Just Start Any Way You Want To

There is one thing infinitely more important than ability, skill, talent, intellect, domain knowledge, or prior experience. That thing is just starting.

There are a lot of resources out there about how one should start, according to the author of the resource. Lean, MVP, 200 words a day, 750 words a day, any of a dozen research methodologies, any of dozens of planning methodologies, risk analyses. After a perfect morning routine, during a time block, during a Pomodoro, in a writing tool with backlinks, as a pitch.

None of those things matter. The only thing that matters is to actually start.

I should define what exactly I mean by _just starting_. I mean activity that produces any tangible outcome. That definition does rule out certain things. Just thinking about a thing. Letting a thing simmer in your mental crockpot. That definition does allow nearly infinite possibilities in regards to activity, however.

  • Write a business plan
  • Write a description of what the thing will look like
  • Write 200 words
  • Write 750 words
  • Write a tweet
  • Write a blog post
  • Write a list of every piece of prior art you can find
  • Design wireframes
  • Design a webpage
  • Design a flyer
  • Draw on paper
  • Create an ad
  • Create design guidelines
  • Create a mindmap
  • Create a flowchart
  • Create a collection of reference materials
  • Start writing a webpage
  • Code a single function
  • Write pseudocode
  • Do a competitive analysis
  • Do a risk analysis
  • Plan a group brainstorming session
  • String together some no-code tools
  • (I would love to fill this list out some more, give me your ideas)

The important part is to having something to show for your efforts, something you can return to, something you can show other people, something you can look at while you think, something you can point to while you talk. Some kind of snowball you can attempt to send down the hill.
Abraham Kim
I forget how helpful this reminder is because I live like I've got this important fact figured out.

When reading your post I realized that there were many things on the list that I had wanted to start on for awhile but had just been letting simmer ad-infinitum in my head. 

you made me realize that I only know how to start well within my specific domains, but I rotate just 15 degrees and I'm back to not knowing how to start again.
2021-02-18 14:30:56