Around an year ago, I spent a few weeks setting up the “perfect” workout tracking system. Custom spreadsheets, progress graphs, integration with my calendar, and so on. I was proud of this beast of a system. But you know what I didn’t do all those weeks, and several following ones? Actually work out.

Sounds familiar?

We’ve all been there - caught in the trap of over-engineering solutions to problems that could be solved with a simple notebook and pen. We’ve become so good at planning, organizing, and systemizing that we’ve forgotten to just…do things.

When I first started blogging, I created an elaborate system of categories, tags, cross-references and what not. It was a mess. A few years ago I simplified it a lot and reduced it down to just 4 categories and a few dozen tags. But still, it always gave me a pause when I started writing. How should I categorize a post about 3dprinting. Should it be under 3dprinting or tools or both, or maybe a bunch of other things. I started this new year 2025 with nuking all categories and tags from my blog. 269 blog posts updated, poof!

Removing Categories and Tags From My Blog

This pattern shows up everywhere in our lives. We create elaborate note-taking systems with multiple apps, tons of tags, neatly created hierarchies to cover every possible scenario - and then spend more time maintaining the system than actually writing and using our notes. I wrote about it recently how PKMs have become more management than knowledge and how I was trying to take it back to the original goal. The result? More notes taken, less tasks spilled over, more notes that I actually read back. I also posted recently on X/Twitter about how I like to keep my task management super simple.

https://x.com/shantanugoel/status/1874000151590953030

The truth is, we often use complexity as a shield against the scary part: actually doing the thing. Writing that first word. Making that first sale. Lifting that first weight.

Want to start a blog? Open a text editor, write and put it on github or just the root of the webserver. Want to get fit? Put on those shoes and walk around the block. Want to learn programming? Pick a language (any language, don’t spend weeks researching the “best one”) and write “hello world”, read a few basics and try to make any tiny thing that works.

The beauty of simplification, however, isn’t just in getting started. The neat part it unlocks is sustainability. Simple systems require less maintenance, less decision-making, and less emotional energy. They’re more resilient as well because there are lesser moving parts.

But what about scaling? one might ask, or what about optimization? Here’s the secret: We can always add complexity later on. We’d even be in a better position to pick and choose what parts and how to optimize. Even if things go south, we’d have things that we’ve done to show for and be proud of. The only permission slip we need is the realization that we don’t need to be a perfectionist. We don’t need the perfect system, don’t need all the right tools, don’t need that 5/10/20 year plan figured out. We can just start.

So, once again, here’s the truth that liberates us:

You Can Just Do Things - If You Simplify