Summary

The article outlines the four primary obstacles to progress: overthinking, waiting for the perfect time, detractors, and excessive bureaucracy.

Abstract

In the article titled "Top 4 Progress Killers," the author identifies the key pitfalls that hinder personal and project development. Overthinking is cautioned against as it can prevent one from initiating action; instead, the author suggests adopting a bias towards action, such as the "5 second rule" to quickly act on ideas. The second progress killer is the illusion of the perfect moment to start something, which the author debunks, emphasizing that the best time is now, as long as one is able and willing. The third obstacle is the negative influence of detractors, whose uninformed or protective advice should not deter one from pursuing their vision, as exemplified by the story of Frederick W. Smith and the inception of FedEx. Lastly, the author warns against the stifling effects of bureaucracy, advocating for the flexibility and speed that comes with acting alone or in small, agile teams during the early stages of a venture.

Opinions

Overthinking is detrimental to progress and can be mitigated by quickly acting on ideas within a short timeframe, such as five seconds.
There is no perfect time to start a project; the right time is when you are alive, able, and willing.
Detractors often give misguided advice due to lack of understanding or with the intention to protect, but their opinions should not prevent one from pursuing their goals.
Bureaucracy can slow down progress with its red tape and coordination complexities; acting alone

Top 4 Progress Killers

In this article, I will go over the top 4 traps that stall or kill progress. AKA the progress killers.

1. Overthinking

Now don’t get me wrong, having a plan is great. And depending on the scope and scale of the project, you may need some elaborate master-plan, eventually. But particularly in the case of getting started or battling procrastination, overthinking can dissuade you from ever getting started.

A popular technique to combat overthinking is one I’ve seen called the 5 second rule, popularized by Mel Robbins. The 5 second rule basically says that if you have an idea or something you’re interested in trying, you have 5 seconds to physically act on it before you start talking yourself out of it.

So if there’s something you want to try, and the risks aren’t too unreasonable, just start and see what happens! Unless you’re a serial limit pusher or adrenaline junkie, I think this is a good way for most of us to just go for things without hesitation.

2. Waiting for the perfect time

I imagine that you’ve heard this before, but it’s worth repeating. There will never be a perfect time.

The way I see it is this; don’t wait for the ‘perfect time’, instead just try to avoid the disaster scenarios. As long as you’re alive, able, and willing to do it, then it’s the right time. Where there’s a will there’s a way — but don’t push your luck.

“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” -Chinese proverb

3. Detractors

The reality of it is, when we’re thinking about starting something new, most of us look for some sort of advice. We turn to family members, friends, or coworkers for their opinion. But understand that unless they have direct experience or knowledge about what we’re looking to pursue, there’s no guarantee their advice will be any good.

Moreover, the feedback may be outright misguided or uninformed. Don’t let someone saying, “don’t even bother.” Or, “sounds dumb.” stop you from trying. Most of the time they won’t say these things with malicious intent, they might just be trying to protect you. Try to understand their criticisms and concerns. Then just remember that not everyone is going to understand your idea or vision and that’s okay.

This reminds me of a story I heard. While studying at Yale, there was a young man who had an assignment for his economics class. He decided to outline his idea for an overnight delivery service in the computer information age. The idea was a centralized hub for shipping that would maximize for speed instead of efficiency. It was risky, but he thought it could revolutionize the delivery industry.

His professor gave him a C for his idea. He was given high marks for creativity, but was deducted points for ‘not being feasible’.

The man disagreed and decided to pursue his idea in the real world.

After a difficult start, Frederick W. Smith is now worth over $5 billion as a result of creating one of the largest delivery companies in the world, FedEx.

Now, I’m sure there are even more stories about people who just continue to get rejected or where the story doesn’t work out in the end. But you’ll never know if you don’t try.

4. Too much bureaucracy

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” -African proverb

The final progress killer is too much bureaucratic red tape. Too many rules, entities to appease, and hours wasted. It’s always nice to have someone else with you. Someone to bounce ideas off of and learn with. But you can go more quickly and pivot on a whim if you’re alone. With every additional person there’s more complexity, more coordination required, and less flexibility. Especially in the early stages when you’re just testing things out and not overly committed, recognize the value that acting alone has.

Obviously working with others is incredibly valuable too. But the best results come from a combination of the two.

As you might have noticed, there’s a bit of a trend going on here. The majority of these killers can be combated simply by just starting.

Don’t overthink it. Don’t wait for the stars to align. Don’t listen to the haters. And don’t tangled in the web of bureaucracy.

If there are things you want to do, get out there and do it!

Failures are inevitable. Remind yourself that the faster you fail, the faster you can learn.

Just do it.