I Say I Don't Care, But I'm Lying
4 minute read / by Sam Daugherty / July 29th, 2025
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"You should probably stop saying that." That was the advice my boss gave me during our project meeting when, for the third time, I said, "I don't really care." He didn't mean I was being flippant. He said it because he knows I actually do care. And he's right. So, why do I constantly say it? Let me explain.
Photo by Toa Heftiba on Unsplash
The fact is, I do care. I just try to match my effort to the expected outcome. If a project is expected to have minimal impact — for instance, messaging updates — my level of effort will match. It’s not a direct one-to-one comparison, but I try to keep it close.
It's a very pragmatic approach to projects, at least in my mind. And pragmatic can be… well, perfectly fine. The more time and effort I invest, especially in something with a low expected lift, the more expensive it becomes. The ROI drops.
My job as a design leader is to keep those in check.
The Process Trap
The process trap is something I discuss often, especially with junior designers. But there's no shortage of senior designers fall who into the same cycle. They have a certain approach to a project. They treat it like a checklist they have to follow in a specific order.
I have to do competitive research. Then I talk to customers and stakeholders. Wireframes, user test, mockups, stakeholder review, prototypes, iterate, user test, continue ad infinitum. And, listen, if we're launching a major update or a new product, and there's real money on the line? Be my guest. Double your diamonds.
But when we're just updating some messaging or the corner radius of the buttons? That's probably overkill, and you've wiped out any positive lift you may get, if one exists at all. And beyond that, there's the opportunity cost of what you weren't working on. Projects with real ROI that had to wait for you to check all your boxes.
Projects with real ROI that had to wait for you to check all your boxes
Sometimes your process is holding you back.
It's Basic Math
Suppose for a moment that you're working on a project. Something small. You whipped something up based on experience and best practices that proved effective fairly quickly. And the question came up, like it always does, “Have you tested that with users?”
No. I didn't. In the case of my project, it was a promo code failure message. We were replacing a single vague message, “Promo code invalid,” with multiple messages that were more specific to the reason it failed. We had our copywriter craft them and everything.
So between him and me, that's already two people with professional salaries. Then there were other designers in the meeting. My manager followed up later. Engineers had to implement it. Do the math.
Photo by Shubham Sharan on Unsplash
Let's just assume, for easy math, everyone makes $100/hr. And, for easy math, we all put just 5 hours into it. There were 13 people in all who discussed this project that I can remember.
($100 x 5hrs) x 13 = $6,150
Otherwise known as way too much money to then add the cost and hours of user testing into some updated messaging. The expected ROI on this project was $0 to begin with. My goal was to use the fewest hours, involve the fewest people, and just ship it. That's how you cut costs.
In other words, I care an awful fucking lot.
So, Is There a Better Way to Say That?
Yeah, probably. There are a myriad number of ways to express how I feel. I'm not sure how I settled on it, honestly, other than efficiency. “I don't care.” Three words. To the point. It's one of the few times in my life I've settled for concise.
But lately I've been trying to say it less often. The result is mostly just a pause while I stop myself. However, it has resulted in some better options that sound far more professional.
“Happy to go with whatever makes sense here.”
“This one's not worth overthinking.”
“I'm good with whatever's simplest.”
“Not a hill I'm willing to die on.”
“Totally fine taking the path of least resistance.”
And my personal favorite, that I save for people who appreciate my snark, “I'll save my strong opinions for something with a budget.”
So do I care? Yes. Did I lie when I said, “I don't care?” Also, yes, but technically no. I win on a technicality here. I didn't care enough to burn more hours—because I care. And that's the hill I'm willing to die on.