I remember the days when Ma’am June Williams (my fourth grade English teacher) used to conduct a weekly session of a 2-minute simple extempore speech. Since then, these two words have always been there in my subconscious making me realize that bringing them together is quite difficult i.e. Simple can be difficult. Call it a chance or sheer luck but my professional career is all about making everything simple.
Getting to a simple solution is a real deal. Today, the difficult part of any task is keeping things simple. Going with the complicated approach only frustrates you and is also not appreciated by the end-user. Each time I review any product (e.g. plugin, theme, framework, etc.), I prefer removing all the bogus content I call it fluff.
Adding flashy sliders or eye-candy styles — just because you can do it — sounds utterly absurd. You should keep it simple and clutter free.
When you start looking at a problem and it seems really simple, you don’t really understand the complexity of the problem. Then you get into the problem, and you see that it’s really complicated, and you come up with all these convoluted solutions. That’s sort of the middle, and that’s where most people stop.
But the really great person will keep on going and find the key, the underlying principle of the problem — and come up with an elegant, really beautiful solution that works. That’s what we wanted to do with Mac.
— Steve Jobs
Simple Means Letting Go
In our professional lives, we opt to become more difficult, but we don’t realize how the simple things in life go away — that’s where most of my inspiration for writing comes from. Going simple means giving up some control to the end-user.
E.g. If I write an in-depth plugin review, it’s not necessary to explain every tiny-miny step. Instead of the spoon-feeding approach, I found out that making it simple helps the readers to conclude results on their own.
How I Went Simple?
When people say practice what you preach, then I’ve been trying to do since my fourth grade. I’ve attempted to develop an instinct which helps me adopt a minimal approach in whatever I do.
Over the last few years, I’ve enhanced my ability to listen and observe. I look out for behavioral patterns. The ins and the outs. And I read a good deal of diverse content or watch seasons. It helps me with exposure, the more exposure you have to a topic, the more quickly you can write about it.
But during all this process, if I’ve learned one thing then that is: Don’t give people exactly what they ask for — it does not matter who they are — they came to you for a reason, you are the professional, you decide what stays and what doesn’t; just write simple content. Trust your abilities and try to write simple and do simple; it will bring a long lasting impact.
I’m Not There Yet
Today, more and more people are getting inclined towards design, code, apps and startups. You have a choice, you are solving a problem, build something simple, easier UI, simpler controls, simpler concept and it will make your product more accessible.
Simple is a lifestyle. Because only those who have the patience to do simple things can learn the art of doing difficult things easily.
What’s your take on this? Which approach will you choose? Share your opinion below or reach out to me at Twitter.