Seth's Blog : The book of concern

The book of concern

“Wait a second.”

That’s difficult advice. In a world that moves faster with each cycle, where urgencies are prioritized and last-minute saves are celebrated, it’s not always welcome advice.

And so we’ve ended up concerned. Fretting. Worried. Looking for the next thing to drop everything for.

The book of concern is more than a conceptual hack. It’s an actual physical intervention, and it might be worth trying for a week.

Write down the emergency of this moment. The one that’s taking your gaze away from your strategy and the long-term work you set out to do. Write it down.

If it’s still important in two days, go ahead and focus on it.

What you’ll probably discover is that almost all of the concerns go away on their own. The ones that don’t are definitely worthy of your scarce attention.

It might be an issue with the neighbor, a competitor or a customer. It might be a fashion concern or a social challenge. (If the building is on fire, please go ahead and put it out). Anything else, write it down. Affixing our concern to paper keeps it safely in one place, and the record we create becomes a useful reminder for next time.