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Lessons · 2026-07-19

Don't Look for Shortcuts

TL;DR - I shipped a full product redesign in three days - not because I found the perfect step-by-step guide, but because of years of reps. Build, ship, review, improve.

I just did a product redesign in three days. Long days: five hours on Friday after work, twelve on Saturday, twelve on Sunday. The result: an MVP landing page in React and a redesign of a Python Linux app - for our future startup.

When I was younger, I would have looked for a shortcut first. "How to build a landing page step by step like a professional." "The exact process for building an SPA." I would have over-focused on the process instead of doing the work.

What I'd tell my younger self: shut up and work. Do a lot of reps and you will get good at it. Build, ship, review, improve. Don't over-analyze - execute. Journal about it, and a year later, doing that same thing for the fourth time with all the iterated improvements, you'll be better. I promise you.

So don't be hard on yourself when you're doing something for the first time. You will get good at it.

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