I don't have time to build my website.
I'm too busy building yours.
I don't have time to build my website.
I'm too busy building yours.
Current blockers
I still have not built my website because:
A CLIENT'S SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE NEEDED UNTANGLING MORE THAN MY HOMEPAGE DID.I NEEDED TO DEFINE THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FIRST.THE MVP I DEFINED WAS STILL TOO BIG.I TREATED IT LIKE A CLIENT PROJECT, WHICH MEANT IT NEEDED A BRIEF, A PROPOSAL, AND A KICK-OFF.I BUILT A CMS BECAUSE USING AN EXISTING ONE FELT LIKE ADMITTING DEFEAT.I WAS DOING COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ON COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT MY COMPETITORS.I GOT INTO A DEBATE WITH MYSELF ABOUT BUILD VS. BUY.I SET KPIS BEFORE I SET A LAUNCH DATE.I DID A SWOT ON HAVING A PERSONAL WEBSITE AND ENDED UP IN THE THREATS QUADRANT.I GOT LEGITIMATELY EXCITED ABOUT A CLIENT'S OKR FRAMEWORK AND FORGOT ABOUT MYSELF.I STARTED A REFACTOR THAT SPIRALED INTO A PLATFORM REDESIGN.I SAT ON THREE ADVISORY PANELS THIS QUARTER.I GAVE TOO MANY OPINIONS IN A WORKSHOP AND BECAME THE DE FACTO LEAD.I WAS BROUGHT IN TO 'JUST REVIEW' SOMETHING AND STAYED FOR SIX WEEKS.I COULDN'T COMMIT TO A NICHE WHILE I WAS STILL EXPLORING ONE.I WAS WAITING UNTIL MY THINKING HAD MATURED ENOUGH TO BE WORTH PUBLISHING.I KEPT SECOND-GUESSING WHETHER TO POSITION AS TECHNICAL OR STRATEGIC.MOST OF MY BEST WORK IS CONFIDENTIAL.I STARTED WRITING A CASE STUDY AND REALIZED IT REVEALED THE CLIENT'S STRATEGY.I WAS GOING TO LAUNCH IT AS A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PLATFORM.I WROTE A 1,500-WORD ARTICLE ABOUT DIGITAL STRATEGY AND PUBLISHED IT NOWHERE.I DEBATED SSR VS. SSG FOR A SITE WITH NO DYNAMIC CONTENT.I WROTE TESTS FOR COMPONENTS I HADN'T BUILT.I GOT INTO EDGE DEPLOYMENT AND FORGOT WHAT I WAS DEPLOYING.I SET UP MONITORING AND ALERTING FOR A SITE THAT HAS NO TRAFFIC.I EVALUATED SIX HEADLESS CMS PLATFORMS AND FOUND LEGITIMATE TRADEOFFS IN ALL OF THEM.I ADDED DARK MODE BEFORE THERE WAS A LIGHT MODE.I TRIED TO WRITE SIMPLY ABOUT COMPLEX WORK AND THE SIMPLE VERSION FELT DISHONEST.I CONVINCED MYSELF THAT PRECISION AND PERSUASION WERE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.I WAS GOING TO HIRE A COPYWRITER AND COULDN'T BRIEF THEM PROPERLY.EVERY WORD CHOICE FELT LIKE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I KNOW THE SOLUTION. KNOWING THE SOLUTION IS NOT THE SAME AS SHIPPING IT.I DID A TIME AUDIT AND FOUND THE HOURS. I DID NOT USE THEM FOR THIS.EVERY FOCUSED BLOCK I PLANNED GOT CONSUMED BY REACTIVE WORK.THE EISENHOWER MATRIX HAD IT IN Q2. IT STAYED IN Q2.THE REFERRAL PIPELINE WAS HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DELAY THE UNCOMFORTABLE WORK.BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS, I RESTED. THE REST WAS NECESSARY. THE SITE WAS NOT BUILT.I GAVE A TALK AND SENT PEOPLE TO MY LINKEDIN. IT WORKED. THE PROBLEM REMAINED.I HAVE A LINKEDIN THAT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY, ALSO BADLY.I DON'T LOVE ANY PHOTO OF MYSELF ENOUGH TO PUT IT ON A PAGE I CONTROL.I DEFINED 'GOOD ENOUGH TO LAUNCH' AND THEN HELD IT TO A HIGHER STANDARD.WITHOUT EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS, I AM MY OWN WORST PROJECT MANAGER.I TOLD MYSELF THE OPPORTUNITY COST WAS LOW. IT PROBABLY WASN'T.I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'D TELL A CLIENT IN THIS SITUATION.I ADVISED ON SEO FOR BUSINESSES THAT RANK ABOVE ME ON MY OWN NAME.I REVIEWED A JUNIOR DEVELOPER'S PERSONAL SITE AND FELT COMPLICATED FEELINGS.I RAN A RETROSPECTIVE ON A FAILED PROJECT. DID NOT RUN ONE ON THE WEBSITE.I DID A PROOF OF CONCEPT. THE CONCEPT WAS PROVEN. THE PROJECT STOPPED THERE.I WAS ALWAYS 'TWO WEEKS OUT' FROM LAUNCHING.THE PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLY IS STILL GOING.I GIVE 100% TO CLIENTS. I GIVE MY WEBSITE THE REMAINDER.I PLANNED THE V2 FEATURES BEFORE V1 EXISTED.I WROTE A PRIVACY POLICY. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE PRIVATE ABOUT YET.I CARE A LOT ABOUT CORE WEB VITALS. THE SITE HAS NO WEB VITALS.I CAN'T IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SHIP SOMETHING I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND.I WILL LAUNCH IT THIS MONTH.IT'S FINE. I'M BUILDING YOURS.
I WAS MID-SPRINT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S ROADMAP.I GOT PULLED INTO A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ATE Q3.THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE BECAME A FULL DISCOVERY PHASE.I WROTE A PROPER TECHNICAL SPEC AND LOST MOMENTUM WRITING IT.A STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT SESSION RAN UNTIL 7PM AND I HAD NOTHING LEFT.I GOT THREE QUOTES FROM MYSELF AND REJECTED ALL OF THEM.I WROTE USER STORIES FOR MY OWN WEBSITE AND FELT ABSURD.I DECIDED TO BUILD. THEN I RECONSIDERED BUYING. THIS WENT ON.I SPENT A WEEK THINKING ABOUT THE CONTENT STRATEGY BEFORE WRITING ONE WORD.I WAS DEEP IN A BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS FOR SOMEONE ELSE.POST-INCIDENT REVIEW TOOK MONDAY. TUESDAY WAS CATCH-UP. WEDNESDAY WAS TOO LATE.A CRITICAL INTEGRATION BROKE IN PRODUCTION AND TOOK FOUR DAYS TO TRACE.A CLIENT NEEDED A TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE AND I WAS THE PERSON.I'M VERY GOOD AT SOLVING OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS, IT TURNS OUT.I COULDN'T WRITE MY ABOUT PAGE WITHOUT A CURRENT JOB TITLE I BELIEVED IN.MY VALUE PROPOSITION WAS CLEAR TO CLIENTS AND UNCLEAR IN WRITING.I DIDN'T WANT THE SITE TO BOX ME IN BEFORE I'D FINISHED EXPANDING.I'M TOO SENIOR FOR 'PORTFOLIO' AND TOO INDEPENDENT FOR 'CORPORATE BIO.'I WAS GOING TO ANONYMIZE EVERYTHING AND THEN IT BECAME MEANINGLESS.MY PORTFOLIO IS A SERIES OF THINGS I BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE IP.MY DRAFTS FOLDER IS A GRAVEYARD OF TIMELY INSIGHTS.I OVERTHOUGHT THE TECH STACK FOR A WEBSITE THAT IS ESSENTIALLY A BROCHURE.I SET UP A STAGING ENVIRONMENT BEFORE WRITING A LINE OF CONTENT.I NORMALIZED A SCHEMA FOR CONTENT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A MARKDOWN FILE.I ADDED AUTHENTICATION TO A PORTFOLIO SITE OUT OF HABIT.I SET UP A DESIGN SYSTEM BEFORE DESIGNING ANYTHING.I BUILT ACCESSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, INTERNATIONALIZABLE UI FOR ENGLISH-ONLY CONTENT.I KEPT ADDING NUANCE UNTIL THE SENTENCE STOPPED BEING READABLE.I REWROTE MY HEADLINE TO BE MORE PRECISE AND IT BECAME LESS COMPELLING.I HAVE A PERSONALITY. IT'S COMPLICATED TO PUT IN A STYLE GUIDE.I WROTE IT MYSELF AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A LINKEDIN HEADLINE HAD A BAD DAY.I HAVE BUILT STRATEGY FRAMEWORKS FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM. I REMAIN UNSTRATEGIZED.I TIME-BOXED IT. THE BOX WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 'TONIGHT' AND 'EVENTUALLY.'MY BEST THINKING HOURS ARE OWNED BY PEOPLE WHO PAY INVOICES.I WAS OPTIMIZING FOR CLIENT RETENTION INSTEAD OF PERSONAL MARKETING.I DEFERRED THE RISK OF NO PIPELINE UNTIL THE PIPELINE LOOKED THIN.I USED THE HOLIDAY TO DECOMPRESS, NOT TO DELIVER.I NETWORKED AT THE CONFERENCE. NO ONE ASKED FOR MY URL. FELT FINE.I HAVE A GITHUB PROFILE THAT TELLS HALF THE STORY, BADLY.I NEEDED A PHOTO. I NEEDED A GOOD PHOTO. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO BE RIGHT.I THOUGHT: WHAT IF THE SITE WAS JUST TEXT? AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR TOO LONG.I AM EXCELLENT AT SCOPING CLIENT PROJECTS. MY OWN IS PERPETUALLY IN DISCOVERY.I TREATED IT AS OPTIONAL AND DISCOVERED IT WAS JUST INVISIBLE UNTIL IT WASN'T.I RECOMMENDED A CONTENT CALENDAR TO THREE CLIENTS THIS QUARTER. MINE IS EMPTY.I GAVE FEEDBACK ON SOMEONE'S PORTFOLIO THAT WAS BETTER THAN MINE.I HELPED A CLIENT ARTICULATE THEIR DIFFERENTIATORS. MINE REMAIN IMPLICIT.I HAD A GREAT IDEA FOR THE SITE ARCHITECTURE AND SKETCHED IT ON A NAPKIN.I BUILT THE SKELETON AND CONVINCED MYSELF I WAS CLOSE.I ACCEPTED A PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLIER THAN PLANNED AND LOST THE WINDOW.I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITMENT. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITTING TO MYSELF.I ADDED GDPR COMPLIANCE TO A SITE WITH NO VISITORS TO TRACK.I WAS GOING TO OPEN-SOURCE THE CODEBASE. STILL WAITING FOR THERE TO BE CODE.I KNOW WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S THE PROBLEM.I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MY CURRENT SITE TO A CLIENT. HENCE: NO SITE.I SAID THAT LAST MONTH.
