Where do I even begin?

When there’s a giant backlog of things grabbing for attention, it can be easy to get swept up in it. Overwhelm, distraction, procrastination, frustration all might creep in.

It’s important to figure out how you are best equipped to get into action. The answer is not the same for everyone, and it took me a while to realize that.

For some people, like myself, it’s best to spend some effort bringing structure. Put a plan in place. Prioritize. Organize. And then it becomes so much easier to execute.

Other people do best when they just jump right in. Action first. And when they get moving, it all falls into place for them.

And still other people, completely insane folks, they have to feel into it. They rely on their perception to guide the way. I joke about the craziness to this approach because it is so foreign to me, but I know some incredibly successful people who navigate the world this way.

As with almost all things, there’s nuance to it. There are different ways operate, and the key is to know what best serves you in these situations.

How can I create a bias toward action?

One of the coolest parts of living full time in San Francisco was all of the incredible conversations and discussions that happened. Visionaries, future thinkers, philosophers and spiritual wisdom seekers. I feel like I was always finding my way into a truly fascinating conversation, and I haven't found that level of depth and frequency anywhere else.

This was also something that was frustrating to me.

It appeared to me, at least in some of my circles, that there was a direct inverse correlation between how visionary a person or company was and their ability to execute and operate. And that's not a knock against anyone or anything thing. The world needs both operators and visionaries. For me personally, I think the ideal balance is somewhere around 80-20 with a bias toward action.

This all has given me a greater appreciation and respect for people who execute at the highest level.

These people, as a default, are action oriented as opposed to discussion oriented. They want to build, create, iterate, improve, optimize, test and prototype. With everything they do.

This ties directly into my previous thought: "How can I think 14 steps ahead?"

Applying this bias toward action means repeatedly taking that first step toward the North Star. With the minimum time necessary to recalibrate, it becomes time again for action.

The way I see this becoming more prevalent for me personally is through:

1. Simplifying the complex into tiny, bite-sized pieces and ruthless executing on them
2. Making more space and time blocking specifically for taking action
3. Creating regular checkins for completion of action items
4. Being aware of when I get pulled into the world of the theoretical, hypothetical and futuristic

This isn't the first time I've thought about these things. I've tried various to-do lists, time blocking, and checkins but never from this perspective. I'm excited to see what structures drop in on my quest to rebalance my own method of operation with a bias toward action.