My Life Was a Mess of Spreadsheets and Checklists
In my last post, I wrote about the external pressures that led me to write “Find Your Niche” on my whiteboard. The search for that niche led me to look at the messy, inefficient systems I had built to manage my own life.
I found three core problems that were causing real friction.
1. The Financial Black Hole
I love to track my recurring expenses. I have a beautiful Google Sheet template I use every month, with formulas and conditional formatting that turn payments green, amber, or red. It’s a fun game, but it requires manual setup every month and only covers predictable bills.
The real problem? My wife Asna and I had no idea where the rest of our money was going. Despite not making extravagant purchases, we were always ending the month with a high credit card balance and no savings. We had a debt-repayment goal but no real plan to achieve it.
2. The Productivity Paradox
I am a big believer in goal-setting. I have a system for breaking down large goals into objectives, milestones, and daily to-dos. It’s the “one brick at a time” strategy in practice. The paradox? I was managing this entire system in a basic Notes app with checklists. It worked, but it was manual, clunky, and required constant copy-pasting. For a systems thinker, my own system was surprisingly inefficient.
3. The Innovator’s Dilemma
Like many people, I have a constant stream of thoughts and ideas. Philosophical musings, project concepts, quick notes—they were scattered everywhere. My biggest problem is a bad memory; if I don’t write an idea down the moment it strikes, it’s gone forever. I had no single, reliable place to capture these valuable, fleeting thoughts.
I was living in a disconnected world of spreadsheets, notes, and forgotten ideas. I realized my niche wasn’t “out there.” It was right here. The problem worth solving was my own life.
Identifying the problems was the first step. The next was realizing that a single, unified solution was possible—if I could overcome my biggest technical limitation. That’s the story for the next post: I Don’t Know Backend. Here’s How I’m Building a Full-Stack App Anyway.
Join the Discussion
I’m documenting my journey to learn in public. Your feedback is a crucial part of that process.
1. What part of this post was most valuable to you?
- (A) The story about financial stress.
- (B) The description of the productivity system problems.
- (C) The idea of finding a project by solving your own issues.
Let me know your answer (A, B, or C) in the comments below!
2. A Question For You:
What’s one “messy” system in your own life (either personal or professional) that you wish you could build an app to fix?
The best way to follow this expedition is by joining my newsletter for insights directly in your inbox.