
Hereâs something I ask myself when I feel stuck, lost, or unfocused:
If I was to give a simple answer to why âthis,â whatever it is, isnât working for me - what would that answer be?
Because when I ask myself what the problem is, over and over again, the answer usually involves âa lot of little things.â And look, even though there are many little things involved, theyâre just noise, theyâre not the real problem.
The actual problem is usually because of one thing, and sometimes itâs so obvious that it just hides in plain sight.
Itâs the 80/20 principle restated.
A principle we all know but rarely ever explore beyond the surface. We say, âoh yeah, that sounds about rightâ and never revisit the concept or apply it to what matters.
Time and Happiness - it hits me here the most.
80% of my happiness comes from 20% of my time and energy - sadness is the same.
A few years ago, I had a horrible year full of anger and frustration. I could say it was many things, but really, 80% of my anger and frustration was because I was living with someone I wasnât compatible with, but it doesnât stop there.
80% of the fulfillment I got out of traveling the world was not the delicious food, beautiful sites, or the culture - it was experiencing new things with interesting people.
80% of the enjoyment I get from my hobbies comes from 20% of my activities.
You get the picture.

Itâs usually not âcomplicated,â and the little collections of small things are probably not the main problem or the real solution.
Itâs usually one thing that we need to get right before everything else falls in line.
Finding the one big thing.
We all know how it feels to be in the eye of the tornado. You canât be in something and see the bigger picture. So we need to step out, but analogies aside, how do you do that in practice?
So for me, this is whatâs worked. I started a weekly reflections page. Itâs not the same as a daily journal or a page on gratitude, and look, you could do this every day, but I found that doing it every week helps me more.
I write about:
How I felt that that week.
What work I completed, what work I didnât.
The wins and the losses and what I was prioritizing.
What goals and focuses I have for the following week, and why I have those goals.
I then look at my problems and losses for the week and ask myself that very same question at the top of this email.
If I was to give a simple answer to why this isnât working for me - what would that answer be?
And I find that stepping out of my week, spending time for reflections independent of everything, gives me that escape from the tornado to examine it from the outside.
My issue last week was that I wasnât producing enough content at the quality I wanted.
The answer to that problem, as per last Fridayâs reflection, was, âIâm producing haphazardly. I donât have a singular goal or focus.â
And now that I know, Iâm one step closer to fixing it. Ask yourself this: Whatâs the simple answer to your issue?
Whatâs the 20% thatâs at the core of your issue?
Whatâs the 20% thatâs giving you the most benefit?
đž Premium Content Is Here đ„ł

Finally, hereâs the deal, I send out one of these bad boys every week on Monday, and you seem to like it, which is everything for me.
These emails have become a place where I know that the people who think like me are reading, enjoying, and getting some value.
But these arenât usually meaty topics. Most of my content is on Medium, and even then, I need to write for a broader audience that might not appreciate the art of self-improvement, lessons learned, and productivity.
I canât write in-depth, engaging articles, and expect people to care over there. But directly to you, someone who cares, someone whoâs specifically looking for this type of value - thatâs a perfect fit.
Putting a dollar figure on this value means, at least for me, that everyone whoâs supporting it and me, truly wants to improve.
Every week, in addition to these free posts,
Iâm going to write one Deep Dive.
Deep Dive = Heavy Research + Personal Experiences + Actionable StepsIâm going to share some things I usually wouldnât.
Personal experiences in real-time.Iâm going to add you to my Notion page, where youâll get access to my productivity database and other content that I only want the community in on.
Consistently updated, and a place to hear your comments.
Of course, a lot of the killer resources I find and create will hit your inbox too.
This weekâs member post will be on my Procrastination Strategy - how I use a handful of tactics to tackle procrastination for effective work. Hope to see you around. đ
đ Link Dump
Weâre all over the place today, ladies and gents.
đ„ A concept you should know about if youâre trying to become a solopreneur.
đïž I interviewed my friend, who has ADHD - this is how he gets work done.
đ©âđ» A list of books for anyone looking to learn Node.js.
đ For the writers, some short wisdom from the guy who wrote Doctor Strange.
đ§” A Reddit thread I posted over the week with my Top 45 productivity principles.
I hope youâre enjoying the emails because I genuinely love writing them.
If you found any value in this one and know someone that might get some too, please share it with them.
And if youâre looking to upgrade and get a more in-depth insight into a lot of the concepts I talk about here, definitely consider subscribing.
Iâll add you to the Notion database, where I continually update my productivity insights.
Iâll send you the very first deep dive later this week, and every week after that.
Youâll be the start of our very own community - one thatâs dead serious about improving their lives.
And the đ on top, youâll be supporting me! See you there, amigo. đ
Questions? Hit me up at @sahkilic on everything, or leave a comment!
2 |
Create your profile
Only paying subscribers can comment on this post
Check your email
For your security, we need to re-authenticate you.
Click the link we sent to , or click here to log in.