Nostr Web Client

"Don't tell people what your going to do before you do it"

Like most of you I've heard this saying in some form or another for most of my life. but for some reason recently it dawned on me what it meant.

Don't tell people what you're going to do because you're undermining yourself. In some way, you're skipping the work and getting the social reward.

"Yeah I'm planning on building an app that will do..."

"Oh that's awesome I would totally use that"

"This spring I'm going to make a garden in my backyard"

"Oh awesome, what are you going to grow?"

You haven't done any of the work yet your getting the positive feedback from your peers. So you feel accomplished and then are less likely to actually put the work in.

If I think back to the majority of the projects I didn't finish, they all had one thing in common. And that was I told a lot of people that I was going to build them before I actually built them.

So in conclusion, I guess you could say my New Year's resolution is to stop myself before saying any sentence that includes "I'm planning to" or "I'm going to" and instead just do the work. Then take a victory lap

P. S. This long post is just a way for my to get around my resolution and tell you guys I finally know what kind of app I want noStrudel to be, and it's going to require a ton of changes :)

Reply to this note

Please Login to reply.

Discussion

inpc 11mo ago

I've not heard this framing before, I've often said things out loud, thinking that would help me get my arse into gear but like you say, the social reward dopamine hit has already happened.

I best stfu about the next step... Cheers.

hzrd149 11mo ago

yeah, in some way not telling people about it can provide motivation. thinking of how your going to tell everyone once its done is a nice thought :)

Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

Yes, telling people after it's done is okay. You need to show your work to the world. But before you've actually done it? Maybe not a good idea.

Jay 11mo ago

I'm guilty af of this. I'm hopping on this bandwagon 🫡

Gzuuus 11mo ago

I agree, but I also think it is relative to the person you tell your ideas to, conversations with the right people about what you want to build can bring you clarity and perspective, and sometimes not social reward in all cases

hzrd149 11mo ago

Agreed, you still need to discuss and figure out what you want to aim for. but there is a line somewhere where it crosses more into promises and you start to undermine yourself. still not sure where that line is though 🤔

Laeserin 11mo ago

The line is when you don't sit down and write it on a ticket on your Kanban board and immediately work out the acceptance criteria and plan it into a release.

Things you just "talk about" are vaporware.

Ticket, or it didn't happen.

Cyphernomad 11mo ago

> Ticket, vor it didn't happen

I got killed so many times for that comment 🤣

Gzuuus 11mo ago

I think the line its not fixed, its relative to your attitude

SwBratcher 11mo ago

This is real. You nailed it that you’re cashing in the social reward without the work. There’s another layer that I’ve felt too. It’s easy to start to add those conversations about what you’re going to do as lenses to your view of the project. This burdens it with expectations, disappointments and externally oriented feelings. This is a burden the project likely cannot yet bear. Also, let’s look at what the failure feels like in both scenarios. We can make excuses for the failure with others and they’ll build us up, and say it’s okay, and accept our reasons why we didn’t follow through. They’ll let us off the hook. But conversely, there is no failure more painful than the quiet one we accept within ourselves. Accepting that we lied to ourselves, cut corners, got lazy, and wasted the oxygen we breathed. If we failed while trying our hardest, we know internally not to beat ourselves up. But if we fail ourselves due to weakness or laziness, there is no reprieve from the scorn with which we reprimand ourselves. So, facing this threat of accurate self judgement internally actually keeps us accountable, because we cannot lie to ourselves and we must succeed at all cost. If we decide against doing this project, we’d better have good reason or it’ll haunt us. If we complete the project we then invite our friends and family to the release. This is where I’ve arrived in how I look at it. I don’t tell others what I’m doing. It sucks away my focal energy and muffles my motivation, and with practice I can feel it actively.

ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ᴏꜰ ᴍʟᴇᴋᴜ 11mo ago

i think this is generally correct... there is a similar thing at play when you are in a bad relationship and you "make a decision" in conversation and then feel better and don't do it

but at the same time, sometimes speaking things out loud shows you if and how they are wrong

when it comes to your work though, writing stuff down is good but better to put it into the kanban and docs than on social media

Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

Telling people what you're going to do gives you a dopamine rush and, as a result, makes it less probable for you to accomplish it for real.