A CLIENT'S SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE NEEDED UNTANGLING MORE THAN MY HOMEPAGE DID.I NEEDED TO DEFINE THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FIRST.THE MVP I DEFINED WAS STILL TOO BIG.I TREATED IT LIKE A CLIENT PROJECT, WHICH MEANT IT NEEDED A BRIEF, A PROPOSAL, AND A KICK-OFF.I BUILT A CMS BECAUSE USING AN EXISTING ONE FELT LIKE ADMITTING DEFEAT.I WAS DOING COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ON COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT MY COMPETITORS.I GOT INTO A DEBATE WITH MYSELF ABOUT BUILD VS. BUY.I SET KPIS BEFORE I SET A LAUNCH DATE.I DID A SWOT ON HAVING A PERSONAL WEBSITE AND ENDED UP IN THE THREATS QUADRANT.I GOT LEGITIMATELY EXCITED ABOUT A CLIENT'S OKR FRAMEWORK AND FORGOT ABOUT MYSELF.I STARTED A REFACTOR THAT SPIRALED INTO A PLATFORM REDESIGN.I SAT ON THREE ADVISORY PANELS THIS QUARTER.I GAVE TOO MANY OPINIONS IN A WORKSHOP AND BECAME THE DE FACTO LEAD.I WAS BROUGHT IN TO 'JUST REVIEW' SOMETHING AND STAYED FOR SIX WEEKS.I COULDN'T COMMIT TO A NICHE WHILE I WAS STILL EXPLORING ONE.I WAS WAITING UNTIL MY THINKING HAD MATURED ENOUGH TO BE WORTH PUBLISHING.I KEPT SECOND-GUESSING WHETHER TO POSITION AS TECHNICAL OR STRATEGIC.MOST OF MY BEST WORK IS CONFIDENTIAL.I STARTED WRITING A CASE STUDY AND REALIZED IT REVEALED THE CLIENT'S STRATEGY.I WAS GOING TO LAUNCH IT AS A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PLATFORM.I WROTE A 1,500-WORD ARTICLE ABOUT DIGITAL STRATEGY AND PUBLISHED IT NOWHERE.I DEBATED SSR VS. SSG FOR A SITE WITH NO DYNAMIC CONTENT.I WROTE TESTS FOR COMPONENTS I HADN'T BUILT.I GOT INTO EDGE DEPLOYMENT AND FORGOT WHAT I WAS DEPLOYING.I SET UP MONITORING AND ALERTING FOR A SITE THAT HAS NO TRAFFIC.I EVALUATED SIX HEADLESS CMS PLATFORMS AND FOUND LEGITIMATE TRADEOFFS IN ALL OF THEM.I ADDED DARK MODE BEFORE THERE WAS A LIGHT MODE.I TRIED TO WRITE SIMPLY ABOUT COMPLEX WORK AND THE SIMPLE VERSION FELT DISHONEST.I CONVINCED MYSELF THAT PRECISION AND PERSUASION WERE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.I WAS GOING TO HIRE A COPYWRITER AND COULDN'T BRIEF THEM PROPERLY.EVERY WORD CHOICE FELT LIKE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I KNOW THE SOLUTION. KNOWING THE SOLUTION IS NOT THE SAME AS SHIPPING IT.I DID A TIME AUDIT AND FOUND THE HOURS. I DID NOT USE THEM FOR THIS.EVERY FOCUSED BLOCK I PLANNED GOT CONSUMED BY REACTIVE WORK.THE EISENHOWER MATRIX HAD IT IN Q2. IT STAYED IN Q2.THE REFERRAL PIPELINE WAS HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DELAY THE UNCOMFORTABLE WORK.BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS, I RESTED. THE REST WAS NECESSARY. THE SITE WAS NOT BUILT.I GAVE A TALK AND SENT PEOPLE TO MY LINKEDIN. IT WORKED. THE PROBLEM REMAINED.I HAVE A LINKEDIN THAT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY, ALSO BADLY.I DON'T LOVE ANY PHOTO OF MYSELF ENOUGH TO PUT IT ON A PAGE I CONTROL.I DEFINED 'GOOD ENOUGH TO LAUNCH' AND THEN HELD IT TO A HIGHER STANDARD.WITHOUT EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS, I AM MY OWN WORST PROJECT MANAGER.I TOLD MYSELF THE OPPORTUNITY COST WAS LOW. IT PROBABLY WASN'T.I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'D TELL A CLIENT IN THIS SITUATION.I ADVISED ON SEO FOR BUSINESSES THAT RANK ABOVE ME ON MY OWN NAME.I REVIEWED A JUNIOR DEVELOPER'S PERSONAL SITE AND FELT COMPLICATED FEELINGS.I RAN A RETROSPECTIVE ON A FAILED PROJECT. DID NOT RUN ONE ON THE WEBSITE.I DID A PROOF OF CONCEPT. THE CONCEPT WAS PROVEN. THE PROJECT STOPPED THERE.I WAS ALWAYS 'TWO WEEKS OUT' FROM LAUNCHING.THE PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLY IS STILL GOING.I GIVE 100% TO CLIENTS. I GIVE MY WEBSITE THE REMAINDER.I PLANNED THE V2 FEATURES BEFORE V1 EXISTED.I WROTE A PRIVACY POLICY. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE PRIVATE ABOUT YET.I CARE A LOT ABOUT CORE WEB VITALS. THE SITE HAS NO WEB VITALS.I CAN'T IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SHIP SOMETHING I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND.I WILL LAUNCH IT THIS MONTH.IT'S FINE. I'M BUILDING YOURS.
I WAS MID-SPRINT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S ROADMAP.I GOT PULLED INTO A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ATE Q3.THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE BECAME A FULL DISCOVERY PHASE.I WROTE A PROPER TECHNICAL SPEC AND LOST MOMENTUM WRITING IT.A STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT SESSION RAN UNTIL 7PM AND I HAD NOTHING LEFT.I GOT THREE QUOTES FROM MYSELF AND REJECTED ALL OF THEM.I WROTE USER STORIES FOR MY OWN WEBSITE AND FELT ABSURD.I DECIDED TO BUILD. THEN I RECONSIDERED BUYING. THIS WENT ON.I SPENT A WEEK THINKING ABOUT THE CONTENT STRATEGY BEFORE WRITING ONE WORD.I WAS DEEP IN A BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS FOR SOMEONE ELSE.POST-INCIDENT REVIEW TOOK MONDAY. TUESDAY WAS CATCH-UP. WEDNESDAY WAS TOO LATE.A CRITICAL INTEGRATION BROKE IN PRODUCTION AND TOOK FOUR DAYS TO TRACE.A CLIENT NEEDED A TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE AND I WAS THE PERSON.I'M VERY GOOD AT SOLVING OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS, IT TURNS OUT.I COULDN'T WRITE MY ABOUT PAGE WITHOUT A CURRENT JOB TITLE I BELIEVED IN.MY VALUE PROPOSITION WAS CLEAR TO CLIENTS AND UNCLEAR IN WRITING.I DIDN'T WANT THE SITE TO BOX ME IN BEFORE I'D FINISHED EXPANDING.I'M TOO SENIOR FOR 'PORTFOLIO' AND TOO INDEPENDENT FOR 'CORPORATE BIO.'I WAS GOING TO ANONYMIZE EVERYTHING AND THEN IT BECAME MEANINGLESS.MY PORTFOLIO IS A SERIES OF THINGS I BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE IP.MY DRAFTS FOLDER IS A GRAVEYARD OF TIMELY INSIGHTS.I OVERTHOUGHT THE TECH STACK FOR A WEBSITE THAT IS ESSENTIALLY A BROCHURE.I SET UP A STAGING ENVIRONMENT BEFORE WRITING A LINE OF CONTENT.I NORMALIZED A SCHEMA FOR CONTENT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A MARKDOWN FILE.I ADDED AUTHENTICATION TO A PORTFOLIO SITE OUT OF HABIT.I SET UP A DESIGN SYSTEM BEFORE DESIGNING ANYTHING.I BUILT ACCESSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, INTERNATIONALIZABLE UI FOR ENGLISH-ONLY CONTENT.I KEPT ADDING NUANCE UNTIL THE SENTENCE STOPPED BEING READABLE.I REWROTE MY HEADLINE TO BE MORE PRECISE AND IT BECAME LESS COMPELLING.I HAVE A PERSONALITY. IT'S COMPLICATED TO PUT IN A STYLE GUIDE.I WROTE IT MYSELF AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A LINKEDIN HEADLINE HAD A BAD DAY.I HAVE BUILT STRATEGY FRAMEWORKS FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM. I REMAIN UNSTRATEGIZED.I TIME-BOXED IT. THE BOX WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 'TONIGHT' AND 'EVENTUALLY.'MY BEST THINKING HOURS ARE OWNED BY PEOPLE WHO PAY INVOICES.I WAS OPTIMIZING FOR CLIENT RETENTION INSTEAD OF PERSONAL MARKETING.I DEFERRED THE RISK OF NO PIPELINE UNTIL THE PIPELINE LOOKED THIN.I USED THE HOLIDAY TO DECOMPRESS, NOT TO DELIVER.I NETWORKED AT THE CONFERENCE. NO ONE ASKED FOR MY URL. FELT FINE.I HAVE A GITHUB PROFILE THAT TELLS HALF THE STORY, BADLY.I NEEDED A PHOTO. I NEEDED A GOOD PHOTO. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO BE RIGHT.I THOUGHT: WHAT IF THE SITE WAS JUST TEXT? AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR TOO LONG.I AM EXCELLENT AT SCOPING CLIENT PROJECTS. MY OWN IS PERPETUALLY IN DISCOVERY.I TREATED IT AS OPTIONAL AND DISCOVERED IT WAS JUST INVISIBLE UNTIL IT WASN'T.I RECOMMENDED A CONTENT CALENDAR TO THREE CLIENTS THIS QUARTER. MINE IS EMPTY.I GAVE FEEDBACK ON SOMEONE'S PORTFOLIO THAT WAS BETTER THAN MINE.I HELPED A CLIENT ARTICULATE THEIR DIFFERENTIATORS. MINE REMAIN IMPLICIT.I HAD A GREAT IDEA FOR THE SITE ARCHITECTURE AND SKETCHED IT ON A NAPKIN.I BUILT THE SKELETON AND CONVINCED MYSELF I WAS CLOSE.I ACCEPTED A PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLIER THAN PLANNED AND LOST THE WINDOW.I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITMENT. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITTING TO MYSELF.I ADDED GDPR COMPLIANCE TO A SITE WITH NO VISITORS TO TRACK.I WAS GOING TO OPEN-SOURCE THE CODEBASE. STILL WAITING FOR THERE TO BE CODE.I KNOW WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S THE PROBLEM.I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MY CURRENT SITE TO A CLIENT. HENCE: NO SITE.I SAID THAT LAST MONTH.
