Decision dominos

Does this sound familiar?

You read an article or watch a video about a really cool idea.

It gets you excited. Puts a fire in your belly. This is the project I've been looking for! This is going to change my life.

You start doing some research. How to get started? Open 36 tabs in your browser.

You start slowing down. The real work has started. Let's open YouTube or Medium to take a break.

What's this? Whoa, another inspiring post! This dude makes $250k/month doing this?! Sign me up!

Forget about that other thing. This is the ticket.

The cycle continues.

AND, it is one I am intimately familiar with, unfortunately.

Two things, a Tim Ferriss podcast and an Alex Hormozi video helped me break the cycle.

The main takeaway is that consistency is the key. Do the ordinary thing for an extraordinary amount of time and don't get distracted.

It's ok to make a list of things that you want to do. You should even. But, stick to the original plan and prioritize your actions.

Here is how I have been thinking about that: decision dominos.

To-Do List

Start by making a to-do list. This can be sorted by day, week, or purely task-based.

I use Notion in a Kanban format based on task for this. I also have a daily task list for things that I want to do every single day. I use Logseq for curating ideas for projects that may make it to the Kanban board.

Sorting Function

Which of the things on this list makes everything else on the list either easier or irrelevant?

Take those things and throw away the rest.

Next Level Down

To optimize further, ask yourself "Which of these if done or brought to the next milestone would leave me feeling most proud at the end of the day?

Think in terms of workouts, tasks, conversations, etc.

For instance, I have an app that suggests workouts for me. Sometimes, at the end of a workout I don't feel that I've accomplished everything I wanted to. If I can get in a big compound movement at the gym I feel better. Deadlifts make you feel amazing btw.

Big Decisions

If trying to decide between major, branching options such as creative endeavors or projects ask yourself "Even if it fails can it be a success?"

What this means is even if the outcome you were working towards isn't met, what are the side benefits that came out of it?

Success could be categorized as new connections, deepened relationships, a new skill, a new perspective, etc.

For me, I used this to change jobs this year. I was in a position with no growth, no opportunity for new connections, and no meaningful work.

But by asking:

• Does this bring me more energy?

• Is it something that I am passionate about?

• and does it align with my values?

I was able to prioritize and ask the right questions.

Try it out, let me know if it works for you.