Meet Efforts & Stinks: Why We Made a Show About Not Trying So Hard

Effort Optional has never been about winning. It’s about choosing what matters and being fine with the rest. That idea finally needed characters.

Efforts and Stinks are two sides of the same internal conversation most people have every day. Efforts is calm, optimistic, and unbothered. Stinks is tired, skeptical, and done pretending. Neither one is wrong. They just prioritize differently.

The debut episode doesn’t start with a punchline. It starts with a situation everyone recognizes. Rain. I don't want to spoil it.  The contrasts are different and worth a watch, 

This series isn’t about jokes. It’s about relief. Relief from hustle culture. Relief from forced motivation. Relief from pretending every day needs to be a breakthrough.

Efforts isn’t winning because he’s working harder. He’s winning because his expectations are lower. Stinks isn’t losing — he’s just conserving energy.

That’s the tone of Effort Optional. Quiet confidence. Low effort. No urgency.

If you see yourself in either character, you’re already part of it.

Watch the debut episode of Efforts & Stinks on our YouTube channel.
And if your definition of winning looks more like staying dry than getting ahead, the “100% Chance of Winning” design says it without trying too hard.