Have you ever had that feeling of being stuck in a rut, or just totally overwhelmed? I've been there so many times. I've found that ...
Have you ever had that feeling of being stuck in a rut, or just totally overwhelmed? I've been there so many times. I've found that sometimes, the biggest breakthroughs don't come from a new tool or some complex system, but from a simple shift in how you think about things.
Here are a few ideas that have helped me, maybe they'll resonate with you too.
1. The Signal vs. Noise Filter
My brain is a messy place, filled with all sorts of notifications and to-do list items. A really useful concept I've come across is separating everything into 'signal' and 'noise'.
The signal is the stuff that genuinely matters. The top three to five things you absolutely need to get done today to move your project forward. The rest is noise; all the emails, social media pings, and other distractions that pull you away from the signal.
What I try to do now is start each morning by figuring out what my signal is for the day. It's a simple act, but it helps me make sure I'm focused on what's important and not just busy.
2. Doing the Unscalable Stuff
This one feels a bit counterintuitive. We're all told we need to build things that can grow huge and fast. But I've learned that at the start of a project, it's often better to do things that don't scale.
Instead of trying to build a perfect, automated system from day one, I focus on the manual, hands-on work. It's slower and maybe a bit clunky, but that’s where the real learning happens. You get direct feedback and figure out what actually works before you try to automate it all. Think about the early days of a company like Airbnb; the founders did all kinds of unscalable things just to get their first customers and learn what they needed. It’s a great way to overcome the procrastination that comes from being overwhelmed by the idea of building something perfect.
3. Seeing Failure as Feedback
I used to be really afraid of things not working out. But I've started to see failure differently; not as a setback, but as valuable feedback.
In a world that's always changing, the biggest risk isn’t failing; it's not trying enough things. My goal now is to fail quicker. Each time something doesn't work out, I get to learn something new that brings me a step closer to a solution. The key is to focus on the number of experiments you run, not how many of them succeed. It's about getting more at-bats.
4. Paying Attention to the Data
You can put a lot of work into something, but if you don't look at how people are engaging with it, you're essentially working in the dark. For my own work, I try to use data as a feedback loop.
I'll put something out there; a blog post, a video, whatever and then I actually pay attention to the analytics. Where are people losing interest? What are they commenting on? That information tells me what's resonating and what isn't, which then informs my next project. It's a simple cycle: create, publish, and then pay attention. Without that, it can feel like you're just spinning your wheels.
5. Simplifying and Giving to Strangers
I've realised that the more I simplify my life, the more mental energy I have for the things that matter. Getting rid of minor decisions, like what to wear each day, frees up my brain for more important work.
And when I'm starting a new project, I always go back to a few basic questions: What do I actually have to say? Who is this for? Why does it matter? It's easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, but it's important to start with a real purpose. The best work is that which provides value to others, even to people you don't know. If it's only something your mum would like, it's probably not ready yet.
Hopefully, some of these ideas are useful to you too.
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