In the second part of our series, we will examine whether we can make our lives better by applying the agile methodologies we use in companies where we develop software to our lives.
In order to examine this, first I need to briefly explain how the software processes progress.
Let's say we are going to make an application, what will it be, heh I found Instagram. While making this Instagram, we need to look at what we are going to do and how we are going to do it.
I mean, okay, we are going to write an application, but we agreed with a team, we asked them how long it would take to complete, and they said it would take 2 years to finish the whole product.
Well, 2 years is too long. And at the end of two years, what if the product is not what we want? What if the user doesn't like it? Are we going to wait another two years? No. Then let's think about how we can build a system.
Let's imagine a system like this, every two weeks the user can see a small working part of the product so that we are not late and we see progress every two weeks and our motivation does not decrease.
Then agile fits us, we have processes called 2-week sprints and we can progress by doing things over and over again in these processes.
Now it's time to do things over and over again...
- We'll write code
- We'll make mistakes
- We'll collaborate with people
- We'll make the code available to people through a website
- Sometimes we'll need to fix bugs quickly because it's imperative that we provide our users with a working application.
In these sprints, which we call sprints, we have some rituals that seem like two-week repetitions.
Planning, daily meetings, demos, retro...
Each one is like a little reminder that tells us. (1*)
Don't think about the big picture all the time. Take one small step properly and we'll reevaluate later.
These rituals seem technical for software developers... But they actually contain the exact same message as the way one lives:
Every day our plans can change.
Every morning we can readjust to the previous day.
We can look inside ourselves and say, "What happened, why did it happen?"
We can learn from a mistake and go into the next attempt stronger.
In other words, agile gives us the courage to try again and again.
Because life is just like software.
It is not written perfectly from start to finish, it is not designed once and works the same way for a lifetime, it gets better with minor corrections and iterations.
No matter how perfect a life plan we make, the universe always throws a new sprint in front of us saying "try it like this".
This is exactly what we are going to talk about in this article...
Can we use the rituals that software developers practice every day to improve life?
There are sprints in life too:
Our weeks, our habit cycles, our small decisions...
Each one is like a tiny version update in our lives.
And who knows...
Perhaps the moment we stop seeing ourselves as a big project, those little "updates" that come every two weeks
will change the course of life more than whole years.
Now, let's take a closer look at each of these sprint rituals...
and discover their relevance in life together.
The Philosophical and Scientific Background of the Subject
Philosophical Perspective
Sprint Planning - Directing Existence
Sprint Planning is what we call, Before starting a two-week sprint, the team talks around a table "what are we going to do in this sprint?"
A small piece of the big product vision is selected. A clear focus is defined, "let's do this, let's get this done".
So this sprint is about deciding what is meaningful for us.
Isn't it like that in life?
We wake up every morning, but if we don't know where we are going, the day consumes itself.
But a little intention... Setting a direction...
It completely changes the code of that day.
Heidegger says:
When one has a direction, one "is there". When he loses his way, existence falls apart. (2*)
Kierkegaard adds:
It is not the question "Who am I?" but "What do I live for?" that builds man. (3*)
Sprint Planning reminds me a bit of this when I apply it to life...
"Don't decide your whole life!"
Just choose what to focus on in the next small period of time.
Because one does not survive with big plans, but with small focuses.
Sprint Planning is about asking "What do I want to do better this week?" is to write the first line for a new version.
A small direction, a small intention...
But it has the potential to radically change existence.
When we live life sprint by sprint, each small beginning offers us the opportunity:
"At the end of each sprint we can reach a better version of ourselves!"
Each intention is a line.
Each line makes the next version possible.
And perhaps it is in the small weekly plans that one creates oneself.
Daily Standup - Turning into Yourself Every Day, Making Small Corrections to the Route
Daily Standup is when the team stands for 10-15 minutes every morning and answers three simple questions.
- What did I do yesterday?
- What am I going to do today?
- What's holding me back?
This short meeting is to take back the steering wheel of the day.
It fits perfectly in life, doesn't it?
We make a whole life plan, but often we get lost in the day.
