I promise you I’m right about this… Whatever you’re working on…. Whatever plans you’ve made…. Whatever you’re hoping to do… You’re overcomplicating it. Probably a lot!

Assumptions are everywhere, and often they are holding you back in ways that you don't even realize. Here is an exercise I engage in to help expose the unconscious assumptions I've made and get clarity so I can make sure I'm producing my best work.

➡️ Examine Your Assumptions

The question is simple, but that doesn't mean it's easy: what assumptions about what you're working on are you bringing to the party?

This question works best when you get out a piece of paper and list them! This isn't a time to censor yourself, do a brain dump and get it all out. You can organize the list you're making later. (or don't bother- most of the time you will find that to be overkill.)

Do you have your list? Dig deep and add 10 more items to it!

➡️ Question Your Assumptions

Tim Ferriss talks about a question he asked himself when he was starting his podcast. "What would this look like if it were easy?" Then he simply went and did that instead of the overwhelming thing he'd built up in his mind about what creating a podcast would involve.

It's a great clarifying question because it forces you to investigate all the assumptions you're bringing to the problem in front of you.

I have never gone through this process and not discovered one (or sometimes many!) assumptions which are false. It is an exercise that never fails to be helpful, so I schedule a timeout to re-examine my assumptions at various points during a project.

Eliminate those assumptions and instantly you will have freed yourself to do your best work!

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QUESTION: What is an assumption that you commonly bring to the table when you begin work on a project?