We spent 6 months building what we thought users needed before doing proper validation interviews, and it's wild how wrong our assumptions were. Great article!
Solid breakdown of the pre-task cognitive load problem. The part where someone said they avoid the thinking part not the doing really cuts through alot of the usual productivity advice. I deal with a mix of Person B and C depending on the day which is wh y generic todo lists never worked. Framing it as removing the decompostition work entirely feels like the right angle.
Thanks so much for sharing! That's pure task initiation failure. It's one of the most frustrating forms because you have all the information, but your brain won't engage the motor execution systems.
That's what I'm working through in the build process. The hypothesis is that even when you know the first step, there's still cognitive friction in translating that knowledge into action. But you're right to be skeptical. This is why I'm doing validation research and will need real user testing to see if the approach actually works for Option C scenarios like yours.
We spent 6 months building what we thought users needed before doing proper validation interviews, and it's wild how wrong our assumptions were. Great article!
Six months is a hard lesson. I tried to avoid that by talking to people before I started building, but I'm sure I'll still get plenty wrong.
Solid breakdown of the pre-task cognitive load problem. The part where someone said they avoid the thinking part not the doing really cuts through alot of the usual productivity advice. I deal with a mix of Person B and C depending on the day which is wh y generic todo lists never worked. Framing it as removing the decompostition work entirely feels like the right angle.
It’s option C for me. I know I need to get started. I even know what to do. I even want to do it. But just can’t start…
Thanks so much for sharing! That's pure task initiation failure. It's one of the most frustrating forms because you have all the information, but your brain won't engage the motor execution systems.
I also wonder how any AI tool is going to help. I know what to do. I know the first step. I just don’t move forward with that.
That's what I'm working through in the build process. The hypothesis is that even when you know the first step, there's still cognitive friction in translating that knowledge into action. But you're right to be skeptical. This is why I'm doing validation research and will need real user testing to see if the approach actually works for Option C scenarios like yours.
if you need a user to test, you know where I am…
Thank you! That means a lot!