There’s a form of procrastination that looks incredibly productive.
Researching…
Planning…
Tweaking…
Reworking…
Watching one more YouTube video…
Making another version…
Waiting until things calm down…
Waiting until you feel more confident…
Waiting until you have time.
And before you know it, six months have gone by.
Sometimes six years.
I came across a post this week by Tim Denning that is based on the idea that speed is now one of the most important business skills there is.
Not rushing or hustling yourself into the ground but reducing the time between thinking about something and actually doing it.
And I think he’s right.
Because AI, social media and the way business works now have changed one thing massively:
The people who move first learn (and earn) first.
Meanwhile, a lot of very smart people are still sitting there trying to perfect things that haven’t even been released yet.
I’ve done this myself.
Some of the products and projects that changed things most for me were not the ones I spent months polishing. They were the ones I actually got out into the world.
It’s the same with books.
You don’t learn by endlessly preparing to write a book. You learn by writing one…
Publishing it.
Seeing what resonates.
Then writing the next one faster and better.
The thing is, a lot of projects and business ideas die in draft mode.
Not because people lack talent but because they stay trapped in that ‘getting ready’ phase.
The people who create stuff that succeeds usually have one thing in common:
They start before they feel fully ready.
And they do it decisively, even if it’s imperfect.
That might mean:
- Starting the Substack
- Putting the product up for sale
- Posting the video
- Launching the workshop
- Writing Chapter One
- Building the landing page
- Emailing people about what you do
- Finally talking publicly about the thing you actually care about
Most beginnings are messier than people think. They might happen while someone is tired, grieving, scared, working around family responsibilities or trying to recover from a difficult few years.
That’s why speed matters more than perfection. You don’t need to work 20 hour days. You just need to get going.
And AI changes this even further.
The biggest mistake people make with AI is thinking it exists to replace them.
It doesn’t.
It’s there to make things easier and faster.
You can now:
- Brainstorm ideas in minutes
- Outline a course in an hour
- Generate draft copy fast
- Organise research instantly
- Turn one piece of content into ten
- Get unstuck instead of sitting staring at a blank page
That means the people who execute consistently, even if it’s imperfectly, suddenly have an enormous advantage.
The people building audiences and businesses fastest are often not the most polished.
They’re the people willing to move while everyone else is still debating fonts and strategy.
Three ways to move faster this week
- Shrink the distance between idea and action
If something takes less than an hour to start, start it now. Not next Monday or when things settle down but right now. - Stop treating first versions like final versions
Your first product, post, book, video or funnel is not supposed to be perfect. It’s supposed to exist. - Use AI to remove friction, not avoid thinking
Use it to speed up admin, outlining, research and repetition so your energy goes into ideas, decisions and creativity.
Resources to help with this
Goblin Tools (free)
https://goblin.tools/
Brilliant if you feel overwhelmed or stuck. You type in a task like “create a lead magnet” or “start my newsletter” and it breaks it down into smaller steps instantly. Surprisingly useful when your brain is resisting action.
Claude
https://claude.ai/
Still one of the best AI tools for thinking through ideas, outlining, writing drafts and helping you move from vague idea to actual execution quickly. I use AI most when I’m stuck, tired or overwhelmed, not because I can’t do the work but because speed matters.
Focusmate (free plan)
https://www.focusmate.com/
I’ve mentioned this before but it belongs here. If you struggle to start, this works. You book a session, state what you’re going to do and get on with it. The accountability is simple but powerful.
Notion Templates Gallery
https://www.notion.com/templates
One reason people stall is they think they need to build every system from scratch. You don’t. There are free templates here for content planning, writing workflows, business organisation and habit tracking.
“Show Your Work” by Austin Kleon
https://austinkleon.com/show-your-work/
Not a tool – a mindset shift. The idea is simple: stop hiding until you feel impressive enough to be seen. Share the process, the learning and the work as you build.
This week’s TED Talk
This is one of the best talks I know about why people stay stuck at the beginning of things. Kaufman explains how quickly you can become reasonably competent at something if you stop obsessing over mastery before you’ve even started.
Let me leave you with this:
The people who change their lives rarely feel ready first.
They become ready because they started.
Six months from now, the people who moved will appear to be lucky.
They aren’t.
They just spent less time dying in draft mode.
