On this month's AMA Substack Live, I shared the 3 questions I run every task through, plus the task system and automation rule that keep me honest about it.
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Real Work vs Busy Work
Last month I spent three hours reorganizing my Notion workspace. New databases. Shifted templates. Tidier folders. I felt good at the end.
I got nothing done.
On this month’s AMA Live, I broke down how I catch myself doing this, and the three questions I run every task through before I call it real work.
The 3 Questions I Ask Every Day
I run every task through three checks:
If this is the only thing I finish today, will I call today a success?
Am I doing this to create a result, or to avoid something harder?
What happens if I skip this today?
Question one filters for output. Writing my newsletter passes every time. I publish two posts a week, Thursday and Sunday, so a finished draft is a win on its own.
Re-organizing Notion fails it. Nobody reads a tidy database. It changes nothing for my readers or my business.
Learning Feels Like Progress. It Isn’t Output
Learning gives you the same lift as finishing a task, minus the finish line.
Watch a tutorial, read an article, take notes.
Your brain logs it as progress anyway.
I personally don’t count learning as a task. I learn on demand. I pick the top three things I need to move forward, learn those, and build.
When I hit the next wall, I go learn again.
Trying to learn ten things before starting is a stall dressed up as preparation.
Where Busy Work Hides
Three spots I catch myself most:
Checking subscriber and follower counts. Fine once in a while. A daily habit, and it’s dead time.
Rebuilding my website. One page update turns into five open tabs and a rewritten FAQ page nobody asked for.
Research with no scope. I set a boundary before I start, or I read for an hour and produce nothing.
3 to 5 Tasks, No More
Every task list starts the night before.
I set the main goal for tomorrow, then break it into 3 to 5 concrete tasks.
Never more than five (at least I try)
I start with the easiest task first. This is because finishing something small early pushes me into the next task, then the one after that.
When I need deep focus, notifications go off and I work straight from the list, sometimes on paper with a checkbox beside each line.
Is AI Automation Busy Work or Real Work?
My rule: if a task repeats daily and eats more than five minutes each time, I look at automating it.
I set a 30 to 45 minute block for the build. If it’s not done in that window, I move to the next task on my list and return later.
There’s no perfect automation.
Something breaks, you fix it, you move on.
The point of automating is freeing up time for the work that matters, not polishing a workflow nobody sees.
Watch the Full AMA
This post covers a slice of the conversation.
The Live goes deeper, including reader questions on when research turns into stalling and how to reset a day that starts with no task list.
I host this AMA on the third Wednesday of every month.
Drop your own busy work trap in the comments.
I read every one.
You’re doing everything. But nothing is moving?
You are doing everything. But nothing is moving.
That is not a motivation problem.
Most solopreneurs are learning from everywhere and getting nowhere. Too much information. No clear system connecting effort to results.
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Thank you Somali-library, Ivan Age, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app.
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