Over-Prioritization
In general, I think prioritization is one of the key skills in life (and in product).
However, more recently, I feel like focusing so heavily on prioritization has backfired on me. It feels so important, and is important. But it has to be balanced with an action-oriented mentality. It has to have some guardrails. Otherwise you 1) take forever to come up with the perfect thing to focus on and 2) second guess yourself at every opportunity, which starts the cycle back over.
This has the effect of keeping me in my head, going in circles, at the cost of developing the more important skill of listening to myself. What do I actually want, what am I'm actually curious about? Learning the answers to these questions is developing taste.
This is a version of the more general trap of over-thinking some choice until I find the "right" answer, which is wrong for me. Even if I intellectually think it's the right thing, if I don't feel excited and motivated, then I'm probably not going to do it.
Examples:
- Choosing my next book for its utilitarian value, or because it's on someone else's list, instead of what I feel like in the moment. Trying to read something I don't really want to read kills my reading momentum.
- Making lists of different hobbies I could try instead of just going with what sounds fun. The infinite possibilities of the modern world make it feel unlikely that I've found the best possible activities to spend my time on. But the thing about infinities is that there is no end.
- Endlessly rearranging my to-do list instead of working through it. A form of procrastination that can feel more productive than doing a small task, but never is.