pros and cons of the MVP mindset
Like everything else in life, the MVP mindset comes with its pros and cons. Let’s take a balanced look at a few of them.
Pro number one is simplification. It allows you to see tasks and goals as a step-by-step journey. Need to write a report? Okay. What are the bare bones required? And how do you build that skeleton? Goals are more attainable when they’re broken down and laid out before you.
Pro number two, action. With the MVP mindset, you become a master of action. You no longer wait for the perfect moment. Instead, you build a path towards the perfect moment through action. It’s like jumping off a cliff and building a parachute on the way down. Please don’t try this though. I just get carried away with my similes sometimes.
Pro number three? You save time and resources. The MVP mindset allows you to focus on the essentials, avoiding unnecessary work. Instead of spending weeks or months preparing for a project, you can get started right away because you’re not aiming to build the final product. Then, with all that saved time, you can learn to sacrifice goats (hi Betsy). Or summon demons.
Now the cons. The first is the lack of depth. When you have the brute-force mentality of acting first and thinking later, you could end up seeing all problems the same way: as trivial targets to h in the dark. Sometimes it’s worth spending some forethought and getting it right the first time.it Example, your wedding vows.
Con number two is ample discouragement. To operate off the minimum requirements is to go into every project expecting problems from the start. And while letting go of perfection can spur you into action, it can also be a slog to face criticism all the time, which could leak into other parts of your life.
The final con: You could end up prizing instant gratification. The goal of MVP is to put out something quick in order to get feedback. This presents the danger of pandering to the crowd. Like picking blog topics solely off reader engagement instead of your interests, for example.
Quick-fire round: More ways to apply MVP to your life
1. Cooking: Start with basic dishes or techniques, such as scrambled eggs or searing meat before you move on to full recipes like Eggs Benedict or mushroom chicken.
2. Time management: Use something basic like pen and paper or the Notes app and try to make it work before you adopt large-scale tools like time blocking or apps like Notion.
3. Self-care: Try getting your major factors like sleep, nutrition, and exercise in order before you spend extra time trying to optimise through supplements, meditation, and cold showers.
4. Writing a novel: Try telling a short version of your story first, then slowly flesh it out to novel length. You could also approach it chapter by chapter, treating each as a standalone story (Chuck Palahniuk does this).
5. Home cleaning: Have a basic routine that covers the main problem areas of your home first, such as your living room, toilets, and kitchen. Take on the other chores like cleaning your fridge only after you’ve established an MVP schedule.
You choose the perspective
I’m sure you’ve heard of the term ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’ You might think that applies to this topic, and you’d be right.
But on the other side of the coin, you have ‘Done is better than perfect.’ Or ‘The trouble with having an open mind is that people will insist on coming along and trying to put things in it.’
Okay the last quote has nothing to do with this topic, but I just thought I’d disclose the fact that I’m trying to put something in your mind. And that’s ‘life is as you see it’.
So, to MVP, or not to MVP? Ultimately, the choice is up to you. You can’t go wrong either way. As long as the path you take leads to action.
My newsletter is very much an MVP. If you’re looking for more examples, then this is it. Click the button. Do it.
Stuart Danker 
I’d love to hear your thoughts!