I OPENED A TICKET FOR IT AND IT'S BEEN IN THE BACKLOG EVER SINCE.THE REQUIREMENTS KEPT CHANGING BECAUSE I KEPT CHANGING THEM.I SCOPED IT PROPERLY AND IMMEDIATELY FOUND IT DAUNTING.THE KICK-OFF MEETING WITH MYSELF WENT LONG.I WAS IN BACK-TO-BACK DISCOVERY WORKSHOPS ALL WEEK.THE CMS IS WELL-ARCHITECTED. IT HAS NO CONTENT.I MAPPED THE USER JOURNEY FOR A SITE I HADN'T DESIGNED YET.THE ROI CALCULATION WAS HARDER THAN EXPECTED FOR A ZERO-BUDGET PROJECT.I KEPT CONFUSING 'STRATEGY' WITH 'PRODUCTIVE DELAY.'I PERFORMED A GAP ANALYSIS ON MY OWN BRAND PRESENCE. THE GAP WAS LARGE.I WAS MAPPING CAPABILITY MATURITY FOR A CLIENT AND FOUND IT HUMBLING.I WAS DEBUGGING SOMETHING I BUILT THREE YEARS AGO FOR A CLIENT WHO STILL USES IT.I WAS ASKED TO REVIEW A STRATEGY DECK AND ACCIDENTALLY REWROTE IT.I WAS FACILITATING A PROCESS I HADN'T AGREED TO FACILITATE.THE ENGAGEMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO END IN MARCH.THE SERVICES PAGE REQUIRED PRICING DECISIONS I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.EVERY DRAFT FELT LIKE IT UNDERSOLD THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT I ACTUALLY DO.I DO BOTH, WHICH IS HARD TO EXPLAIN, WHICH IS WHY I NEED A WEBSITE, WHICH I HAVEN'T BUILT.THE WORK I'M MOST PROUD OF IS THE WORK I'M LEAST ALLOWED TO DESCRIBE.I TRIED TO WRITE ABOUT OUTCOMES WITHOUT MENTIONING THE CONTEXT AND IT MADE NO SENSE.I HAVE FOUR HALF-FINISHED ARTICLES AND ZERO PUBLISHED ONES.I CHOSE NEXT.JS FOR A FIVE-PAGE STATIC SITE AND QUESTIONED MY JUDGMENT.I CONTAINERIZED IT. THERE WAS NOTHING TO CONTAINERIZE.I CHOSE A DATABASE FOR A WEBSITE THAT NEEDS NO DATABASE.MY LIGHTHOUSE SCORE IS PERFECT. THE URL IS LOCALHOST.I WAS GOING TO USE A HEADLESS CMS AND SPENT TWO WEEKS EVALUATING THEM.I WROTE A COMPONENT LIBRARY FOR A PROJECT WITH THREE COMPONENTS.I WAS BLOCKED ON COPY. THE COPY WAS BLOCKED ON CLARITY. THE CLARITY WAS BLOCKED ON TIME.I NEEDED A NARRATIVE THREAD ACROSS 12 YEARS OF VARIED WORK.THE BRAND VOICE GUIDE REQUIRED ME TO HAVE A PERSONALITY.THE BRIEF FOR THE COPYWRITER WAS LONGER THAN THE WEBSITE WOULD BE.I HELP COMPANIES ARTICULATE THEIR VALUE PROPOSITION. MINE REMAINS UNARTICULATED.I HAVE THE SKILLS. I HAVE THE TOOLS. I HAVE THE BACKLOG ITEM. I DON'T HAVE THE SITE.I PROTECTED A FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A CLIENT CALLED AT 1PM.I KEPT TREATING IT AS 'IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT' AND EISENHOWER WAS RIGHT.WORD OF MOUTH WORKS UNTIL IT DOESN'T, WHICH IS WHEN I'LL NEED THE SITE.I NEEDED A WEEK OFF AFTER Q1. THE SITE DIDN'T GET BUILT DURING THE WEEK OFF.I PUBLISHED ON MEDIUM. IT FELT LIKE PROGRESS. IT WAS NOT THE SAME AS A WEBSITE.I HAVE A CV THAT'S ACCURATE BUT NOT COMPELLING.I SCHEDULED A HEADSHOT SESSION. I RESCHEDULED THE HEADSHOT SESSION.I WROTE A SPEC FOR A MINIMAL VERSION AND THE MINIMAL VERSION WAS STILL TOO MUCH WORK.I KEPT FINDING LEGITIMATE REASONS TO DELAY, WHICH IS WORSE THAN FINDING BAD ONES.I AM AWARE OF THE IRONY. THE AWARENESS HAS NOT HELPED.I DELIVERED A DIGITAL STRATEGY WORKSHOP AND WENT HOME TO A SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.I RAN A STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP ON BRAND CLARITY THE WEEK MY DOMAIN EXPIRED.I WROTE A CASE STUDY FOR A CLIENT'S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. NOT MY OWN.THE NAPKIN WAS LOST. I TAKE THIS AS A SIGN.I HAD A WORKING PROTOTYPE WITH PLACEHOLDER CONTENT FOR OVER A YEAR.I ESTIMATED IT WOULD TAKE A WEEKEND. I HAVE HAD MANY WEEKENDS.A RETAINER CLIENT NEEDED MORE HOURS THAN THE CONTRACT SPECIFIED.THE REMAINDER HAS BEEN ZERO.I THOUGHT ABOUT INTERNATIONALIZATION FOR A SITE IN ONE LANGUAGE.I HAD OPINIONS ABOUT THE DEPLOYMENT PIPELINE THAT SLOWED THE DEPLOYMENT.I GOT INTERESTED IN WEB ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS AND THEN FELT BAD ABOUT THE DELAY.I AM HOLDING OUT FOR GOOD AND RUNNING OUT OF RUNWAY.
I KEPT DEPRIORITIZING IT AGAINST CLIENT WORK THAT ACTUALLY HAS AN SLA.I BUILT THE API BEFORE THE FRONTEND AND LOST INTEREST.I WAS WAITING ON SIGN-OFF FROM MYSELF AND KEPT PUSHING THE MEETING.I WAS MID-ENGAGEMENT WITH A CLIENT WHO NEEDED DAILY AVAILABILITY.I DOCUMENTED MY PROCESS SO THOROUGHLY I FORGOT TO EXECUTE IT.I NEEDED TO VALIDATE THE VALUE PROPOSITION BEFORE INVESTING IN THE ASSET.I HAD PERFECTLY RATIONAL REASONS TO KEEP DELAYING AND I USED ALL OF THEM.I COULDN'T DEFINE SUCCESS METRICS FOR A SITE THAT DIDN'T EXIST.I NEEDED TO FINISH THE CLIENT'S DIGITAL STRATEGY BEFORE STARTING MINE.A SYSTEM I MAINTAINED HAD AN INCIDENT ON A FRIDAY NIGHT.I WAS ON CALL AND 'ON CALL' IS THE ENEMY OF PERSONAL PROJECTS.I GOT VOLUNTOLD INTO A STEERING COMMITTEE.I WAS THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT IN A ROOM FULL OF DECISIONS.EVERY CLIENT EMERGENCY FELT MORE URGENT THAN MY OWN HOMEPAGE.MY POSITIONING KEPT EVOLVING FASTER THAN I COULD PUBLISH IT.I NEEDED TO DECIDE WHAT I DON'T DO BEFORE I COULD SAY WHAT I DO.I COULDN'T SUMMARIZE A DECADE OF CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORK INTO A TAGLINE.I NEEDED A CASE STUDY AND THE NDA WAS IN THE WAY.I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE CLIENT. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE SOLUTION.THOUGHT LEADERSHIP REQUIRES THOUGHTS, WHICH REQUIRE UNINTERRUPTED TIME.I WAS GOING TO WRITE ABOUT A TREND RIGHT AS THE TREND PEAKED AND MISSED IT.I SPENT A WEEKEND ON CI/CD FOR A PROJECT THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DEPLOYED.MY INFRASTRUCTURE IS PRODUCTION-GRADE. MY CONTENT IS A PLACEHOLDER.I WROTE A GRAPHQL LAYER FOR THREE FIELDS.I BUILT A CUSTOM ANALYTICS PIPELINE INSTEAD OF PASTING A SCRIPT TAG.THE DESIGN SYSTEM NEEDED TOKENS. THE TOKENS NEEDED DECISIONS I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I REFACTORED THE ARCHITECTURE TWICE BEFORE WRITING THE HOMEPAGE COPY.I KNOW TOO MUCH TO WRITE A SHORT BIO.THE THREAD EXISTS. WRITING IT DOWN IS THE PROBLEM.I STARTED THE COPY AND REALIZED I NEEDED A BRAND VOICE GUIDE.I WROTE A DETAILED BRIEF AND DECIDED TO JUST WRITE IT MYSELF.I'M FINE ADVISING ON OTHER PEOPLE'S DIGITAL PRESENCE. MINE IS ANOTHER MATTER.I IDENTIFIED THE ROOT CAUSE. THE ROOT CAUSE IS I HAVEN'T DONE IT.I BLOCKED THE CALENDAR. SOMETHING ALWAYS GOT SCHEDULED OVER IT.I WORK WELL UNDER DEADLINE. I SET NO DEADLINE.I GOT CLIENTS THROUGH REFERRALS AND USED THAT AS PROOF I DIDN'T NEED A SITE.I KEPT MEANING TO WORK ON MY OWN BUSINESS BETWEEN CLIENT BUSINESSES.I ATTENDED A CONFERENCE TO LEARN THINGS. I DID NOT APPLY THEM TO MY WEBSITE.I PUBLISHED ON SUBSTACK. SAME THING.I HAVE ALL THE RAW MATERIAL AND NO PUBLISHED ARTIFACT.I CONSIDERED NOT USING A PHOTO. THAT FELT LIKE A DIFFERENT KIND OF STATEMENT.I KEPT ADDING SCOPE TO A PROJECT WITH NO CLIENT TO PUSH BACK ON ME.I WAS TOO GOOD AT RISK ASSESSMENT. THE RISKS ALL FELT REAL.I UNDERESTIMATED THE COMPOUNDING COST OF NOT HAVING A DIGITAL PRESENCE.I HAVE TOLD CLIENTS NOT TO DO EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING.I BUILT A GO-TO-MARKET PLAN FOR A SAAS PRODUCT BEFORE BUILDING MY OWN HOMEPAGE.I SENT SOMEONE A FRAMEWORK FOR LAUNCHING THEIR FREELANCE PRACTICE. BOOKMARKED MY OWN ADVICE.I DID A LESSONS LEARNED DOCUMENT. THE LESSON WAS: SHIP SOONER. STILL HERE.THE PLACEHOLDER CONTENT STARTED TO FEEL PERMANENT.I WAS GOING TO DO IT BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS. THE GAP WAS SHORTER THAN EXPECTED.I SAID YES TO EVERYTHING AND THE WEBSITE KEPT SAYING NOTHING.I WAS GOING TO DO A PHASED ROLLOUT. PHASE ONE HAS NOT SHIPPED.I SET UP COOKIE CONSENT FOR ZERO COOKIES.I WENT DEEP ON WEB PERFORMANCE FOR A PAGE THAT NOBODY LOADS.I SET THE BAR WHERE I SET IT FOR CLIENTS AND IT'S A HIGH BAR.I'M AWARE THAT A MEDIOCRE SITE IS BETTER THAN NO SITE. I REMAIN UNPERSUADED.
