In my previous post I shared what surprised me on our challenge kickoff calls.
Twenty people. Smart. Motivated. Stuck.
Not because of skills or resources — because of psychology.
Today: the fixes I gave them.
1. Identify your saboteurs.
What stopped you last time? Netflix? Perfectionism? Shiny object syndrome?
Write down your top three. When they show up in week four, you’ll recognize them: “Oh, that’s the thing. Not this time.”
You can’t fight an enemy you haven’t named.
2. Announce it publicly.
Post on LinkedIn. Tell a friend. Message your manager.
“I’m building an AI project. I’ll show you in six weeks.”
Now you can’t quietly quit. People are expecting a demo.
Public commitment creates accountability you can’t create alone.
3. Pre-commit to imperfection.
Write this on a sticky note: “Done is better than perfect.”
Put it on your monitor.
Perfectionism is procrastination in disguise. Give yourself permission to build something ugly, messy, and incomplete.
Ship it anyway.
4. Block your time.
Pick a specific time every day. 7am. Lunch. 9pm. Whatever works.
Same time, every day. No negotiating with yourself.
Consistency beats motivation.
5. Create a clean slate.
Unsubscribe from the newsletters giving you FOMO. Pause the other courses you started but never finished.
For the next six weeks (or whatever your commitment is) eliminate distractions.
You can resubscribe later. Right now, focus.
These aren’t complicated. But most people skip them.
Don’t be most people.
Pick one. Do it today.
Build anyway,
Kirill
P.S. If the previous post resonated, you probably recognized yourself in at least one of these fixes. Start there.