a system can only be improved at its tightest bottleneck

I’ve been thinking a lot about Tiago Forte’s point about bottlenecks – that the only meaningful improvement you can make in any system is at its tightest bottleneck.

Progress at the second tightest bottleneck is unhelpful – you either just add extra stress on the tighter bottleneck ahead, or create capacity that goes unused.

A chain is only as strong as its weakest link. If you’re trying to strengthen a chain, focusing on anything other than the weakest link is unproductive.

So… what are my own bottlenecks?

The first big one is sleep. When I don’t sleep well, everything else suffers.

Why do I not sleep well?

Stress. Stimulants. Fear.

I have to dig into that in much more detail, really understand it, break it down into actionable steps.

Shame is another bottleneck. You can’t learn from your mistakes if you’re ashamed of them.

shame -> fear of responsibility, another bottleneck

My aversion to schedules is another bottleneck, compounded by shame

I feel like the bottleneck for SG’s growth isn’t the govt, it’s the citizens

persuasion ability as a bottleneck

dishonesty as a bottleneck

fear of ostracization as a bottleneck

energy management as a bottleneck – leads to sleep

self-concept as a bottleneck

insensitivity as a bottleneck