A CLIENT'S SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE NEEDED UNTANGLING MORE THAN MY HOMEPAGE DID.I KEPT DEPRIORITIZING IT AGAINST CLIENT WORK THAT ACTUALLY HAS AN SLA.THE REQUIREMENTS KEPT CHANGING BECAUSE I KEPT CHANGING THEM.I NEEDED TO DEFINE THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FIRST.I WAS WAITING ON SIGN-OFF FROM MYSELF AND KEPT PUSHING THE MEETING.THE MVP I DEFINED WAS STILL TOO BIG.I TREATED IT LIKE A CLIENT PROJECT, WHICH MEANT IT NEEDED A BRIEF, A PROPOSAL, AND A KICK-OFF.A STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT SESSION RAN UNTIL 7PM AND I HAD NOTHING LEFT.I DOCUMENTED MY PROCESS SO THOROUGHLY I FORGOT TO EXECUTE IT.THE CMS IS WELL-ARCHITECTED. IT HAS NO CONTENT.I GOT THREE QUOTES FROM MYSELF AND REJECTED ALL OF THEM.I WAS DOING COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ON COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT MY COMPETITORS.I WROTE USER STORIES FOR MY OWN WEBSITE AND FELT ABSURD.THE ROI CALCULATION WAS HARDER THAN EXPECTED FOR A ZERO-BUDGET PROJECT.I DECIDED TO BUILD. THEN I RECONSIDERED BUYING. THIS WENT ON.I KEPT CONFUSING 'STRATEGY' WITH 'PRODUCTIVE DELAY.'I DID A SWOT ON HAVING A PERSONAL WEBSITE AND ENDED UP IN THE THREATS QUADRANT.I NEEDED TO FINISH THE CLIENT'S DIGITAL STRATEGY BEFORE STARTING MINE.I GOT LEGITIMATELY EXCITED ABOUT A CLIENT'S OKR FRAMEWORK AND FORGOT ABOUT MYSELF.A SYSTEM I MAINTAINED HAD AN INCIDENT ON A FRIDAY NIGHT.I WAS ON CALL AND 'ON CALL' IS THE ENEMY OF PERSONAL PROJECTS.I WAS DEBUGGING SOMETHING I BUILT THREE YEARS AGO FOR A CLIENT WHO STILL USES IT.I GOT VOLUNTOLD INTO A STEERING COMMITTEE.I SAT ON THREE ADVISORY PANELS THIS QUARTER.A CLIENT NEEDED A TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE AND I WAS THE PERSON.I GAVE TOO MANY OPINIONS IN A WORKSHOP AND BECAME THE DE FACTO LEAD.I'M VERY GOOD AT SOLVING OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS, IT TURNS OUT.I WAS BROUGHT IN TO 'JUST REVIEW' SOMETHING AND STAYED FOR SIX WEEKS.MY POSITIONING KEPT EVOLVING FASTER THAN I COULD PUBLISH IT.THE SERVICES PAGE REQUIRED PRICING DECISIONS I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.MY VALUE PROPOSITION WAS CLEAR TO CLIENTS AND UNCLEAR IN WRITING.EVERY DRAFT FELT LIKE IT UNDERSOLD THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT I ACTUALLY DO.I DIDN'T WANT THE SITE TO BOX ME IN BEFORE I'D FINISHED EXPANDING.I DO BOTH, WHICH IS HARD TO EXPLAIN, WHICH IS WHY I NEED A WEBSITE, WHICH I HAVEN'T BUILT.I NEEDED A CASE STUDY AND THE NDA WAS IN THE WAY.I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE CLIENT. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE SOLUTION.I STARTED WRITING A CASE STUDY AND REALIZED IT REVEALED THE CLIENT'S STRATEGY.I TRIED TO WRITE ABOUT OUTCOMES WITHOUT MENTIONING THE CONTEXT AND IT MADE NO SENSE.THOUGHT LEADERSHIP REQUIRES THOUGHTS, WHICH REQUIRE UNINTERRUPTED TIME.I HAVE FOUR HALF-FINISHED ARTICLES AND ZERO PUBLISHED ONES.MY DRAFTS FOLDER IS A GRAVEYARD OF TIMELY INSIGHTS.I OVERTHOUGHT THE TECH STACK FOR A WEBSITE THAT IS ESSENTIALLY A BROCHURE.I DEBATED SSR VS. SSG FOR A SITE WITH NO DYNAMIC CONTENT.I SET UP A STAGING ENVIRONMENT BEFORE WRITING A LINE OF CONTENT.I WROTE TESTS FOR COMPONENTS I HADN'T BUILT.I GOT INTO EDGE DEPLOYMENT AND FORGOT WHAT I WAS DEPLOYING.I NORMALIZED A SCHEMA FOR CONTENT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A MARKDOWN FILE.I SET UP MONITORING AND ALERTING FOR A SITE THAT HAS NO TRAFFIC.I ADDED AUTHENTICATION TO A PORTFOLIO SITE OUT OF HABIT.I WAS GOING TO USE A HEADLESS CMS AND SPENT TWO WEEKS EVALUATING THEM.I SET UP A DESIGN SYSTEM BEFORE DESIGNING ANYTHING.I WROTE A COMPONENT LIBRARY FOR A PROJECT WITH THREE COMPONENTS.I ADDED DARK MODE BEFORE THERE WAS A LIGHT MODE.I REFACTORED THE ARCHITECTURE TWICE BEFORE WRITING THE HOMEPAGE COPY.I TRIED TO WRITE SIMPLY ABOUT COMPLEX WORK AND THE SIMPLE VERSION FELT DISHONEST.I KNOW TOO MUCH TO WRITE A SHORT BIO.I CONVINCED MYSELF THAT PRECISION AND PERSUASION WERE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.THE THREAD EXISTS. WRITING IT DOWN IS THE PROBLEM.THE BRAND VOICE GUIDE REQUIRED ME TO HAVE A PERSONALITY.I WAS GOING TO HIRE A COPYWRITER AND COULDN'T BRIEF THEM PROPERLY.I WROTE A DETAILED BRIEF AND DECIDED TO JUST WRITE IT MYSELF.EVERY WORD CHOICE FELT LIKE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I HELP COMPANIES ARTICULATE THEIR VALUE PROPOSITION. MINE REMAINS UNARTICULATED.I KNOW THE SOLUTION. KNOWING THE SOLUTION IS NOT THE SAME AS SHIPPING IT.I HAVE THE SKILLS. I HAVE THE TOOLS. I HAVE THE BACKLOG ITEM. I DON'T HAVE THE SITE.I TIME-BOXED IT. THE BOX WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 'TONIGHT' AND 'EVENTUALLY.'I PROTECTED A FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A CLIENT CALLED AT 1PM.MY BEST THINKING HOURS ARE OWNED BY PEOPLE WHO PAY INVOICES.I KEPT TREATING IT AS 'IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT' AND EISENHOWER WAS RIGHT.I WAS OPTIMIZING FOR CLIENT RETENTION INSTEAD OF PERSONAL MARKETING.THE REFERRAL PIPELINE WAS HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DELAY THE UNCOMFORTABLE WORK.I DEFERRED THE RISK OF NO PIPELINE UNTIL THE PIPELINE LOOKED THIN.BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS, I RESTED. THE REST WAS NECESSARY. THE SITE WAS NOT BUILT.I USED THE HOLIDAY TO DECOMPRESS, NOT TO DELIVER.I NETWORKED AT THE CONFERENCE. NO ONE ASKED FOR MY URL. FELT FINE.I PUBLISHED ON MEDIUM. IT FELT LIKE PROGRESS. IT WAS NOT THE SAME AS A WEBSITE.I HAVE A GITHUB PROFILE THAT TELLS HALF THE STORY, BADLY.I HAVE A CV THAT'S ACCURATE BUT NOT COMPELLING.I NEEDED A PHOTO. I NEEDED A GOOD PHOTO. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO BE RIGHT.I CONSIDERED NOT USING A PHOTO. THAT FELT LIKE A DIFFERENT KIND OF STATEMENT.I WROTE A SPEC FOR A MINIMAL VERSION AND THE MINIMAL VERSION WAS STILL TOO MUCH WORK.I KEPT ADDING SCOPE TO A PROJECT WITH NO CLIENT TO PUSH BACK ON ME.I AM EXCELLENT AT SCOPING CLIENT PROJECTS. MY OWN IS PERPETUALLY IN DISCOVERY.I WAS TOO GOOD AT RISK ASSESSMENT. THE RISKS ALL FELT REAL.I TOLD MYSELF THE OPPORTUNITY COST WAS LOW. IT PROBABLY WASN'T.I TREATED IT AS OPTIONAL AND DISCOVERED IT WAS JUST INVISIBLE UNTIL IT WASN'T.I HAVE TOLD CLIENTS NOT TO DO EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING.I RECOMMENDED A CONTENT CALENDAR TO THREE CLIENTS THIS QUARTER. MINE IS EMPTY.I BUILT A GO-TO-MARKET PLAN FOR A SAAS PRODUCT BEFORE BUILDING MY OWN HOMEPAGE.I GAVE FEEDBACK ON SOMEONE'S PORTFOLIO THAT WAS BETTER THAN MINE.I SENT SOMEONE A FRAMEWORK FOR LAUNCHING THEIR FREELANCE PRACTICE. BOOKMARKED MY OWN ADVICE.I HELPED A CLIENT ARTICULATE THEIR DIFFERENTIATORS. MINE REMAIN IMPLICIT.I DID A LESSONS LEARNED DOCUMENT. THE LESSON WAS: SHIP SOONER. STILL HERE.THE NAPKIN WAS LOST. I TAKE THIS AS A SIGN.I DID A PROOF OF CONCEPT. THE CONCEPT WAS PROVEN. THE PROJECT STOPPED THERE.I BUILT THE SKELETON AND CONVINCED MYSELF I WAS CLOSE.I ESTIMATED IT WOULD TAKE A WEEKEND. I HAVE HAD MANY WEEKENDS.I ACCEPTED A PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLIER THAN PLANNED AND LOST THE WINDOW.A RETAINER CLIENT NEEDED MORE HOURS THAN THE CONTRACT SPECIFIED.I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITMENT. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITTING TO MYSELF.THE REMAINDER HAS BEEN ZERO.I PLANNED THE V2 FEATURES BEFORE V1 EXISTED.I ADDED GDPR COMPLIANCE TO A SITE WITH NO VISITORS TO TRACK.I SET UP COOKIE CONSENT FOR ZERO COOKIES.I WAS GOING TO OPEN-SOURCE THE CODEBASE. STILL WAITING FOR THERE TO BE CODE.I WENT DEEP ON WEB PERFORMANCE FOR A PAGE THAT NOBODY LOADS.I GOT INTERESTED IN WEB ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS AND THEN FELT BAD ABOUT THE DELAY.I CAN'T IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SHIP SOMETHING I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND.I'M AWARE THAT A MEDIOCRE SITE IS BETTER THAN NO SITE. I REMAIN UNPERSUADED.I WILL LAUNCH IT THIS MONTH.IT'S FINE. I'M BUILDING YOURS.
I WAS MID-SPRINT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S ROADMAP.I OPENED A TICKET FOR IT AND IT'S BEEN IN THE BACKLOG EVER SINCE.I GOT PULLED INTO A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ATE Q3.I BUILT THE API BEFORE THE FRONTEND AND LOST INTEREST.THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE BECAME A FULL DISCOVERY PHASE.I SCOPED IT PROPERLY AND IMMEDIATELY FOUND IT DAUNTING.I WROTE A PROPER TECHNICAL SPEC AND LOST MOMENTUM WRITING IT.THE KICK-OFF MEETING WITH MYSELF WENT LONG.I WAS MID-ENGAGEMENT WITH A CLIENT WHO NEEDED DAILY AVAILABILITY.I WAS IN BACK-TO-BACK DISCOVERY WORKSHOPS ALL WEEK.I BUILT A CMS BECAUSE USING AN EXISTING ONE FELT LIKE ADMITTING DEFEAT.I NEEDED TO VALIDATE THE VALUE PROPOSITION BEFORE INVESTING IN THE ASSET.I MAPPED THE USER JOURNEY FOR A SITE I HADN'T DESIGNED YET.I HAD PERFECTLY RATIONAL REASONS TO KEEP DELAYING AND I USED ALL OF THEM.I GOT INTO A DEBATE WITH MYSELF ABOUT BUILD VS. BUY.I SET KPIS BEFORE I SET A LAUNCH DATE.I COULDN'T DEFINE SUCCESS METRICS FOR A SITE THAT DIDN'T EXIST.I SPENT A WEEK THINKING ABOUT THE CONTENT STRATEGY BEFORE WRITING ONE WORD.I PERFORMED A GAP ANALYSIS ON MY OWN BRAND PRESENCE. THE GAP WAS LARGE.I WAS DEEP IN A BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS FOR SOMEONE ELSE.I WAS MAPPING CAPABILITY MATURITY FOR A CLIENT AND FOUND IT HUMBLING.POST-INCIDENT REVIEW TOOK MONDAY. TUESDAY WAS CATCH-UP. WEDNESDAY WAS TOO LATE.I STARTED A REFACTOR THAT SPIRALED INTO A PLATFORM REDESIGN.A CRITICAL INTEGRATION BROKE IN PRODUCTION AND TOOK FOUR DAYS TO TRACE.I WAS ASKED TO REVIEW A STRATEGY DECK AND ACCIDENTALLY REWROTE IT.I WAS THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT IN A ROOM FULL OF DECISIONS.I WAS FACILITATING A PROCESS I HADN'T AGREED TO FACILITATE.EVERY CLIENT EMERGENCY FELT MORE URGENT THAN MY OWN HOMEPAGE.THE ENGAGEMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO END IN MARCH.I COULDN'T WRITE MY ABOUT PAGE WITHOUT A CURRENT JOB TITLE I BELIEVED IN.I COULDN'T COMMIT TO A NICHE WHILE I WAS STILL EXPLORING ONE.I NEEDED TO DECIDE WHAT I DON'T DO BEFORE I COULD SAY WHAT I DO.I WAS WAITING UNTIL MY THINKING HAD MATURED ENOUGH TO BE WORTH PUBLISHING.I COULDN'T SUMMARIZE A DECADE OF CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORK INTO A TAGLINE.I KEPT SECOND-GUESSING WHETHER TO POSITION AS TECHNICAL OR STRATEGIC.I'M TOO SENIOR FOR 'PORTFOLIO' AND TOO INDEPENDENT FOR 'CORPORATE BIO.'MOST OF MY BEST WORK IS CONFIDENTIAL.THE WORK I'M MOST PROUD OF IS THE WORK I'M LEAST ALLOWED TO DESCRIBE.I WAS GOING TO ANONYMIZE EVERYTHING AND THEN IT BECAME MEANINGLESS.MY PORTFOLIO IS A SERIES OF THINGS I BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE IP.I WAS GOING TO LAUNCH IT AS A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PLATFORM.I WROTE A 1,500-WORD ARTICLE ABOUT DIGITAL STRATEGY AND PUBLISHED IT NOWHERE.I WAS GOING TO WRITE ABOUT A TREND RIGHT AS THE TREND PEAKED AND MISSED IT.I CHOSE NEXT.JS FOR A FIVE-PAGE STATIC SITE AND QUESTIONED MY JUDGMENT.I SPENT A WEEKEND ON CI/CD FOR A PROJECT THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DEPLOYED.I CONTAINERIZED IT. THERE WAS NOTHING TO CONTAINERIZE.MY INFRASTRUCTURE IS PRODUCTION-GRADE. MY CONTENT IS A PLACEHOLDER.I CHOSE A DATABASE FOR A WEBSITE THAT NEEDS NO DATABASE.I WROTE A GRAPHQL LAYER FOR THREE FIELDS.MY LIGHTHOUSE SCORE IS PERFECT. THE URL IS LOCALHOST.I BUILT A CUSTOM ANALYTICS PIPELINE INSTEAD OF PASTING A SCRIPT TAG.I EVALUATED SIX HEADLESS CMS PLATFORMS AND FOUND LEGITIMATE TRADEOFFS IN ALL OF THEM.THE DESIGN SYSTEM NEEDED TOKENS. THE TOKENS NEEDED DECISIONS I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I BUILT ACCESSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, INTERNATIONALIZABLE UI FOR ENGLISH-ONLY CONTENT.I WAS BLOCKED ON COPY. THE COPY WAS BLOCKED ON CLARITY. THE CLARITY WAS BLOCKED ON TIME.I KEPT ADDING NUANCE UNTIL THE SENTENCE STOPPED BEING READABLE.I REWROTE MY HEADLINE TO BE MORE PRECISE AND IT BECAME LESS COMPELLING.I NEEDED A NARRATIVE THREAD ACROSS 12 YEARS OF VARIED WORK.I STARTED THE COPY AND REALIZED I NEEDED A BRAND VOICE GUIDE.I HAVE A PERSONALITY. IT'S COMPLICATED TO PUT IN A STYLE GUIDE.THE BRIEF FOR THE COPYWRITER WAS LONGER THAN THE WEBSITE WOULD BE.I WROTE IT MYSELF AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A LINKEDIN HEADLINE HAD A BAD DAY.I'M FINE ADVISING ON OTHER PEOPLE'S DIGITAL PRESENCE. MINE IS ANOTHER MATTER.I HAVE BUILT STRATEGY FRAMEWORKS FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM. I REMAIN UNSTRATEGIZED.I IDENTIFIED THE ROOT CAUSE. THE ROOT CAUSE IS I HAVEN'T DONE IT.I DID A TIME AUDIT AND FOUND THE HOURS. I DID NOT USE THEM FOR THIS.I BLOCKED THE CALENDAR. SOMETHING ALWAYS GOT SCHEDULED OVER IT.EVERY FOCUSED BLOCK I PLANNED GOT CONSUMED BY REACTIVE WORK.I WORK WELL UNDER DEADLINE. I SET NO DEADLINE.THE EISENHOWER MATRIX HAD IT IN Q2. IT STAYED IN Q2.I GOT CLIENTS THROUGH REFERRALS AND USED THAT AS PROOF I DIDN'T NEED A SITE.WORD OF MOUTH WORKS UNTIL IT DOESN'T, WHICH IS WHEN I'LL NEED THE SITE.I KEPT MEANING TO WORK ON MY OWN BUSINESS BETWEEN CLIENT BUSINESSES.I NEEDED A WEEK OFF AFTER Q1. THE SITE DIDN'T GET BUILT DURING THE WEEK OFF.I ATTENDED A CONFERENCE TO LEARN THINGS. I DID NOT APPLY THEM TO MY WEBSITE.I GAVE A TALK AND SENT PEOPLE TO MY LINKEDIN. IT WORKED. THE PROBLEM REMAINED.I PUBLISHED ON SUBSTACK. SAME THING.I HAVE A LINKEDIN THAT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY, ALSO