When the day is over, we realize: "What have I experienced today?" We don't even know.
But if we take 1 minute for ourselves every morning...
"What am I intending today?"
"What will I move forward?"
"Where am I struggling?"
The chaos of life can make sense in an instant with a little clarity.
Stolemy said it was a virtue to do introspection every day.
Marcus Aurelius famously practiced:
"Direct yourself in the morning, weigh yourself in the evening."
Zen gives a much simpler advice:
"Are you aware of today?"
Where attention is, life flows.
Daily Standup reminds us of exactly that:
Every morning, give yourself a quick check-in:
Where am I today?
Where do I want to go?
Where is it weighing me down?
These questions are not judgments; they are directions.
Daily Standup tells us:
"Today is a little more likely to be aligned than yesterday."
If we recognize what we were stuck on yesterday, we can make space for a solution.
If we choose today's focus, we can mobilize our will.
If obstacles become visible, what we have to overcome becomes visible.
Life is not a huge marathon;
It is a small start, renewed every morning.
Stand up. Look at yourself.
And continue consciously with the code of today.
Every morning a small alignment...
Every day a small progress...
Sprint Review (Demo) - Making Small Victories Visible
Sprint Review or Demo is when the team sits down at the end of two weeks and says:
"Look, this is what we accomplished in this sprint."
It's not perfect yet; it's incomplete, but it works and it's visible.
Even if it's a small feature, it's a way of saying, "We went far in this sprint."
Isn't it the same in life?
We often make our own small successes invisible.
Why do we think that only great victories deserve applause?
But the truth is this:
When one feels that one is progressing, one feels that one is living.
Aristotle says:
Good action begets virtue.
When virtue is repeated, it becomes character. (4*)
In other words, man builds himself as he does.
But the critical detail is this:
When we realize what we have done, we take the power in our hands.
Sprint Review represents this very realization:
The small action you do becomes meaningful when witnessed.
A tiny progress shared with a friend...
At the end of the day, being able to say "I did this today."...
A small mark on the wall: "I've come this far."
These are not achievements, but the consciousness of feeling accomplished.
When one witnesses one's own progress, one's self-worth increases.
So in life, too:
Let's not hide our small achievements.
When we take a step? Let's make it visible.
Did we do a habit two days in a row? Let's celebrate.
Overcome a small obstacle? Let's make a note of it.
Because success that is not made visible does not exist in the mind.
Success that does not exist does not feed motivation.
When there is no motivation, the system slowly collapses.
Every little improvement is a demo.
Life whispers quietly:
"You are moving forward... maybe slowly, but it is working."
A small demonstration is a great source of self-confidence.
That's why, in life's sprints, small steps are the prologue to big transformations.
Sprint Retrospective - The Art of Updating Yourself
Sprint Retrospective, or "Retro" for short, is when the team comes together after two weeks of running and asks:
- What went well?
- What went badly?
- What can we do better in the next sprint?
It's not about dwelling on the past, it's about taking data from the past and improving the future.
No one is blamed, no one is judged.
But things are made better.
Isn't it the same in life?
We make a mistake...
A decision backfires...
A step goes wrong...
And we usually see two options:
Either we ignore it or we beat ourselves up.
Both extremes stop progress.
Retro offers us another way:
"What went wrong is not a bad memory, but an opportunity to update."
Every mistake is the collapse of the old version of man.
But this collapse lays the foundation for the new version.
Nietzsche says:
Man cannot transcend himself without breaking himself. (6*)
Retro is to make this confrontation with compassion:
To see mistakes as data, to erase some lines of code and rewrite others...
It is not regret that changes a person, it is courage that turns regret into data.
A little internal assessment at the end of each sprint...
A little update for each "thing that went wrong"...
And each update says:
"The next me will be better."
Retro reminds us that one does not grow by erasing or ignoring one's mistakes, but by learning from them.
And perhaps all of life is a never-ending process of self rewriting, sprint by sprint.
Backlog Refinement - Weeding Out the Redundancy and Returning to the Essence
Backlog Refinement is a simple but vital ritual before the sprint starts:
The team has a to-do list in front of them - a comprehensive, disorganized, jumbled list...
