This week, I had an onboarding call with a new member of my community. Like most of the ADHDers I work with, he was bursting with so many brilliant ideas he couldn’t keep up with all of them.
I explained to him how having creative outputs is the key to closing feedback loops.
“I’ve always wanted to start a YouTube channel” he said. “I just don’t know what to make content about.” It’s all too common for us divergent thinkers to overanalyze and procrastinate. I would know because I dealt with this myself for many years.
“What if I start publishing content about something I will lose interest in?”
“I don’t have the skills and confidence to communicate my message to an audience.”
“My interests are too niche for anyone to care.”
These were just some of the many excuses that prevented me from publishing online for nearly a decade.
I’m going to be real with you. While you are sitting on the sidelines wondering what if, you are depriving others from being transformed by your unique and meaningful ideas.
That is what I wish someone had told me while I was making excuses.
So today I want to share 3 ways you can stop overanalyzing your creative goals and get the ball rolling on achieving them.
Consider the Cost of Inaction
An overlooked consequence of analysis paralysis is the cost of not taking action to achieve your goals.
Rather than asking yourself, “What if I fail?”, have you considered asking, “What if I succeed?”
During my 10 years of procrastination, not once did I ask myself “what if I become a best-selling writer on Substack within 2 years?” I could never have imagined this would be possible, yet I did just that.
Look, I get it. Publishing your knowledge is scary at first. There are a lot of “what ifs”. But the cost of inaction is immeasurable.
So instead of considering what could go wrong if you publish online, start listing what could go right if you do.
Start with minimal friction
The biggest mistake people make with personal knowledge management is they apply too much friction to their outputs and not enough on their inputs. Until you flip this problem on its head, you will be stuck in the endless feedback loop of collecting and organizing intellectual clutter.
In my Zettel Monetizer course, I take my students from zero to launch with a monetized Substack newsletter powered by their notes.
Why Substack? It is the only newsletter platform that allows you to monetize from day 1.
Why a newsletter? It’s the only way you can truly own your audience online and contact them directly in their inbox.
You don’t need to be an expert marketer or web designer. Everything you need to start publishing is already built in, including over 20 million readers actively looking for more newsletters to subscribe to.
Consistency is free startup capital
It costs $0 to start publishing online, yet there is no limit on how much you can earn.
So why doesn’t everyone do it?
It’s simple. Most people don’t have the resilience it takes to endure publishing to an audience of 0. They stay complacent by consuming without creating.
The mistake they are making is costing them their time and energy. Instead of creating value, they become the product.
It’s hard (dare I say, impossible) for those of us with ADHD to manage our time when we are blind to it.
And that’s ok. This isn’t about time management. It’s about treating content creation how most people treat content consumption––by using every chance you get to pursue creative action.
If you have the time to consume, you have time to create.
Noteworthy Insights
You are already doing the work of capturing ideas and making connections with your notes. But your notes are not the end; they are the means to a more meaningful end—published content. Now it’s time to put your notes to work.
As we wrap up for today, here are the key takeaways to keep in mind:
- Embrace Action Over Inaction: Shift your mindset from fearing failure to envisioning success. Every moment spent hesitating is a missed opportunity for growth and impact.
- Minimize Friction: Streamline your creative process by reducing friction to output. Focus on sharing your ideas rather than perfecting them.
- Consistency is Key: Remember that starting is free, and consistency can lead to significant rewards. Treat content creation as an ongoing journey rather than a one-time event.
P.S. When you’re ready to get unstuck and start publishing your ideas, join my synthesizer community in Flow Labs and start building a dynamic life of creative freedom.
Get it here for 50% off