BADLY.I HAVE ALL THE RAW MATERIAL AND NO PUBLISHED ARTIFACT.I SCHEDULED A HEADSHOT SESSION. I RESCHEDULED THE HEADSHOT SESSION.I DON'T LOVE ANY PHOTO OF MYSELF ENOUGH TO PUT IT ON A PAGE I CONTROL.I THOUGHT: WHAT IF THE SITE WAS JUST TEXT? AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR TOO LONG.I DEFINED 'GOOD ENOUGH TO LAUNCH' AND THEN HELD IT TO A HIGHER STANDARD.WITHOUT EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS, I AM MY OWN WORST PROJECT MANAGER.I KEPT FINDING LEGITIMATE REASONS TO DELAY, WHICH IS WORSE THAN FINDING BAD ONES.I UNDERESTIMATED THE COMPOUNDING COST OF NOT HAVING A DIGITAL PRESENCE.I AM AWARE OF THE IRONY. THE AWARENESS HAS NOT HELPED.I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'D TELL A CLIENT IN THIS SITUATION.I DELIVERED A DIGITAL STRATEGY WORKSHOP AND WENT HOME TO A SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.I ADVISED ON SEO FOR BUSINESSES THAT RANK ABOVE ME ON MY OWN NAME.I RAN A STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP ON BRAND CLARITY THE WEEK MY DOMAIN EXPIRED.I REVIEWED A JUNIOR DEVELOPER'S PERSONAL SITE AND FELT COMPLICATED FEELINGS.I WROTE A CASE STUDY FOR A CLIENT'S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. NOT MY OWN.I RAN A RETROSPECTIVE ON A FAILED PROJECT. DID NOT RUN ONE ON THE WEBSITE.I HAD A GREAT IDEA FOR THE SITE ARCHITECTURE AND SKETCHED IT ON A NAPKIN.I HAD A WORKING PROTOTYPE WITH PLACEHOLDER CONTENT FOR OVER A YEAR.THE PLACEHOLDER CONTENT STARTED TO FEEL PERMANENT.I WAS ALWAYS 'TWO WEEKS OUT' FROM LAUNCHING.I WAS GOING TO DO IT BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS. THE GAP WAS SHORTER THAN EXPECTED.THE PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLY IS STILL GOING.I SAID YES TO EVERYTHING AND THE WEBSITE KEPT SAYING NOTHING.I GIVE 100% TO CLIENTS. I GIVE MY WEBSITE THE REMAINDER.I WAS GOING TO DO A PHASED ROLLOUT. PHASE ONE HAS NOT SHIPPED.I THOUGHT ABOUT INTERNATIONALIZATION FOR A SITE IN ONE LANGUAGE.I WROTE A PRIVACY POLICY. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE PRIVATE ABOUT YET.I HAD OPINIONS ABOUT THE DEPLOYMENT PIPELINE THAT SLOWED THE DEPLOYMENT.I CARE A LOT ABOUT CORE WEB VITALS. THE SITE HAS NO WEB VITALS.I KNOW WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S THE PROBLEM.I SET THE BAR WHERE I SET IT FOR CLIENTS AND IT'S A HIGH BAR.I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MY CURRENT SITE TO A CLIENT. HENCE: NO SITE.I AM HOLDING OUT FOR GOOD AND RUNNING OUT OF RUNWAY.I SAID THAT LAST MONTH.
A CLIENT'S SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE NEEDED UNTANGLING MORE THAN MY HOMEPAGE DID.I KEPT DEPRIORITIZING IT AGAINST CLIENT WORK THAT ACTUALLY HAS AN SLA.THE REQUIREMENTS KEPT CHANGING BECAUSE I KEPT CHANGING THEM.I NEEDED TO DEFINE THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE FIRST.I WAS WAITING ON SIGN-OFF FROM MYSELF AND KEPT PUSHING THE MEETING.THE MVP I DEFINED WAS STILL TOO BIG.I TREATED IT LIKE A CLIENT PROJECT, WHICH MEANT IT NEEDED A BRIEF, A PROPOSAL, AND A KICK-OFF.A STAKEHOLDER ALIGNMENT SESSION RAN UNTIL 7PM AND I HAD NOTHING LEFT.I DOCUMENTED MY PROCESS SO THOROUGHLY I FORGOT TO EXECUTE IT.THE CMS IS WELL-ARCHITECTED. IT HAS NO CONTENT.I GOT THREE QUOTES FROM MYSELF AND REJECTED ALL OF THEM.I WAS DOING COMPETITIVE ANALYSIS ON COMPANIES THAT ARE NOT MY COMPETITORS.I WROTE USER STORIES FOR MY OWN WEBSITE AND FELT ABSURD.THE ROI CALCULATION WAS HARDER THAN EXPECTED FOR A ZERO-BUDGET PROJECT.I DECIDED TO BUILD. THEN I RECONSIDERED BUYING. THIS WENT ON.I KEPT CONFUSING 'STRATEGY' WITH 'PRODUCTIVE DELAY.'I DID A SWOT ON HAVING A PERSONAL WEBSITE AND ENDED UP IN THE THREATS QUADRANT.I NEEDED TO FINISH THE CLIENT'S DIGITAL STRATEGY BEFORE STARTING MINE.I GOT LEGITIMATELY EXCITED ABOUT A CLIENT'S OKR FRAMEWORK AND FORGOT ABOUT MYSELF.A SYSTEM I MAINTAINED HAD AN INCIDENT ON A FRIDAY NIGHT.I WAS ON CALL AND 'ON CALL' IS THE ENEMY OF PERSONAL PROJECTS.I WAS DEBUGGING SOMETHING I BUILT THREE YEARS AGO FOR A CLIENT WHO STILL USES IT.I GOT VOLUNTOLD INTO A STEERING COMMITTEE.I SAT ON THREE ADVISORY PANELS THIS QUARTER.A CLIENT NEEDED A TECHNICAL DUE DILIGENCE AND I WAS THE PERSON.I GAVE TOO MANY OPINIONS IN A WORKSHOP AND BECAME THE DE FACTO LEAD.I'M VERY GOOD AT SOLVING OTHER PEOPLE'S PROBLEMS, IT TURNS OUT.I WAS BROUGHT IN TO 'JUST REVIEW' SOMETHING AND STAYED FOR SIX WEEKS.MY POSITIONING KEPT EVOLVING FASTER THAN I COULD PUBLISH IT.THE SERVICES PAGE REQUIRED PRICING DECISIONS I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.MY VALUE PROPOSITION WAS CLEAR TO CLIENTS AND UNCLEAR IN WRITING.EVERY DRAFT FELT LIKE IT UNDERSOLD THE COMPLEXITY OF WHAT I ACTUALLY DO.I DIDN'T WANT THE SITE TO BOX ME IN BEFORE I'D FINISHED EXPANDING.I DO BOTH, WHICH IS HARD TO EXPLAIN, WHICH IS WHY I NEED A WEBSITE, WHICH I HAVEN'T BUILT.I NEEDED A CASE STUDY AND THE NDA WAS IN THE WAY.I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE CLIENT. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEM. I CAN'T TALK ABOUT THE SOLUTION.I STARTED WRITING A CASE STUDY AND REALIZED IT REVEALED THE CLIENT'S STRATEGY.I TRIED TO WRITE ABOUT OUTCOMES WITHOUT MENTIONING THE CONTEXT AND IT MADE NO SENSE.THOUGHT LEADERSHIP REQUIRES THOUGHTS, WHICH REQUIRE UNINTERRUPTED TIME.I HAVE FOUR HALF-FINISHED ARTICLES AND ZERO PUBLISHED ONES.MY DRAFTS FOLDER IS A GRAVEYARD OF TIMELY INSIGHTS.I OVERTHOUGHT THE TECH STACK FOR A WEBSITE THAT IS ESSENTIALLY A BROCHURE.I DEBATED SSR VS. SSG FOR A SITE WITH NO DYNAMIC CONTENT.I SET UP A STAGING ENVIRONMENT BEFORE WRITING A LINE OF CONTENT.I WROTE TESTS FOR COMPONENTS I HADN'T BUILT.I GOT INTO EDGE DEPLOYMENT AND FORGOT WHAT I WAS DEPLOYING.I NORMALIZED A SCHEMA FOR CONTENT THAT COULD HAVE BEEN A MARKDOWN FILE.I SET UP MONITORING AND ALERTING FOR A SITE THAT HAS NO TRAFFIC.I ADDED AUTHENTICATION TO A PORTFOLIO SITE OUT OF HABIT.I WAS GOING TO USE A HEADLESS CMS AND SPENT TWO WEEKS EVALUATING THEM.I SET UP A DESIGN SYSTEM BEFORE DESIGNING ANYTHING.I WROTE A COMPONENT LIBRARY FOR A PROJECT WITH THREE COMPONENTS.I ADDED DARK MODE BEFORE THERE WAS A LIGHT MODE.I REFACTORED THE ARCHITECTURE TWICE BEFORE WRITING THE HOMEPAGE COPY.I TRIED TO WRITE SIMPLY ABOUT COMPLEX WORK AND THE SIMPLE VERSION FELT DISHONEST.I KNOW TOO MUCH TO WRITE A SHORT BIO.I CONVINCED MYSELF THAT PRECISION AND PERSUASION WERE MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE.THE THREAD EXISTS. WRITING IT DOWN IS THE PROBLEM.THE BRAND VOICE GUIDE REQUIRED ME TO HAVE A PERSONALITY.I WAS GOING TO HIRE A COPYWRITER AND COULDN'T BRIEF THEM PROPERLY.I WROTE A DETAILED BRIEF AND DECIDED TO JUST WRITE IT MYSELF.EVERY WORD CHOICE FELT LIKE A PUBLIC COMMITMENT I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I HELP COMPANIES ARTICULATE THEIR VALUE