In this ritual, the team does the following:
- Prioritize to-dos
- Remove unnecessary tasks from the list
- Clarify ambiguous tasks
- Divide big tasks (that won't be done in 2 weeks) into small steps
In shortit helps us make a messy future manageable.
There are backlogs in life too:
Finished dreams...
Habits started and abandoned...
Intentions waiting for "someday"...
And unnecessary responsibilities weighing us down...
All of them are on an internal list.
But as the list swells, the flow becomes stifled.
Refinement teaches us:
"Not everything is important. Choose what is really important to you first."
Philosophically speaking...
Stoics, from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius, always say:
"Let go of what you cannot control. Live well with what you can control." (5*)
Aristotle teaches the difference between "essence" and "means."
If something distracts you from the essence that makes you who you are, it is not your work.
Backlog Refinement is a life ritual for exactly that:
Let go of the unnecessary, make room for your essence.
Every elimination is not a loss, but an opportunity to purify yourself.
Because a cluttered self produces a cluttered life. Simplicity brings awareness.
The formula for refinement in life is very simple:
Ask yourself honestly:
"Is this really important?"
If not: delete it.
If important: do it first.
If unclear: clarify.
When we break it down into small steps, we realize how manageable life is when it seems scary.
This is exactly what backlog refinement reminds us:
We can only grow as much as the space we give ourselves.
When we live life sprint by sprint, this little cleaning every two weeks allows our inner code to breathe.
And perhaps it is in letting go of excess that one comes closest to one's essence.
Scientific Approach
Sprint Planning - Minimize the Threat to the Brain, Grow Hope
The real impact of Print Planning is not just planning;It's an organizing move that relaxes the brain's load and increases hope.
The brain perceives uncertainty as a threat, which alarms the amygdala.
But when the target gets smaller, something magical happens:
The amygdala goes silent. The prefrontal cortex (i.e. logic, planning, willpower) takes the wheel.
The brain says:
"Okay, no uncertainty. This can be done."
And that's when dopamine kicks in:
The prospect of visible progress increases dopamine, the chemistry of motivation.
This is why a two-week goal makes our brain feel:
"The feeling of "I did it!" is not far away.
The one step I took today makes the next version possible.
The brain feeds on small victories.
Shrinking goals when planning is not killing big dreams, but concretizing them.
Sprint Planning whispers to us:
"Make your goal small so that your hope grows."
And so the seemingly unmanageable parts of life sprint by sprint become brighter.
Daily Standup - Giving the Brain a Little Reset Every Day
What Daily Standup ostensibly does is very simple:
Looking at yesterday, choosing today, making the obstacle visible.
But the real effect is this:
It takes the mind out of uncertainty and brings it into focus.
There is a center in our brain that manages decision making during the day:The prefrontal cortex - logic, focus, planning, prioritizing...
But this center gets tired during the day because of what we call decision fatigue. (8*) The more uncertainty and confusion there is, the faster it burns out.
That's where Daily Standup comes in:
A glance back in time jogs the memory,
Reviewing what to do today gives us a clear direction.
Thinking about what the obstacle is makes the problem visible.
And so the prefrontal cortex is reactivated.
This daily micro-check ensures that:
- The focus is not distracted
- The brain directs its resources to the right target
- The answer to the question "What is really important today?" becomes clear
In other words, the brain's load is reduced, which leads to improved performance.
Daily Standup's message for our lives is clear:
A life falls apart with small lapses of control... but it comes together with small realizations.
This tiny reset every morning reestablishes a connection with ourselves.
A small question provides a big focus.
Sprint Review - How Small Successes Leave Their Mark on the Brain
Every small success releases dopamine.
Dopamine increases motivation. It makes repetition attractive. It gives us the message "you are on the right track".
Science calls this positive reinforcement:
If a behavior is followed by a good feeling, the brain stores it in memory and sends the signal "do it again!"
So even a small result is the seed for future big behaviors.
Oftentimes in life, too, our actions become invisible.
