Every so often, I find myself remembering that this is a blog, and I like to share some insights from my life as a VR developer, entrepreneur, and blogger. My hope is to offer lessons that might resonate with others in similar shoes. Today, I’d like to talk about a shift that has reshaped my approach in recent weeks.
If you’re familiar with me, you know my passion for Virtual Reality—or as Meta calls it, Mixed Reality—runs deep. This enthusiasm has often led me to juggle multiple ventures at once. I blog, attend events, take on contract work, and even try building my own products. Initially, I had a habit of saying “yes” to every opportunity that came my way. On the bright side, this allowed me to engage in many activities and achieve reasonable success. However, on the downside, spreading myself too thin was stressful and hindered the focus needed to truly excel.
It was a realization that struck me a few months back, spurred by books like “Antifragile” and personal experiences. I came to understand a key rule shaping my work life now: focusing on fewer things with greater impact beats doing many slightly beneficial tasks. Allow me to explain further.
Social media first got me thinking in this direction. I used to share numerous XR-related links on Twitter/X, eager to inform the community about anything intriguing I found. My routine involved reading an article, hitting share, adding a hashtag or two, then posting it. I kept this up until I noticed the posts rarely engaged anyone. It struck me that sharing irrelevant content was futile—it reached hardly anyone. Observing others and reading about X’s new algorithm taught me these posts lacked engagement due to their inability to spark discussions or emotions, and linking to external sites didn’t help, often burying them in obscurity. Social media algorithms can be pesky, but that’s a story for another day. The real issue was my time and effort were going to waste.
Realizing this, I decided to revamp my strategy. Instead of sharing every intriguing find, I focused on sharing what’s truly significant. I’m putting more effort into crafting engaging posts instead of simply posting titles and links (though I’m guilty of that occasionally). While I’m careful not to dive into contentious topics just to feed algorithms, I’m playing by the rules and making my posts more appealing. This often results in more readers engaging with my content and potentially forming new connections.
This strategy applies across the board. I used to force myself to churn out at least one article weekly (besides regular roundups) even when there wasn’t much to say. I’d post about festive greetings, events, or quick tips in XR software—much like the overlooked X posts. Blogging consumes time, and writing insubstantial articles gave nothing back in terms of followers, reputation, or networking. Now, rather than writing mediocre posts, I use that time on something more meaningful. When I write, I ensure it’s worth my and my readers’ time. This approach sometimes results in significant impact, like the post on Android XR’s camera access, which gained mentions in online magazines—boosting my blog’s reputation and SEO. Writing ten frivolous posts wouldn’t have achieved this.
As a developer, my past practice was to accept any contract work available, but lately, I’ve realized that taking on a single $100,000 project (as part of a team) is far more beneficial than ten $10,000 projects. Larger projects typically involve reputable clients opening doors to lasting relationships, offering cool projects to showcase on social media and credentials to enhance portfolios. In contrast, smaller projects often lack enough substance worth mentioning. Plus, bigger projects often come with more complexity, challenging us to grow professionally. Nothing illustrates this more than my year-and-a-half journey with the VR platform for concerts, VRROOM, which taught me more about development and people management than several previous years combined.
Every task we undertake carries a cost, primarily in time. More importantly, tasks come with fixed costs. In the project example, managing ten means handling ten contracts, calls for updates, and addressing post-delivery issues, while one big project only deals with these once. Granted, finding large projects is tougher, so I’m not suggesting only hunting for $50K gigs—especially given VR’s current climate. Instead, I advise aspiring towards larger projects when possible because if you can choose, prioritizing them often yields better returns.
This isn’t a groundbreaking revelation—most of us acquainted with Pareto know that 20% of efforts generate 80% of the results. Theoretically, cutting 80% of your tasks could retain 80% of your outcomes, highlighting how impactful focusing on relevant tasks can be.
Referencing “Antifragile,” it discusses life’s “non-linearities.” Bigger entities often wield more influence than a collection of smaller ones. Dropping a large rock can cause significant harm, but shattering it into pebbles and dropping them individually barely affects the target. Quality also plays a critical role: engaging in fewer activities allows for high-quality output. Good work elevates satisfaction, delivers value, and bolsters reputation. For years, I’ve valued quality as a developer and entrepreneur, now also embracing its link to reputation. I aim to be recognized for delivering quality, acknowledging this quality demands fair compensation, reflecting a decade’s worth of hard-earned experience. Undertaking fewer projects at higher prices lets me deliver better results while maintaining a healthier work lifestyle.
While emphasizing quality is crucial, so is consistency. Unless you create something legendary (like the CTRL+ALT+DEL combo—I use it all the time on Windows), relying on one achievement for success is rare. Back to social media: occasionally, a random tweet garners insane likes, yet the author’s follower count remains modest. People may like or share a post without feeling any connection to the person behind it. Building a following requires delivering engaging content consistently so that, after four such posts, followers begin recognizing and connecting with you.
This philosophy extends to networking and events too. Adopting the “fewer but better” mantra, I attended CES, aiming for a powerful impact. The event exhausted me, but I forged crucial connections, deepened my XR ecosystem understanding, and gained YouTube followers. Sparsely attending events wouldn’t yield much benefit. Years back, as a novice entrepreneur, I crossed paths with Francesco Ronchi, Synesthesia’s CEO, at a Milan event. I sought his advice on networking (amid attempting to convince him to try unconventional snacks—a tale for another time). He stressed visible presence because meaningful connections often happen when you meet 2, 3, 4 times. First encounters rarely last, but each subsequent meeting strengthens familiarity, fostering friendships or partnerships. Building strong connections takes time, emphasizing continuous quality delivery.
Here’s an additional thought: besides quality and volume, consider long-term impact. Sure, a LinkedIn post reaching a million views today sounds exciting, but what’s the enduring benefit? How does it advance my career in the next 5-10 years?
Therefore, aside from my “unusual” routine work, I contemplate weekly tasks that might shape my long-term career trajectory. As I mentioned in another VR careers post, focusing on fewer major projects over numerous trivial ones is wise, but creating avenues for significant growth opportunities or managerial roles in big companies would be smarter.
With future-oriented tasks being slow and long-term, they chart a strategic career direction, setting the stage for meaningful progress. Of course, defining these tasks requires knowing your desired future.
And there you have it—my thoughts for the day boiled down to this:
Do fewer but more impactful things, for your present and your future. You will deliver more value and get more value back while being less stressed and more satisfied.
Maybe you’ll want to jot this down somewhere you see it often. In a way, it’s much like toilet paper—needed for a few critical daily moments.
Who knows if anyone finds this helpful. I hope it aids someone in refining their work life. If it resonates, share your thoughts in the comments—or on social media—with genuine effort, of course. 😛
