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Read Time: 6 minutes<\/em><\/p>\n
Hello<\/p>\n Welcome to Chapter Four of SQUAD<\/a>. New recruits (and old alike) can access the SQUAD Locker<\/a> to read old Chapters or T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a>\u00a0to download 365<\/a> open files. The Locker<\/a>\u00a0&\u00a0T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a>\u00a0are classified and exclusive to squadron only. (Password: topgun)<\/p>\n Today\u2019s Chapter almost never happened. It was Canada Day on Friday. I spent the long weekend out of it\u2013not in my usual element.<\/p>\n Every time I\u2019d stand at my desk to write, I\u2019d wonder away\u2013watching Youtube videos or found myself going down rabbit holes. This is so much fun<\/a><\/p>\n Couldn\u2019t get focused for fifteen-fucking-seconds. Argh!<\/p>\n I tried to shake it off, to only come back to lip-lock frustration. I wanted to get stuff done this weekend, and regardless the excitement, three days and two nights later, nothing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nooooooooooooooo.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n Resistance had me cornered. What the fuck am I going to write? I laid down beside my desk, with feet up on the chair, feeling anxious and sense of total failure. In the emptiness, a moment of temporary defeat, here\u2019s what I realised.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s so easy to just not do it<\/strong><\/em>\u2013to not write this weekly email, to not go to the gym, to not stick to a diet, to not show up, to not make an effort, to not talk to the pretty girl at the coffee shop, to not deliver a project, to not keep a promise, to not stick to the plan\u2013to simply not do something at all.<\/p>\n Giving in and up, in a tough pickle, by letting negativity overcome you is the easy way out. And, we know, those days are just the\u2013fucking\u2013worst but those are the only days that really count.\u00a0<\/p>\n In the end, despite all the self-inflicted resistance\u2013not being inspired or countless distractions\u2013just pushing through and doing it because I\u2019m holding myself accountable.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stop waiting for inspiration.<\/strong><\/p>\n The secret is there is no secret\u2013no magic formula, no key to success, no shortcut to anything worth having. If I waited for inspiration to strike, I\u2019d get nothing done.\u00a0<\/p>\n Creativity isn\u2019t the end result of a process but a habit\u2013just like fitness. Without pushing through the pain of countless reps over a sustained period of time, there\u2019s a slim chance you\u2019re seeing results.<\/p>\n On regular days, in my element, I can punch out a thousand words without breaking a sweat. Complete a book or web layout or even design a brand identity from scratch.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what I do on days that suck.<\/p>\n I begin with a hack my mum taught me. I clean my space, take a bath, put on fresh clothes, go for a walk\u2013if it’s nice outside\u2013and make myself a nice cup of coffee. I already feel tremendously better. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Next, I sit\/stand at my desk, procrastinate the task at hand by completing other projects on my TO DO list. Making quick client-requested-revisions to a design, updating my WordPress plugins, cleaning up server inventory, learning a new Adobe tool, reading articles online or a chapter out of a book\u2013tricking my brain into progress by completing trivial tasks.<\/p>\n And, by the way, I suck at multi-tasking.<\/p>\n Doing one thing at a time allows me to focus on what\u2019s in front of me. This means closing all browser windows, social media apps and email, switching my phone to silent and placing\u00a0it face first on the desk.<\/p>\n The difference between amateurs and professionals<\/a>\u2013is zoning out. I don\u2019t like being connected when I\u2019m trying to do something that I care about or needs my 70% or up attention\u2013like writing this email.<\/p>\n Small victories later I come back feeling the\u00a0momentum.<\/p>\n If the job at hand is writing, I begin by treating an empty page\u2013putting anything and everything that comes to mind in context to the subject, including quotes.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t worry too much about what it looks or reads like at this point. To me, ending the awkward\u2013and intimidating\u2013emptiness of a blank screen is seventy percent of the job done.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n I like Louis CK’s take on this.<\/strong>\u00a0His rule is that if you have someone or something that gets 70 percent approval, you just do it. ‘Cause here’s what happens. The fact that other options go away immediately brings your choice to 80.<\/p>\n Because the pain of deciding is over. And, when you get to 80 percent, you work.\u00a0You apply your knowledge, and that gets you to 85 percent! And the thing itself, especially if it’s a human being, will always reveal itself\u2014100 percent of the time!\u2014to be more than you thought.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n And that will get you to 90 percent. After that, you’re stuck at 90, but who the fuck do you think you are, a god? \u00a0<\/em>You got<\/em> to 90 percent? It’s incredible!<\/em><\/p>\n By either putting grids and basic information on a page, while designing or putting words on a page, while writing, seventy percent of the work is done. You\u2019re sitting there, focused on the task and there\u2019s one less decision to be taken\u2013reducing mental fatigue.<\/p>\n And finally, I\u2019m not in it alone.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOver the last year, the power of support systems has become apparent to me. The myth of the solo entrepreneur has convinced people that they have to fight daily battles, build empires and rescue princesses without any help from their troops. But in reality, a support system is essential.\u201d My SQUAD is my support system. Every time I complete and send out a chapter my endorphins kick in. I love completing stuff, getting shit done\u2013glowing in the post-workout\/creative pain.\u00a0And I get my dopamine kicks when some of you take the time and effort to write back.<\/p>\n I will leave you with this thought, commitment means you show up every single day no matter what.<\/p>\n The sickest wallpaper app for iPhone\u2013WLPPR.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n PS: Updated June open files to T\u2013S\u2013F<\/a><\/p>\n One last thing before you go<\/strong> Share your views on today’s Chapter either by replying to this email or\u00a0tweeting me<\/a>. Always happy to improve, learn and answer your questions. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This weekly digest will appear in your inbox every Sunday. Be sure to add me to your contact list so you don’t lose me.<\/u><\/p>\n Have a happy week!<\/p>\n Yours truly, TWITTER<\/a>\u2014INSTAGRAM<\/a>\u2014MEDIUM<\/a>\u2014OFFICE<\/a>\u2014ELLO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Paul Syng’s SQUAD \u265b Chapter Four Not Doing It \u2014 Read Time: 6 minutes Hello Welcome to Chapter Four of SQUAD. New recruits (and old alike) can access the SQUAD Locker to read old Chapters or T\u2013S\u2013F\u00a0to download 365 open files. The Locker\u00a0&\u00a0T\u2013S\u2013F\u00a0are classified and exclusive to squadron only. (Password: topgun) Today\u2019s Chapter almost never […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"{title}\n\n{excerpt}\n\n{url}","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_canonical_url":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":""},"categories":[91],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-90004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-digest-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=90004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/90004\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=90004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=90004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=90004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/d41be167-cbfe-494a-b52c-b2ebc6ae7152-scaled.jpg\")
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\u2013Srinivas Rao<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n
I encourage you to fill out this survey. Tell me a little bit about yourself<\/a>, it only takes sixty-two seconds. Your suggestions are appreciated and help me shape and improve the SQUAD.<\/p>\n
Paul Syng<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/paulsyng.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/83b54047-c37c-44b1-99c0-729eec37ca8f-scaled.jpg\")
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