Simplicity Rules

10 years ago I stared at an empty OpenOffice document. The cursor blinked expectantly.

It was early January, 2009, I had inked a book deal, and was frozen. My proposal included a complete outline, so it’s not like I didn’t know what to write.

There’s some comfort in an empty document, the italicized Untitled filename can still become anything. With a blank slate, there is only possibility.

I rationalized that maybe I shouldn’t start with chapter one. It’s like a persuasive essay where you write the introduction last so you can foreshadow the argument you’ve already made. That makes a lot less sense for a programming cookbook, but I moved on to chapter two.

It didn’t get easier. All I could think about was how permanent the words would be, printed into 5,000 copies. Nevermind that it would be 18 months later and that I’d have at least five opportunities to change every word, sentence, and code sample.

I felt the pressure of the possibility.

Possibilities are Endless with a Blank Slate

Fresh starts are nice. Despite the pressures of writer’s block, the truth was the blinking cursor was all possibility. As I write this, it’s the first week of 2019. A new year. Resolutions abound as people optimistically look out at the possibility of a blank slate.

There is potential energy stored up in anything new: freshly fallen snow, a beautiful wedding cake, or electronics straight from their packaging, that static plastic film still covering the screen. Unfortunately, none of those things fulfill their purpose left in their pristine state. The electronics should be used, the wedding cake should be cut (and eaten!) and that snow should be trod upon by hefty winter boots.

Most new things are concepts rather than physical things. Semesters in school—then quarters in business—each bring new possibilities. Monday is the start of a new week and every single day (so far) the sun rises. Even a washed car and full tank of gas hold inspiring potential.

You don’t need to wait for some milestone (like January 1), you can make your own newness. My friend Mike Vardy advocates starting the new year whenever you want. Because of his influence, I’m 12 weeks into training for a 5K rather than starting with the calendar year.

Making newness means you’re manufacturing possibility. That feels great, but comes with the responsibility of moving toward that potential. For me, that responsibility means I’m also manufacturing pressure, the same sort that had me staring at the blinking cursor 10 years ago.

Pressures Increase when the Slate Remains Blank

Here’s where the internal dialogue starts: I’ve written the section above, but this one is empty. That’s a lot of pressure. I’m happy with this post so far. What if I screw it up? But if I never write anything, the post will never be finished.

Some people spend years in the state of possibility. It’s like the old calculation of an idea’s value. The execution is what’s valuable and the idea is a multiplier. The idea is the possibility, and it’s much more comfortable than taking action. When you execute, you might find it’s harder than you thought, and you might feel the pressure of a reality mismatched with the fiction of possibility.

It was almost three years ago that I decided I should be a runner. I knew there were programs that started slowly with a mix of running and walking. Putting shoes to pavement is the ultimate reality check. It was much easier to imagine having done it than to do it. Two years passed. On my birthday in 2018, I created an event page for the following year, but never published it. Finally, six months later, I laced up my shoes and ran a couple blocks.

When you start turning the possibility into reality, the pressure should decrease. The build up of potential energy is translated into action. At the same time, and this can be hard, the possibility also decreases. This thing you’re doing is becoming real. It may not match what you imagined. But your working on it is the only thing that fulfills its potential.

For me, after awhile of taking action on the newness, once it stops feeling new, another blank slate appears in my mind. It’s the one that imagines that others will really love it or really hate it. It’s a cycle and it includes new possibilities, which means new pressures. And the only way around that is more action: launching, sharing, or whatever it is that will move that reaction from possibility to reality.

Will You Ever Write Another Book?

This post started as a way to commemorate the 10 year anniversary of a huge project about which I’m proud. Even if technology, as it inevitably would, has made my book a bit outdated, I can always say I wrote the book on map scripting (primarily because that’s a term I made up!).

When that 18 month process came to a close with the book’s publication in 2010, I was often asked whether I’d write another book. At the time I expressed uncertainty. There’s a lot to gain from writing one book (it’s the reason for my current career path), but the jump to two-time author is seemingly less impactful.