PROPOSITION. MINE REMAINS UNARTICULATED.I KNOW THE SOLUTION. KNOWING THE SOLUTION IS NOT THE SAME AS SHIPPING IT.I HAVE THE SKILLS. I HAVE THE TOOLS. I HAVE THE BACKLOG ITEM. I DON'T HAVE THE SITE.I TIME-BOXED IT. THE BOX WAS SOMEWHERE BETWEEN 'TONIGHT' AND 'EVENTUALLY.'I PROTECTED A FRIDAY AFTERNOON. A CLIENT CALLED AT 1PM.MY BEST THINKING HOURS ARE OWNED BY PEOPLE WHO PAY INVOICES.I KEPT TREATING IT AS 'IMPORTANT BUT NOT URGENT' AND EISENHOWER WAS RIGHT.I WAS OPTIMIZING FOR CLIENT RETENTION INSTEAD OF PERSONAL MARKETING.THE REFERRAL PIPELINE WAS HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DELAY THE UNCOMFORTABLE WORK.I DEFERRED THE RISK OF NO PIPELINE UNTIL THE PIPELINE LOOKED THIN.BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS, I RESTED. THE REST WAS NECESSARY. THE SITE WAS NOT BUILT.I USED THE HOLIDAY TO DECOMPRESS, NOT TO DELIVER.I NETWORKED AT THE CONFERENCE. NO ONE ASKED FOR MY URL. FELT FINE.I PUBLISHED ON MEDIUM. IT FELT LIKE PROGRESS. IT WAS NOT THE SAME AS A WEBSITE.I HAVE A GITHUB PROFILE THAT TELLS HALF THE STORY, BADLY.I HAVE A CV THAT'S ACCURATE BUT NOT COMPELLING.I NEEDED A PHOTO. I NEEDED A GOOD PHOTO. I AM STILL WAITING FOR THE LIGHT TO BE RIGHT.I CONSIDERED NOT USING A PHOTO. THAT FELT LIKE A DIFFERENT KIND OF STATEMENT.I WROTE A SPEC FOR A MINIMAL VERSION AND THE MINIMAL VERSION WAS STILL TOO MUCH WORK.I KEPT ADDING SCOPE TO A PROJECT WITH NO CLIENT TO PUSH BACK ON ME.I AM EXCELLENT AT SCOPING CLIENT PROJECTS. MY OWN IS PERPETUALLY IN DISCOVERY.I WAS TOO GOOD AT RISK ASSESSMENT. THE RISKS ALL FELT REAL.I TOLD MYSELF THE OPPORTUNITY COST WAS LOW. IT PROBABLY WASN'T.I TREATED IT AS OPTIONAL AND DISCOVERED IT WAS JUST INVISIBLE UNTIL IT WASN'T.I HAVE TOLD CLIENTS NOT TO DO EXACTLY WHAT I AM DOING.I RECOMMENDED A CONTENT CALENDAR TO THREE CLIENTS THIS QUARTER. MINE IS EMPTY.I BUILT A GO-TO-MARKET PLAN FOR A SAAS PRODUCT BEFORE BUILDING MY OWN HOMEPAGE.I GAVE FEEDBACK ON SOMEONE'S PORTFOLIO THAT WAS BETTER THAN MINE.I SENT SOMEONE A FRAMEWORK FOR LAUNCHING THEIR FREELANCE PRACTICE. BOOKMARKED MY OWN ADVICE.I HELPED A CLIENT ARTICULATE THEIR DIFFERENTIATORS. MINE REMAIN IMPLICIT.I DID A LESSONS LEARNED DOCUMENT. THE LESSON WAS: SHIP SOONER. STILL HERE.THE NAPKIN WAS LOST. I TAKE THIS AS A SIGN.I DID A PROOF OF CONCEPT. THE CONCEPT WAS PROVEN. THE PROJECT STOPPED THERE.I BUILT THE SKELETON AND CONVINCED MYSELF I WAS CLOSE.I ESTIMATED IT WOULD TAKE A WEEKEND. I HAVE HAD MANY WEEKENDS.I ACCEPTED A PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLIER THAN PLANNED AND LOST THE WINDOW.A RETAINER CLIENT NEEDED MORE HOURS THAN THE CONTRACT SPECIFIED.I DON'T HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITMENT. I HAVE A PROBLEM WITH COMMITTING TO MYSELF.THE REMAINDER HAS BEEN ZERO.I PLANNED THE V2 FEATURES BEFORE V1 EXISTED.I ADDED GDPR COMPLIANCE TO A SITE WITH NO VISITORS TO TRACK.I SET UP COOKIE CONSENT FOR ZERO COOKIES.I WAS GOING TO OPEN-SOURCE THE CODEBASE. STILL WAITING FOR THERE TO BE CODE.I WENT DEEP ON WEB PERFORMANCE FOR A PAGE THAT NOBODY LOADS.I GOT INTERESTED IN WEB ACCESSIBILITY STANDARDS AND THEN FELT BAD ABOUT THE DELAY.I CAN'T IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SHIP SOMETHING I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND.I'M AWARE THAT A MEDIOCRE SITE IS BETTER THAN NO SITE. I REMAIN UNPERSUADED.I WILL LAUNCH IT THIS MONTH.IT'S FINE. I'M BUILDING YOURS.
I WAS MID-SPRINT ON SOMEONE ELSE'S ROADMAP.I OPENED A TICKET FOR IT AND IT'S BEEN IN THE BACKLOG EVER SINCE.I GOT PULLED INTO A DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION THAT ATE Q3.I BUILT THE API BEFORE THE FRONTEND AND LOST INTEREST.THE INFORMATION ARCHITECTURE BECAME A FULL DISCOVERY PHASE.I SCOPED IT PROPERLY AND IMMEDIATELY FOUND IT DAUNTING.I WROTE A PROPER TECHNICAL SPEC AND LOST MOMENTUM WRITING IT.THE KICK-OFF MEETING WITH MYSELF WENT LONG.I WAS MID-ENGAGEMENT WITH A CLIENT WHO NEEDED DAILY AVAILABILITY.I WAS IN BACK-TO-BACK DISCOVERY WORKSHOPS ALL WEEK.I BUILT A CMS BECAUSE USING AN EXISTING ONE FELT LIKE ADMITTING DEFEAT.I NEEDED TO VALIDATE THE VALUE PROPOSITION BEFORE INVESTING IN THE ASSET.I MAPPED THE USER JOURNEY FOR A SITE I HADN'T DESIGNED YET.I HAD PERFECTLY RATIONAL REASONS TO KEEP DELAYING AND I USED ALL OF THEM.I GOT INTO A DEBATE WITH MYSELF ABOUT BUILD VS. BUY.I SET KPIS BEFORE I SET A LAUNCH DATE.I COULDN'T DEFINE SUCCESS METRICS FOR A SITE THAT DIDN'T EXIST.I SPENT A WEEK THINKING ABOUT THE CONTENT STRATEGY BEFORE WRITING ONE WORD.I PERFORMED A GAP ANALYSIS ON MY OWN BRAND PRESENCE. THE GAP WAS LARGE.I WAS DEEP IN A BUSINESS MODEL CANVAS FOR SOMEONE ELSE.I WAS MAPPING CAPABILITY MATURITY FOR A CLIENT AND FOUND IT HUMBLING.POST-INCIDENT REVIEW TOOK MONDAY. TUESDAY WAS CATCH-UP. WEDNESDAY WAS TOO LATE.I STARTED A REFACTOR THAT SPIRALED INTO A PLATFORM REDESIGN.A CRITICAL INTEGRATION BROKE IN PRODUCTION AND TOOK FOUR DAYS TO TRACE.I WAS ASKED TO REVIEW A STRATEGY DECK AND ACCIDENTALLY REWROTE IT.I WAS THE SUBJECT MATTER EXPERT IN A ROOM FULL OF DECISIONS.I WAS FACILITATING A PROCESS I HADN'T AGREED TO FACILITATE.EVERY CLIENT EMERGENCY FELT MORE URGENT THAN MY OWN HOMEPAGE.THE ENGAGEMENT WAS SUPPOSED TO END IN MARCH.I COULDN'T WRITE MY ABOUT PAGE WITHOUT A CURRENT JOB TITLE I BELIEVED IN.I COULDN'T COMMIT TO A NICHE WHILE I WAS STILL EXPLORING ONE.I NEEDED TO DECIDE WHAT I DON'T DO BEFORE I COULD SAY WHAT I DO.I WAS WAITING UNTIL MY THINKING HAD MATURED ENOUGH TO BE WORTH PUBLISHING.I COULDN'T SUMMARIZE A DECADE OF CROSS-FUNCTIONAL WORK INTO A TAGLINE.I KEPT SECOND-GUESSING WHETHER TO POSITION AS TECHNICAL OR STRATEGIC.I'M TOO SENIOR FOR 'PORTFOLIO' AND TOO INDEPENDENT FOR 'CORPORATE BIO.'MOST OF MY BEST WORK IS CONFIDENTIAL.THE WORK I'M MOST PROUD OF IS THE WORK I'M LEAST ALLOWED TO DESCRIBE.I WAS GOING TO ANONYMIZE EVERYTHING AND THEN IT BECAME MEANINGLESS.MY PORTFOLIO IS A SERIES OF THINGS I BUILT FOR PEOPLE WHO OWN THE IP.I WAS GOING TO LAUNCH IT AS A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PLATFORM.I WROTE A 1,500-WORD ARTICLE ABOUT DIGITAL STRATEGY AND PUBLISHED IT NOWHERE.I WAS GOING TO WRITE ABOUT A TREND RIGHT AS THE TREND PEAKED AND MISSED IT.I CHOSE NEXT.JS FOR A FIVE-PAGE STATIC SITE AND QUESTIONED MY JUDGMENT.I SPENT A WEEKEND ON CI/CD FOR A PROJECT THAT HAD NEVER BEEN DEPLOYED.I CONTAINERIZED IT. THERE WAS NOTHING TO CONTAINERIZE.MY INFRASTRUCTURE IS PRODUCTION-GRADE. MY CONTENT IS A PLACEHOLDER.I CHOSE A DATABASE FOR A WEBSITE THAT NEEDS NO DATABASE.I WROTE A GRAPHQL LAYER FOR THREE FIELDS.MY LIGHTHOUSE SCORE IS PERFECT. THE URL IS LOCALHOST.I BUILT A CUSTOM ANALYTICS PIPELINE INSTEAD OF PASTING A SCRIPT TAG.I EVALUATED SIX HEADLESS CMS PLATFORMS AND FOUND LEGITIMATE TRADEOFFS IN ALL OF THEM.THE DESIGN SYSTEM NEEDED TOKENS. THE