Learning to Think Differently

We’ve always been busy. And most of us wear it like a badge of honor.

But something about the speed of AI has amplified that busyness. It feels different. Everything in the AI world changes by the minute. Leave it for five minutes, and you’re ngmi.

Yet, more than ever, thoughtfulness is at a premium.

How does the saying go? “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” I’m trying to be thoughtful, purposeful, and intentional.

I’m trying to ask the hard questions. I’m trying to develop a different way of thinking. Below are five lessons I’m trying to learn.

1. Start with intention

I begin each day by purposely blocking off time to accomplish the most important work. With so much noise, it’s important to choose your signal.

Here are a few principles I’ve been trying to keep in mind.

  • Urgency does not mean importance.
  • Plan for margin; expect interruptions.
  • Aim for impact, not for visibility.
  • Remember the long-term in the short-term.

2. Question assumptions

With so many decisions coming so quickly, it’s easy to immediately jump into “fix mode” before asking fundamental questions.

Sometimes the right first step is to ask, “Should we be doing this at all?” not “How can I optimize/fix this?”

When facing a decision or body of work, remember:

  • Purpose should drive action.
  • Focus on work you can uniquely advance.
  • Remember people and your impact on them.
  • You cannot avoid “no”; but you can choose it.
  • Optimizing the wrong work is always unproductive.
  • Helping others at the cost of focus hurts people.

Often a simple question exposes my lack of deep thinking:

What assumptions am I failing to examine?

As a perennial optimist, it’s hard to say, “no” and hard to ask, “why?” but both are crucial if I want to have an impact.

3. Turn the problem

I am a verbal processor. Put me alone in a room with a question, and I can talk it out for hours. Often, by talking, I expose new ways to look at a given problem.

I’m learning the importance of examining a problem from multiple angles before starting to devise solutions.

For instance, if we’re looking to make some docs changes, I need to think through that decision from multiple angles.

  • How will existing customers view this change?
  • How will new customers view this change?
  • Is a docs update hiding a product defect?
  • How will different audiences best consume this info?
  • How will we track future updates for the change?

Rudyard Kipling famously wrote:

I kept six honest serving-men

They taught me all I knew

Their names are What and Why and When

And How and Where and Who

Every answer in existence comes by way of one or more of these six questions. Turning a problem around means asking questions and thoughtfully examining the answers.

In short, turning the problem means examining at least:

  • What? is the core ask being addressed?
  • Why? what is our motive?
  • When? is this work important now?
  • How? what method should we choose?
  • Where? where will this be consumed?
  • Who? am I examining all relevant audiences?

4. Pause as a practice

In a fast-paced startup culture, pausing can be a death sentence. Speed feels electric and thinking can destroy momentum.

Even in the busyness of a typical day, almost no decision or work will be meaningfully hurt by five minutes of careful thought.

When slowing down means you picked the right heading, it’s always worth it. Speed in the wrong direction gets you further from your target.

  • Haste makes waste.
  • Excitement can blind you.
  • Busyness isn’t always progress.
  • Taste requires thought.
  • Quality comes from cultivation.

5. Don’t forget the people

Everyone is busy. And the busier I feel, the more thoughtless I am. Thoughtlessness often nurtures selfishness, pride, and ambition at the cost of others.

When I’m shipping at light-speed, it’s easy to forget the people. It’s easy to frustrate co-workers, expect alignment without communication, and see relationships as obstacles.

In the end, it’s about the people. I’m serving, teaching, coding, and more with people—people receiving the majority of my life’s hours.

  • Cultivate empathy until it’s instinct.
  • Look at people in the eyes.
  • Be thankful for others; use your words.
  • Be kind and remember people are not machines.
  • Notice successes; sympathize with loss.
  • Filter criticism through empathy.

When everything in my world keeps telling me to speed up, these thoughts encourage me to move with purpose.