It’s been awhile since someone asked me, but my ol’ blog buddy Mike Duffy posted on Facebook and I found myself responding: “Always maybe.”

If I wrote another book, I’d definitely remember what I learned last time: write it in the margins of work and focus on progress every day. But I’d also look to share more sooner, to tighten that possibility and pressure cycle.

Recently I came across Kelly Miller’s 30 day book project. From October 1 to November 1, Kelly moved the project forward, from outlining, to writing, to editing. And she has an epic Twitter thread where she checked in every day with progress.

Regardless of whether it’s writing a book, I think we can all learn from that approach to the projects that matter to us. As the possibility turns to pressure, remember that forward progress both relieves the pressure and brings your efforts into reality.

When I was young I had trouble deciding what gift to buy for a friend’s birthday. Truth is, I had trouble with a lot of decisions then. Though I’ve become better at it, I’d say it’s still a struggle. Perhaps the birthday conundrum stays with me because my mom had great advice that somehow simplified it for me.

Mom’s approach, as I stood indecisive in the toy aisle, was for me to choose the gift that I would like to receive. I could simply pretend to pick a gift for myself, then give it to my friend. This mental shift saved me from the paralysis of wondering what my friend might like. And since it wasn’t really for me, I didn’t have to worry about regretting my choice, either.

I can report this trick doesn’t work as well for gifts into adulthood. I could buy myself most any business book off the shelf, for example. That’s less likely to appeal to my wife. While we can’t use mom’s exact advice, a reverse approach can help anyone make decisions.

Give Advice to a Friend, Then Take the Advice Yourself

If you’re struggling with a choice, simply imagine the advice you’d give a friend in a similar situation. The book Decisive calls this “attaining distance.” You might not think you’re capable of tricking yourself this way, but many people do give others advice they wouldn’t give themselves. In one example from the book, people are given two choices:

1. An uncertain path with the possibility of long-term happiness
2. A safer choice of the status quo

When deciding between the two for themselves, 66% select that first path of potential happiness. When advising others, 83% of people suggest the first path.

There’s a famous story, also retold in Decisive, about how Intel switched its business to microprocessors (how they’re best known today). The change had an uncertain path, but included a possibility of long term happiness (i.e., success for the business). Their historical market was in memory and was a safer choice only because they were the leader.

Intel’s exec’s were having a hard time deciding between those paths when one asked the other: “if we were fired, what would the new team do?”

By pretending to advise someone else, it was clear the answer was to take the risk on microprocessors.

My Favorite Interview Question is About Weaknesses

The answer to the classic weakness question in job interviews is painfully predictable:

“I work too hard, I care too much, and sometimes I can intimidate my co-workers by being too good at my job.”

Asking someone their weaknesses requires them to not only be self-aware, but also honest. That’s a lot to ask in a scenario where everyone is trying to show their most positive attributes.

The book Who suggests a reframing of the question. While discussing a previous supervisor, you ask “if I talked to them, what would they say are your biggest strengths and areas for improvement?”

We used this question when I worked at Orchestrate and it was amazing how much better the answers you get with this change in perspective. Sometimes people were maybe even a little too honest. It’s much harder to give the weakness-that’s-a-strength reply when you’re answering on behalf of another person, especially someone who the interviewer might talk to if they check references.

Be Objective, Make Better Decisions

Whether you’re struggling with a personal choice or making a hire for your company, objectivity is your friend. It’s hard to be truly objective and even harder to force that on a candidate. You can frame questions–to yourself and others–in a way to nudge the answerer to flip their perspective. How would someone else answer this question? How would you answer this question for someone else?

Your favorite baseball team is down by three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. This is rough anytime, but during the playoffs, this can be demoralizing.

What luck! The leadoff batter squeaks a hit through the infielders. The next guy singles into right field and there are runners on the corners. Your team is still down three runs, but any fan will tell you it’s different now.