TOKENS NEEDED DECISIONS I WASN'T READY TO MAKE.I BUILT ACCESSIBLE, RESPONSIVE, INTERNATIONALIZABLE UI FOR ENGLISH-ONLY CONTENT.I WAS BLOCKED ON COPY. THE COPY WAS BLOCKED ON CLARITY. THE CLARITY WAS BLOCKED ON TIME.I KEPT ADDING NUANCE UNTIL THE SENTENCE STOPPED BEING READABLE.I REWROTE MY HEADLINE TO BE MORE PRECISE AND IT BECAME LESS COMPELLING.I NEEDED A NARRATIVE THREAD ACROSS 12 YEARS OF VARIED WORK.I STARTED THE COPY AND REALIZED I NEEDED A BRAND VOICE GUIDE.I HAVE A PERSONALITY. IT'S COMPLICATED TO PUT IN A STYLE GUIDE.THE BRIEF FOR THE COPYWRITER WAS LONGER THAN THE WEBSITE WOULD BE.I WROTE IT MYSELF AND IT SOUNDED LIKE A LINKEDIN HEADLINE HAD A BAD DAY.I'M FINE ADVISING ON OTHER PEOPLE'S DIGITAL PRESENCE. MINE IS ANOTHER MATTER.I HAVE BUILT STRATEGY FRAMEWORKS FOR THIS EXACT PROBLEM. I REMAIN UNSTRATEGIZED.I IDENTIFIED THE ROOT CAUSE. THE ROOT CAUSE IS I HAVEN'T DONE IT.I DID A TIME AUDIT AND FOUND THE HOURS. I DID NOT USE THEM FOR THIS.I BLOCKED THE CALENDAR. SOMETHING ALWAYS GOT SCHEDULED OVER IT.EVERY FOCUSED BLOCK I PLANNED GOT CONSUMED BY REACTIVE WORK.I WORK WELL UNDER DEADLINE. I SET NO DEADLINE.THE EISENHOWER MATRIX HAD IT IN Q2. IT STAYED IN Q2.I GOT CLIENTS THROUGH REFERRALS AND USED THAT AS PROOF I DIDN'T NEED A SITE.WORD OF MOUTH WORKS UNTIL IT DOESN'T, WHICH IS WHEN I'LL NEED THE SITE.I KEPT MEANING TO WORK ON MY OWN BUSINESS BETWEEN CLIENT BUSINESSES.I NEEDED A WEEK OFF AFTER Q1. THE SITE DIDN'T GET BUILT DURING THE WEEK OFF.I ATTENDED A CONFERENCE TO LEARN THINGS. I DID NOT APPLY THEM TO MY WEBSITE.I GAVE A TALK AND SENT PEOPLE TO MY LINKEDIN. IT WORKED. THE PROBLEM REMAINED.I PUBLISHED ON SUBSTACK. SAME THING.I HAVE A LINKEDIN THAT TELLS A DIFFERENT STORY, ALSO BADLY.I HAVE ALL THE RAW MATERIAL AND NO PUBLISHED ARTIFACT.I SCHEDULED A HEADSHOT SESSION. I RESCHEDULED THE HEADSHOT SESSION.I DON'T LOVE ANY PHOTO OF MYSELF ENOUGH TO PUT IT ON A PAGE I CONTROL.I THOUGHT: WHAT IF THE SITE WAS JUST TEXT? AND THEN I THOUGHT ABOUT IT FOR TOO LONG.I DEFINED 'GOOD ENOUGH TO LAUNCH' AND THEN HELD IT TO A HIGHER STANDARD.WITHOUT EXTERNAL CONSTRAINTS, I AM MY OWN WORST PROJECT MANAGER.I KEPT FINDING LEGITIMATE REASONS TO DELAY, WHICH IS WORSE THAN FINDING BAD ONES.I UNDERESTIMATED THE COMPOUNDING COST OF NOT HAVING A DIGITAL PRESENCE.I AM AWARE OF THE IRONY. THE AWARENESS HAS NOT HELPED.I KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I'D TELL A CLIENT IN THIS SITUATION.I DELIVERED A DIGITAL STRATEGY WORKSHOP AND WENT HOME TO A SITE UNDER CONSTRUCTION.I ADVISED ON SEO FOR BUSINESSES THAT RANK ABOVE ME ON MY OWN NAME.I RAN A STAKEHOLDER WORKSHOP ON BRAND CLARITY THE WEEK MY DOMAIN EXPIRED.I REVIEWED A JUNIOR DEVELOPER'S PERSONAL SITE AND FELT COMPLICATED FEELINGS.I WROTE A CASE STUDY FOR A CLIENT'S THOUGHT LEADERSHIP PROGRAM. NOT MY OWN.I RAN A RETROSPECTIVE ON A FAILED PROJECT. DID NOT RUN ONE ON THE WEBSITE.I HAD A GREAT IDEA FOR THE SITE ARCHITECTURE AND SKETCHED IT ON A NAPKIN.I HAD A WORKING PROTOTYPE WITH PLACEHOLDER CONTENT FOR OVER A YEAR.THE PLACEHOLDER CONTENT STARTED TO FEEL PERMANENT.I WAS ALWAYS 'TWO WEEKS OUT' FROM LAUNCHING.I WAS GOING TO DO IT BETWEEN ENGAGEMENTS. THE GAP WAS SHORTER THAN EXPECTED.THE PROJECT THAT STARTED EARLY IS STILL GOING.I SAID YES TO EVERYTHING AND THE WEBSITE KEPT SAYING NOTHING.I GIVE 100% TO CLIENTS. I GIVE MY WEBSITE THE REMAINDER.I WAS GOING TO DO A PHASED ROLLOUT. PHASE ONE HAS NOT SHIPPED.I THOUGHT ABOUT INTERNATIONALIZATION FOR A SITE IN ONE LANGUAGE.I WROTE A PRIVACY POLICY. THERE IS NOTHING TO BE PRIVATE ABOUT YET.I HAD OPINIONS ABOUT THE DEPLOYMENT PIPELINE THAT SLOWED THE DEPLOYMENT.I CARE A LOT ABOUT CORE WEB VITALS. THE SITE HAS NO WEB VITALS.I KNOW WHAT GOOD LOOKS LIKE. THAT'S THE PROBLEM.I SET THE BAR WHERE I SET IT FOR CLIENTS AND IT'S A HIGH BAR.I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND MY CURRENT SITE TO A CLIENT. HENCE: NO SITE.I AM HOLDING OUT FOR GOOD AND RUNNING OUT OF RUNWAY.I SAID THAT LAST MONTH.
Exhibit A
Things I did manage to ship:
Products
- LENPR & communications agency
- ScriptieAI newsroom for journalists
- Sopravvivenza FuorisedeStartup for students living away from home · retired
- heuremaComing soonInvite-only, European-sovereign network
Built under my company, Sopravvivenza Fuorisede S.r.l., which is also where the paperwork lives.
Open source
- ConsentLayerConsent-first analytics
- persistent-stateTyped, consent-aware storage
- OS1Coming soonAgent harness · an AI software house · as in Her
- SamanthaComing soonPersonal AI assistant · as in Her
- veditorComing soonVideo editing driven by Claude Code
More on the way: I'm cleaning up the internal tools I use every day so they can be published as open source.
Plus a pile of websites, because that's what the market pays for:
- Alberto Canci
- All-Star Festival
- BeforePlaces
- Corrente Alternativa
- Pocula
- Progetto Mantide
- Sedit Italia
- Studio Dovigo
- Tipicità Avianesi
- Tra Storia e Musica
And plenty more I'm not allowed to talk about. The NDA was in the way.
Exhibit B
Things I do inside companies:
Strategy
- Digital strategyWhat to digitise, in what order, and what it's worth
- Business planningPlans, financial models and pricing that survive contact with a bank
- Go-to-marketPositioning, channels and launch for a new product or service
Operations
- Process optimisationFinding where the hours go, and getting them back
- DigitalisationMoving paper, spreadsheets and habits onto systems that hold up
- Automation & AI adoptionHanding the repetitive work to machines, and teaching teams to use them
- Software selectionPicking the CRM, ERP or tool, and not getting sold to
Analysis
- Business analysisTurning what people ask for into what should be built
- Requirements & specsSpecs and backlogs a developer can actually build from
- Data & KPIsDefining the numbers that matter, and dashboards people read
- Process auditsMapping how things really work, not how the org chart says
Management
- Company managementStrategy, numbers and the day-to-day, not just the code
- Project managementOwning the rollout from kickoff to the day it's boring
- Change managementGetting people to actually use the new thing
- Interim / fractional rolesStepping in as COO, CTO or digital lead for a while
I also run my own company, Sopravvivenza Fuorisede S.r.l.: strategy, numbers, paperwork, all of it. Client names stay under NDA; the problems were real.
Some facts
Nicolò Padovan
23 years old
Software Engineer
Digital Business Strategy & Management Consultant
Business Analyst
I work with a team of professionals across marketing, design, and development when the work needs more than one calendar.
If your website is more urgent than mine, write me.
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