Monthly Increments, Not Big Promises

In a previous log, I talked about the goal I had for my business. I framed it as building a self-sustainable business, mostly because I felt a bit behind in terms of skill level. But I’ve since realised that this isn’t really a goal you set for a year. It’s more of a principle you operate by.

That insight made me rethink how I set goals altogether.

I came across a short by Ali Abdaal where he talked about quarterly goals. His point was that quarterly goals are often the sweet spot: not too big, not too small, but concrete enough to make real progress. I like that idea, but I decided to make it even shorter.

I want to work with monthly goals.

The end goal for the year stays the same. Every month, I want to release an increment. Coming from a Scrum background, an increment means releasing something that’s finished in a meaningful way. It doesn’t have to be a full product, app, or game. It can be a feature, a slice of a bigger project, or a step that clearly moves something forward.

At the same time, I want to give myself a bit of wiggle room. A log like this, or a video log, technically also counts as an increment. But I’m trying not to take that route too often. I know that’s the easy way out, and I don’t want it to become a safety net for months where I didn’t actually build anything.

The goal is to ship something real.

I missed January because I was focused heavily on the sustainability side of things. But for February, and we’re already halfway in, I have a clear plan and I’m actively working on it.

I keep reminding myself that each month is just another experiment. Sometimes it builds on the previous month, sometimes it stands on its own. Either way, I can always increment further later.

For this month, I decided to work on a productivity planner. I know there are a lot of them out there already. That’s fine. One of the rules I set for myself is that whatever I build should either support the business, have real users, or eventually make money.
This one clearly supports the business.

I’m building a productivity planner that’s fairly general, but shaped around how I personally want to use it, not how productivity systems are usually prescribed. At the same time, I’m keeping it open enough so others can use it as well.

The first version will be analog. Simple PDF files that you can print or use on an iPad, reMarkable, or any tablet that supports handwriting.

In a later increment, I might turn it into an application. That depends entirely on how well it works for me. If it doesn’t, I’ll sunset it and keep the workflow I already have. That’s part of the experiment.

What I like about this approach is that it forces me into the habit of building, releasing, and observing. Shipping something, putting it out there, possibly getting feedback, and seeing whether anyone actually uses it.
Or not. That’s fine too.

The new rule is simple: one increment per month. The lowest acceptable outcome is a log. But the aim is always to build something that’s genuinely useful, either to someone else or to myself.

Catch you in the next log.