Do You Need More Focus and Direction? Try Creating a list of your 12 Favorite Problems
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This week, I have been absolutely swamped with work. I was assigned a project with a very tight deadline and had to complete about two weeks' worth of work in just four days. As a result, I've found it challenging to find time to write this week.
This drop in consistency has made me reflect on why I am even writing in the first place. When I consider doing any work outside my job, it often feels like if's more effort to write than it is rewarding. Especially, when I'm already exhausted from work, the idea of writing can feel daunting. Especially since I don't have a large audience or many followers, there seems to be little incentive for me to write.
In times like these, which happen quite often as work gets hectic, I find myself returning to my list of 12 favourite problems in hopes of reigniting my motivation to write after a long and tiring week of work.
The technique of keeping a list of 12 favourite problems was created by Richard Feynman, a Nobel Prize-winning physicist. Feynman always kept a list of 12 problems to help him stay focused and to find connections between everyday things and his list of problems.
The idea was to have 12 open-ended problems or questions you want to solve. My own list motivated me to continue because every time I write, I am one step closer to answering 1 of the 12 questions. The question of :
Would it be possible to build a name for me that isn't tied to a company?
I felt inspired by this renewed motivation that I made my questions public here and even wrote an article about it, which you can find here.
Thanks for reading.
Have a great weekend and Happy Easter!
Braden
Updates
New Landing Page Layout
Last weekend I had some free time and thought I spruce up the landing page of my website, so I did a bit of a redesign.
The Library
I have also edited some of my private book notes and made them public on the website. It’s only 4 for now but I will slowly add more books as I get to them.
12 Favourite Problems - This week’s post
With my motivation and energy in a slump this week, referring to my list of 12 open-ended problems motivated me to continue so much so that I wrote an article on it too.
Finding Direction and Motivation with Richard Feynman's 12 Favorite Problems Technique →