10% Planning Rule
Budget a tenth of a learning project for preparation, then adapt in motion
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 98%
The 10% Planning Rule is Young's rough allocation for preparation before a learning project. Estimate the total project duration and spend about one tenth researching resources, choosing a method, arranging materials, and mentally preparing for the commitment. The ratio is a guide rather than a rigid formula: a year-long challenge warrants substantially more preparation than a small after-work project, which may be better started immediately. Planning resembles packing for a trip—you need essentials such as a passport, but carrying everything prevents flexible movement. Once practice begins, the plan remains provisional. If a method produces an early plateau, pause, research an alternative, and resume. This keeps preparation subordinate to execution while preserving the commitment and logistics ambitious projects need.
Origin
Young relates the rule to six months of part-time preparation before his year-long MIT Challenge and to changing methods during a portrait-drawing project.
Core principles
- 01Preparation should prevent foreseeable failure without replacing action
- 02Longer and more ambitious projects deserve more planning
- 03Plans must remain adjustable when practice reveals new information
How to run it
- 1
Size the project
Estimate how long and how demanding the learning project will be.
Pro tip Use a shorter preparation window when the project is small and easily reversible.
- 2
Allocate preparation time
Reserve roughly ten percent of the expected duration for research and setup.
Watch out Treat ten percent as guidance, not a reason to manufacture planning work.
- 3
Pack the essentials
Select the initial resources, practice mechanism, schedule, and commitment needed to begin.
Pro tip Prepare enough to prevent obvious logistical failure.
Watch out Do not try to anticipate every possible need.
- 4
Start and recalibrate
Execute the plan and revisit the method when real performance shows that it is no longer producing improvement.
Watch out Do not mistake repeated replanning for practice.
In the wild
Before beginning a project intended to cover most of an MIT computer-science curriculum in one year, Young spent about six months part time researching and assembling the plan. He says the preparation also helped him enter the mental state required for a year-long commitment.
→ He began with both the resources and psychological commitment needed for the challenge.
Young used one drawing approach for roughly two weeks, reached a level he could not improve beyond, then stopped to research. He found a different method, took a short course, and continued with an approach that worked better.
→ The project adapted after practice exposed the initial method's limit.
Common mistakes
Packing the whole house
Excessive research makes the project inflexible and can become an alternative to beginning.
Launching a major project cold
An ambitious commitment may fail because its resources, expectations, and psychological demands were never prepared for.
Is it for you?
Best for
It is best for bounded learning projects where the likely duration and essential resources can be estimated.
Not ideal for
It should not delay a tiny, low-risk project that can generate better information simply by starting.
From the transcript
“I suggest what I call the 10% rule which is that for projects you spend about 10% of the total time you expect doing some…”
“the longer and more ambitious your project is the more time you should spend on planning”
From the episode
Ultralearning - Scott H Young - #092
Scott H Young