You've taken a great decision. Best wishes for you and #noStrudel.

P.S. I like noStrudel for it's a functional #Nostr client. But I think the UI could be made simpler, easier and maybe a little bit more modern-looking?

hzrd149 11mo ago

Thanks, I agree that it could look better but I've never had an eye for design so everything I've built always has that classic "used bootstrap" look where I pick a default framework and throw buttons on the screen

My focus is functionality so that probably wont change, but maybe one day ill find someone who knows design and is willing to help out 😁

Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

I've tried #noStrudel several times, but the UI was a no-no for me. I drove me away every time. Initially I couldn't figure it out which button does what because there was no label or pop-up and the #Nostr jargons were new to me.

But after trying several clients, I saw that #noStrudel has almost everything I wanted and gave me the least issue, except for, of course the UI.

So yeah, keep making #noStrudel better. And I hope you find someone who makes the UI better, too.

hzrd149 11mo ago

someday the UI will be better, but my short term plan is to win users over with features 😁

Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

If it helps, the UI is the first thing that catches the eye. It's a hit or miss for some.

Cyphernomad 11mo ago

It might be the client I use the most on desktop. There are lot of beautiful clients, but they simply don't click with me. Sometimes it's missing features, and sometimes the UI just feels strange.

Muntasim Ul Haque 11mo ago

That's noStrudel's main feature: it works where other clients fall short somewhere. And it could become even better by being a bit user-friendly.

Essencial 11mo ago

However...I love #noStrudel!!! Please keep it running 🙏🏽⚡️💜

li'l miss strange 11mo ago

"Just do they work. Then take a victory lap." 👌

vnprc 11mo ago

If you don't have any skin in the game it's easy to give up. Telling people you will do something is a form of commitment. Now you have to follow through to keep your word and preserve your integrity.

Geo 11mo ago

Soli approach. Thanks for sharing 👍🏻

Gigi 11mo ago

Godspeed! 🧡

Jordan Eskovitz 11mo ago

But wait....you're telling us that you are planning on no longer telling us what you are planning....😏

A worthy goal. Godspeed!

MichaelJ 11mo ago

I've been having similar thoughts. Best wishes for your new year!

aljaz 11mo ago

I get where you are coming from but this can be a double edged sword on many fronts

one is being locked inside a basement and building something without the input of the world tends to produce mixed results at best

the other is maybe your idea inspires someone to actually build it instead of you. I have an endless list of ideas and thoughts but I struggle to find the time to work on them. And for majority of them I just want them to exist, I don't need to be the one to build them. I'd love to, but I dont' NEED to.

and being able to deliver on things you commited to (announced) is also a very strong positive signal

I'm all for monk mode but at the same time I think nostr: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 was a spectacular example of why the contrary might also be good

hzrd149 11mo ago

I couldn't agree more with this. I have nothing to add

Freakoverse 11mo ago

Unless it's triggered by being pissed off at current product x3

But ya, I get that, some people face that issue and don't actually make the thing, but, others do that and it gets them motivated in a sense of "well, I don't want to be a BSer and not follow through what I said I will do". I've seen both.

For me, it doesn't matter which, where my biggest motivation in this regard (passing a potential bump) is either wanting to learn, getting pissed, or being super passionate/excited (best one if all 4 are there).

Five 11mo ago

Did you tell about your plans to people who actually mattered to you in that specific context (eg post on nostr about a new client you will build) or ppl who generally don't care if you follow through(eg your normie friends)?

I wonder if that motivation to complete the project is actually increased once you make a public promise to people you absolutely don't want to let down.

Norm 11mo ago

I think of telling people as more of an accountability thing. I told everyone I was going to run 34 miles in one day. If I didn’t I would have let myself down or talked myself out of it. I told as many people as possible to make it real. Worked out in the end.

Two Sats 11mo ago

Until it’s done, tell none.

Dissident Sound 11mo ago

i just say " i should do such and such "

i don't say " i'm going to do " unless it's not up to me and it's something i am forced to do.