Momentum has swung in the direction of your team. Now they aren’t working to avoid a loss, they’re constructing a victory.

You don’t have to be a baseball player, or even a baseball fan, to get this kind of momentum. You can create it.

Working out: Every Day or No Way

Two years ago I was having a hard time getting to my three hourly visits to the gym each week. I tried the usual trick of putting it on my calendar. But it required a 90 minute block, which often meant it got shoved aside due to urgent work. Mike Vardy at Productivityist recommended a 30 minute workout five days a week, but making time every day seemed even harder.

A year ago I finally took Mike’s advice and it’s made all the difference. I don’t need to think about whether it’s a workout day, because every workday is a workout day. And I can more easily fit a shorter workout into my day. It’s an hour round trip. And once I’ve gone a couple days in a row… I’d miss it if I didn’t go the next day.

via GIPHY

Among the things I do at the gym is this funny-looking exercise called a kettlebell swing. It’s a little awkward the first few times, but it’s all about momentum. You drive the kettlebell back between your legs. As the pendulum moves forward, you stand and drive your hips forward. When the kettlebell falls backward again, repeat.

Once you have it down, momentum carries you through. If I get stuck, I can start again. It requires a little extra effort, but I know from experience that the motion of the exercise will create the movement on its own.

Consistently starting allows me to see progress, whether it’s another set of kettlebell swings, a new week at the gym, or any project I want to see be successful.

Fundraising: Show the Movement

How many times have we seen a friend share their fundraiser, only to see nearly $0 raised? Be honest: how much does that make you want to donate?

Some people might want to provide that first donation to help, but the majority will not be motivated. This is something professional fundraisers know. They’ll quietly gather donations from insiders before publicly acknowledging progress.

There’s a good chance you’ve never seen an empty “fundraising thermometer” in official materials from a sophisticated non-profit. Wired Impact’s best practices for encouraging donations with social proof specifically makes this point:

It’s nice to create a sense of progress before you launch the fundraising thermometer. An empty fundraising thermometer can hurt you more than it helps you. When it comes to donations, people don’t want to think that they’re the first. They want to see that lots of other people have trusted your nonprofit with their hard-earned dollars.

People want to support forward progress. The same thing that works with someone else’s fundraiser can also help with your own projects.

Blogging: Plan What You Publish

Though my personal blogging has been spotty, I’ve been doing it professionally for more than 10 years now. Many times I’ve been the one who created a publication plan, laid out an editorial calendar, and worked with writers (including myself) to execute.

Every time there is effort needed to start, but consistency creates momentum. It doesn’t take more than two or three weeks of publishing for it to take on a life of its own. Ideas get easier to come up with, posts become easier to write. It’s like the baseball team that gets a couple hits and suddenly feels in the game again.

When I speak at conferences or do trainings on technical content strategy, I always recommend an editorial calendar, but stress that the tool you choose doesn’t matter. What you need is a way to plan your posts in advance, so everyone on the team knows what’s coming.

Importantly, your plan for upcoming content has to look like a real headline, not some placeholder gunk. I think one of the reasons this works so well is that it helps you start at the ending.

It marks out the future as if it’s already happened, which means you can already feel the momentum.

Overwhelm: Overcome it With Action

All of this sounds great to someone with the motivation to start. We all get overwhelmed, which makes it much harder to take advantage of the simple trick of momentum. Alex Theis has a short, impactful episode of his podcast for exactly this situation.

There’s not really a replacement for taking action, but Alex shares some ideas for getting unstuck. Things like making a list of everything you need to do, because knowing the full story is always better. Then choose the things that are most nagging you and do those. Again, you’ll feel the momentum.

Alex tells a story of how he turned overwhelm into one of his most productive days. You can do the same by using momentum positively. As you write the blog posts, go to the gym, or make your ninth inning comeback, look for the ways you can see the momentum.