Weekly Wisdom #335 - A deadline made me build better systems

Building Systems, Getting Things Done, Staying on the Bus, Vibe Coding & Books for Work

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I’m in New Zealand right now.

Two and a half weeks. Hiking, exploring, time with my girlfriend.

But the most useful part of this trip happened before I left.

Knowing I’d be away for over two weeks gave me a hard deadline.

I couldn’t keep putting off the systems I’d been meaning to build.

So the week before leaving, I finally did it.

Automated content publishing. Pre-scheduled emails. Task lists organized so I’d know exactly where I left off when I got back. An AI assistant handling routine updates while I’m out.

None of this was new on my to-do list. I’d been meaning to set most of it up for months. But there was always something more urgent.

The trip gave me a reason to actually do it.

David Allen has a line in Getting Things Done: “Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.”

That’s what these systems did. They got things out of my head and into something that runs without me checking on it constantly.

The bonus: these systems aren’t just for vacation. They keep working when I’m back too.

The automated publishing doesn’t stop because I’m at my desk again.

The organized task lists don’t get worse because I’m available.

I accidentally built a better version of my workflow by preparing to leave it behind.

Steven Pressfield talks about Resistance — the force that keeps you from doing important work. For me, building systems was the thing I kept resisting. It felt less urgent than the actual work.

But it turns out it’s the thing that makes the actual work sustainable.

If you’re putting off building systems because you’re too busy doing the work, try this: book a trip. Give yourself a deadline to have things running without you.

You might find, like I did, that the prep was more valuable than the vacation.

What systems have you been putting off?

Have a great week!

Graham

📚 Book Notes: Getting Things Done — David Allen​

This is the book that made me take systems seriously.

Allen’s core idea: get everything out of your head and into a system you trust. Most of the low-grade anxiety people carry around comes from tasks floating in their brain with no clear next step.

Once you externalize all of it, you can actually think.

I’ve changed tools a dozen times. The tool doesn’t matter. The habit of capturing everything and reviewing it weekly does.

📖 Article: Stay on the Bus — James Clear​

Clear writes about the Helsinki Bus Station Theory.

Every creative career starts on the same path as someone else’s. The temptation is to hop off and start over when your work looks like everyone else’s. The people who succeed stay on the bus long enough to find their own route.

I think systems are the same way.

The temptation is to keep switching tools and methods. The people who get results pick one system and stick with it long enough for it to actually work.

From the Blog

📝 How I’m Vibe Coding in 2026 — Part of my pre-trip setup was getting AI tools to handle more of the building process. This is what my solo founder workflow looks like now.

📝 5 Books That Changed How I Think About Work — Getting Things Done and The War of Art both made the list. Systems and Resistance — the two things this trip forced me to deal with.

📣 Quote

“Your mind is for having ideas, not holding them.” — David Allen

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