The Remove List

Here’s one of my favorite experiments.

Using as few clicks as possible (a click changes the color of a box), can you make the below design symmetrical?

We used to do this experiment in-person during the NYC cohort Tacklebox days, except I’d make the design out of Legos and give everyone a pile of other Legos to add. Nearly everyone would Lego bricks to the four corners to create this design:

But, as you might’ve guessed from the title of the email, the fastest way to create symmetry is to just remove the boxes in the upper left.

I see this happen with our founders constantly — particularly once they’ve got a product live and have a few customers. Something isn’t working, so they must need to add something. New features, new customers, more money in advertising, more funding, new teammates.

This isn't surprising because this is how humans think — our solution to nearly any problem is to add something new to it.

But, in the startup world, the solution is almost always to remove. Remove customers, remove features, remove words from your cold email, remove ideas from your landing page. Removing is the best way to amplify what matters.

I’ve found this to be a helpful productivity approach, too.

Whenever I’m distracted or overwhelmed or dragging my feet on something that makes me uncomfortable, I’ll create what I call the Remove List. It's a list of things I won't spend time on. I put it on a post-it and stick it to my monitor. When you remove the fluff, you're left with what matters. Here's my current list:

REMOVE

• Email between 8 and 8, with a 30-minute break at lunch

• Phone between 8 and 8, with a 30-minute break at lunch

• Checking on any stats (podcast, google analytics, etc.)

• Comfort

Removing these creates space for the important stuff. And, if you’re curious about “comfort,” it's a bit of a constant reminder for me. Growth and movement only happen when you're uncomfortable, and startups are like sharks - they need to move constantly to survive, which means you as an entrepreneur need to be moving and growing constantly, which means you need to be uncomfortable. Transitive property. Sorta. But seeking comfort is seeking stagnation.

If you aren't sure what to put on your Remove List, a simple prompt from James Clear will help:

Which of your current habits is least aligned with the type of person you hope to become? Removing is almost always easier and more effective than adding.