"I did what I was supposed to do, so what?"
But uncelebrated success is considered unrealized in the eyes of the brain.
But a little recognition, a "Good job!", a "I did well today!" moment...
Tells the brain:
"This version update is working. Keep going!"
Sprint Review's equivalent in life is:
noticing small gains at the end of the day.
- If we have established a communication correctly,
- If we have improved a habit by a crumb,
- If we have taken a step without delay...
This should be demoed.
To ourselves. Sometimes to others. But it must be visible.
Because what is visible becomes stronger.
What is recorded becomes repeated.
Change that is celebrated becomes permanent.
Retrospective - Activating the Learning in the Mistake
When we have an experience, especially if it is a difficult or erroneous experience, the alarm center of the brain called the amygdala kicks in:
"This was a threat, watch out!"
If we don't talk about the experience, if we cover it up instead of processing it, the amygdala remains on alert and learning doesn't take place.
But when we look back, as we do in retrospect, with a compassionate and unjudgmental gaze:
- Amygdala calms down
- Prefrontal cortex (logic, evaluation, planning) takes over
- Brain safely makes sense
Neuroscience has named it:
"Emotional regulation, that is, the reopening of learning circuits."(10*)
Isn't it the same in life?
We have an argument, we experience a failure, a decision doesn't turn out the way we expected...
If we immediately say "I failed!" and throw it away, the brain registers it as a threat.
But if we stop and calmly ask:
- What can I learn?
- What was difficult?
- What can I try differently next time?
The energy of that mistake changes.
We go from defensive to curious.
The amygdala stops screaming.
We put our own executive (prefrontal cortex) at its center.
Backlog Refinement - Reduce Mental Load, Clarify Focus
The brain works better when the "decision load" is reduced.
Neuroscience tells us that:
Uncertainty triggers amygdala activation.
The mind switches to threat perception, increasing stress. (7*)
Certainty activates the prefrontal cortex.
Focus, planning, willpower come into play.
So organizing the backlog reactivates the brain's control room.
Every unnecessary item slows down the processor like a "background process".
Every deleted item is like emptying RAM.
Also, task fragmentation speeds up the dopamine cycle. This is because the brain rewards completed small goals more than big goals.
Tasks with increased clarity reduce mental friction. Knowing what to do keeps you motivated. (9*)
Prioritization reduces anxiety,
because the pressure of "I have to do everything" is replaced by the clarity of "now I'm only doing this".
In terms of science, we can think of backlog refinement as:
tidying up and categorizing the scattered thoughts in our heads, so that the mind stops "running things in the background all the time."
Doing so reduces unnecessary decision overload by knowing what to do first, freeing up the brain's processing power. When the two combine, small doable tasks emerge, and each completed tiny step produces a quick dopamine reward. So the mind is lightened and focused, and motivation is kept alive by the energy of small successes.
It's a small procedure...
But it's a treatment that relaxes the whole system.
Real Problem and Solution Suggestions
Real Problem
The Perfection and Procrastination Cycle
One of the most basic illusions we get stuck in our lives is this:
"I have to get it right one time."
It's as if life will be approved if we are perfect on the first try, otherwise we will have lost from the beginning.
And this belief prevents us from starting.
Because the bigger the plan, the bigger the threat.
- "What if it doesn't work out?"
- "What if I mess up?"
- "What if I'm not good enough?"
There is a product owner inside our heads, constantly objecting:
"You're not ready yet, you need to be more perfect."
This is why so many of our big dreams die because they never started.
The desire for perfection is like a monster at the throat of progress...
And the most ironic part:
Even when we progress, we don't see that we are progressing.
When we take a small step, we say "it should have happened already".
No recognition, no making visible...
That's why motivation runs out of gas.
Unseen success is considered unrealized in the mind.
The brain interprets this as:
"So nothing changes. So why bother?"
And then there are mistakes...
The moment we make a mistake, we feel as if the whole universe is turning around and shouting at us:
"You are incompetent."
"You have failed."
We see the mistake as an enemy, a shame, an irreversible mistake.
