The core idea
Some actions leave artifacts that persist beyond the moment. Others vanish as soon as time moves on. The gap between those two is the difference between compounding progress and a treadmill.
What it means to have something to show for it
You can point to a result that exists independently of your memory or your mood. It can be seen, shared, measured, reused, or sold.
Typical forms:
- Assets: savings, investments, equipment, owned content, code, patents.
- Artifacts: a finished article, a shipped feature, a prototype, a portfolio piece.
- Capabilities: a learned skill with proof of level, certifications, reps tracked.
- Systems: repeatable processes, checklists, automations, calendars that run without you deciding from scratch.
- Relationships: trust built through delivered value, references, case studies.
These endure, stack, and often pay you back later with less effort than the first unit of work.
What it means to have nothing to show for it
The time passed, but there is no durable output. You cannot point to anything concrete, nor can you easily reuse the effort.
Common culprits:
- Consumption without capture: scrolling, watching, reading with no notes or synthesis.
- Busywork: activity that moves numbers on a plan but not outcomes in the real world.
- Perfection loops: endless tweaking that never ships.
- Untracked practice: effort that is not logged, measured, or leveled up.
- Conversations without commitments: meetings with no decisions, owners, or deadlines.
These dissipate. Even if they felt demanding, there is no compounding tailwind afterward.
Five quick tests
Ask these questions before or after an hour of effort.
- Visibility: Could you show a friend what you produced in under 60 seconds?
- Reusability: Will this save time or increase performance next time?
- Transferability: Could someone else pick it up and continue without you?
- Measurability: Did a metric that matters move in a way you can verify?
- Option value: Did this create a new option you did not have yesterday?
If you cannot answer yes to at least two, you likely have nothing to show for it.
The show-for spectrum
Not everything must become an asset. Rest, play, and exploration matter. The trick is to tilt each category toward persistence.
- Learning: reading becomes notes, notes become a summary, summary becomes a reference page.
- Networking: chats become a follow-up email, a small favor, a shared doc, or a booked next step.
- Practice: random reps become a log, the log becomes a plan, the plan becomes a milestone.
- Ideas: thoughts become a sketch, the sketch becomes a prototype, the prototype becomes a demo.
Convert vapor into value
Use these simple conversions to turn fleeting activity into something that lasts.
- After a meeting, produce a one-page decision record with owners and dates.
- After reading, write a 5-bullet summary and file it where you will search later.
- After experimenting, capture the procedure, parameters, and result so you can rerun it.
- After a work session, commit the change, export the artifact, or publish the draft.
- After outreach, schedule the next step on a calendar and send a recap.
A weekly ledger that keeps you honest
Track two lists for the past 7 days.
- Proof list: links, files, photos, commits, dollar amounts, shipped items.
- Effort list: hours spent without proof.
Aim for a growing proof list. If hours rise while proof stalls, change the plan.
Strategy for a show-for life
- Start with outputs: define the artifact before you begin the task.
- Timebox to shipping: set a finish line that results in something visible.
- Name and store: save outputs in stable locations with predictable names.
- Automate recurrence: if you repeat it twice, build a template or script.
- Close the loop: share the result with a stakeholder and ask for a decision.
- Review cadence: end each week by pruning tasks that cannot produce proof.
The payoff
Work that leaves traces compounds. It builds assets, trust, and leverage. Work that leaves nothing fades as quickly as it was done. Choose activities that generate artifacts, capture what you learn, and ship small proofs often. Over time, your life fills with evidence that your hours meant something, and that evidence starts working for you even when you are not.
