Concept
Definition of done
A definition of done is a short list of observable conditions, written before work starts, that must be true for the work to count as finished; Greg McKeown uses the idea in Effortless as a cure for tasks that never end.
The term comes from software teams, who agree in advance what 'finished' means so that work is not declared done too early or polished forever. McKeown applies it to any essential task. His argument is that much exhaustion comes not from the work but from not knowing when it ends: 'improve the website' or 'prepare for the board' can absorb any amount of time and never gives the relief of completion. A good definition is observable rather than a feeling ('sent to the client with prices checked by finance', not 'good'), short, and agreed with whoever receives the work. In creative work it may honestly say 'good enough for this stage'. Research by Masicampo and Baumeister (2011) found that unfinished goals keep intruding on thought until a specific plan is made for them, which is one reason a clear finish line lets the mind let go.
A real-life example
The IT lead at a logistics firm in Mersin had a warehouse system that was 'almost ready' for a month. He and the warehouse manager wrote three conditions: pallets received and dispatched without paper, scanners working on all three shifts, the old system read-only. Two were already true; the team finished the third in eight days and closed the project.
How to use it
- 1Write 'Done means…' at the top of any task longer than an hour and finish it with two to four observable conditions.
- 2Replace feeling words such as good or ready with things someone else could check.
- 3Agree the definition with whoever receives the work before you start.