So we perceive failure not as learning feedback but as a threat to our identity.
And so the learning circuits shut down.
Instead of improving ourselves, we defend ourselves.
Therein lies the real problem:
The pursuit of perfection delays starting, not starting makes success invisible, feeling unseen demotivates us, and a life without motivation resembles a disaster.
The result?
But they call it "getting ready."
The language of life is more honest:
"Start short, get better on the way."
But we are still chasing this misconception:
"If I am ready, I will start."
But the truth is:
When you start, you are ready.
You mature as you go on.
You learn as you go.
And unless this cycle is broken,a lot of dreams left in the backlog of life rot, weigh us down and suffocate us...
The question must now be asked:
Will we choose the comfort of perfection or the courage to start?
Solution Suggestions
Living Life Like Agile
So, how do we get out of this "perfection trap"?
The answer is simple:
We can try to live life like software.
Putting the big picture aside, we move forward in small sprints.
Because human beings are drowned by big plans and transformed by small steps.
Weekly "Intention" Setting - Sprint Planning
If we don't try to plan the whole of life, for example.
If we just set the meaning of the next week:
"What do I want to do a little better this week?"
A small focus changes a big week.
Every Morning 2-Minute Internal Check-in - Daily Standup
Before we start the day, what if we ask ourselves:
- What am I going to move forward today?
- Where am I headed?
A day that begins consciously does not lose itself.
Making Small Achievements Visible - Review
Let's not underestimate everything we achieve!
- Did we exercise another day?
- Did we manage an emotional reaction well?
- Did we finish a small task without procrastinating?
We can write, we can share, we can celebrate in our own way.
What is visible becomes powerful.
Every Week Or Every Two Weeks Mini Self-Evaluation - Retrospective
What if every Sunday evening or every other Sunday evening we asked ourselves these three questions:
- What did I do right?
- What can I improve?
- What do I intend not to repeat?
When mistakes are data, there is updating, not shame.
MVP Goals - Imperfect But Somewhere Improving Life
What if we made our dreams Minimum Viable Version (MVP):
"If it's not perfect, let it work."
Because life is not made beautiful by thinking, but by trying.
- Goals set just because someone else is waiting
- Tasks that have grown out of an effort to prove oneself
- Burdens taking up space in our minds that we never started
We can ask the question:
"Does this really serve my story?"
If the answer is no:
And all these little rituals have a common message:
Small but constant updates, accumulating over time, are the best way to move our whole life to the most improved version of itself.
Life doesn't get better all at once.
But every sprint makes you better than the previous version.
We don't need to try to be perfect.
It's enough to be 1% better in every sprint.
Transformation is born from small updates every two weeks, not one big revolution.
And perhaps one rediscovers oneself when one learns to live life agile.
Conclusion and Message to the Reader
Life is not a big project that we can sit down and finish in one go, but rather a constantly updated process with new challenges.
Even coming to this realization may change our perspective and approach to life.
Then it is high time to leave you alone with your inner question...
What answers will you give to your questions in your "retro" this week? What is going well? What is going badly? What do you want to change in the next sprint?
In the next installment we will explore how we can make our goals and lives healthier by using the concepts of "systems thinking" and "learning from mistakes" in our lives.
Till then, stay agile and loving.
Source
- Schwaber, K., & Sutherland, J. (2020). The Scrum Guide. The Definitive Guide to Scrum: The Rules of the Game.
- Heidegger, M. (1962). Being and Time. Harper & Row.
- Kierkegaard, S. (1985). Either/Or. Princeton University Press.
- Aristotle. (2009). Nicomachean Ethics. Hackett Publishing.
- Epictetus. (2005). Enchiridion. Hackett Publishing.
- Nietzsche, F. (2006). Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Modern Library.
- Sapolsky, R. M. (2004). Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers. Henry Holt.
- Baumeister, R. F., & Tierney, J. (2011). Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength. Penguin Press.
- Schultz, W. (2016). Dopamine reward prediction error. Physiology & Behavior, 163, 117-135.
- Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation. In APA Handbook of Personality and Social Psychology.
