Idea Surplus Disorder

I took another unexpected break in between issues because this happened again. Two detached retinas in six months wasn't on my bingo card, but after another successful surgery, I'm back in the office and ready to hit the ground running.

So let's get started! In this week's newsletter, we'll explore why your curiosity might be costing you more than you think, the new AI writing "tell" that's replaced the em dash, and what happens when you put AI on your org chart.

I'll also share three small changes that make work more satisfying, why telling someone they're wrong only makes them more certain, and the case for starting your day with a completely empty desk.

As always, I'm Matt Homann, and I'm glad you're here!

My Favorite Find:

I read hundreds of blogs and dozens of newsletters every week, and I always find more ideas than I can share. This favorite find might resonate with a few of you who have Idea Surplus Disorder like me. How to Deal With Shiny Toy Syndrome:

The problem isn’t the curiosity itself, but letting novelty become the main driver of your decisions. This can create unnecessary stress through fragmented attention and constant relearning. Over time, this drains your energy and can weaken both individual and team performance. So, how do you manage the shiny toy syndrome?

Add a cooling-off period before committing. Delay decisions about new tools or technologies by a few days or weeks. This gap helps reduce impulsive choices driven by novelty and allows your excitement to settle, making it easier to judge their actual value. If you still want to make the switch after the waiting period, that’s a much stronger signal than the initial rush of curiosity.

Clarify your reason for wanting the new tool. Ask yourself, in writing, why you want to adopt it. Is it clearly improving outcomes for users or the business, or does it mainly feel interesting? Writing it down is important as it’s harder to fool yourself on paper than in your head.

Calculate the true cost of switching. Consider the time, attention, and postponed priorities that come with adopting something new. Second-order thinking forces you to account for what you’re giving up, not just what you might gain. The new tool might be better in isolation, but is it better enough to justify the transition cost?

Use a structured decision framework. If this is a big decision, apply a matrix such as the DECIDE framework to define the problem, set criteria, and compare alternatives objectively. This is a bit more involved, so only do this when there are quite a few options to consider (and always seriously consider the option to stick to what you’re currently using!)

The idea is not to limit your curiosity, but to apply it with intention. When you slow down your decisions, reflect on your motivations, and review the potential impact of your choices, curiosity becomes a tool rather than a distraction.

A Few More Things Worth Your Time:

Speaking of Shiny Toy Syndrome, before signing up for a new tool, write one sentence:

“Before this tool, I _____. After this tool, I can _____.” If you cannot fill in both blanks, let yourself off the hook.

Forget em dashes. The new AI writing tell is "It's not X, it's Y."

“It’s not X, it’s Y” has become such a shorthand for lazy AI slop that, as soon as I see or hear someone telling me that something isn’t something because it’s actually something else, I automatically tense up on the assumption that I’m not dealing with a human, I’m dealing with a datacentre. That might not necessarily be the case – there is a possibility every example is completely organic – but it’s a sign of the times that we can’t just relax and assume the things we see and hear were made by people.

Treating AI like an employee by giving it a name or adding it to an org chart has real costs:

When AI was treated like an employee rather than a tool, managers in the study caught fewer of its errors and were less likely to feel personally accountable for those errors. They were also more concerned about their job security.

Want to find more satisfaction at work? Add Big Time by Laura Vanderkam to your reading list:

Laura tested three tactics with hundreds of people over three weeks. Each tactic helped people feel more satisfied with their work to a statistically significant degree. The approaches don’t require that you change your job. They also don’t depend on you having a ton of autonomy. So they’re designed to work for all sorts of roles.

Spend one more hour per week on the work you like best. Every job has tasks you prefer. Even a short conversation with a manager can shift the balance toward more of those. (This reminds me of “job crafting,” a tactic I once wrote about for Time Magazine).

Spend 15 more minutes per week at work with someone you like. Friends at work are people you’d willingly spend time with outside the office. Social time at work matters more than we may realize.

Take two intentional breaks per day. Everyone takes breaks. Most are unplanned. When you decide in advance how you’ll spend a break, you can choose something rejuvenating rather than defaulting to scrolling or other screen time.

When you tell someone they're wrong, the belief hardens:

Instead of trying to convince someone they're wrong, assume they know something you don't and figure out what it is.

I've found that saying, "Seems like you have a reason for saying that ..." helps them explain instead of defend. Half the time, they'll find gaps in their own reasoning before you have time to point them out. The other half, you'll learn something and change your own mind.

Feeling overwhelmed? Start your day with nothing:

The next time you begin your workday, try this: clear your work surface completely. Close all browser tabs. Create a fresh page in your notebook. Open only the one file you need.

It might feel strange or even scary at first. But notice what happens. Notice how much easier it is to focus. Notice how clearly you can see when you're actually done with something. Notice how much less mental energy you spend managing the chaos.

The world will always be messy. You can't control that. But you can control your work surface. And nothing, that small space of perfect order, is where your best work begins.

Good management looks like coordination, not charisma:

The highest-impact managers weren’t necessarily the most “inspiring.” They were the ones who: matched people to the right tasks, monitored progress closely, and kept the system running smoothly. It’s less about how you show up, and more about how well the system works because of you.

This Week's Question:

This might be a fun one for your teams: What are our zombie projects?

Zombie projects are low-value projects that are barely alive. They lurk around looking for handouts, but they get no love. They are starving for money, resources, and people.

Nevertheless, they persist, and in doing so, these starving projects subtly siphon people's time and energy away from higher value projects.

When you discover a zombie project, kill it. Kill it so the more important work will be delivered sooner and with fewer interruptions.

Random Things for Smart People

• 64 Places to Search For Images That Aren't Pinterest
• An analysis of 200,000 Similes from Popular Literature
• 81 Amazing Sentences
• Mobile wallpapers from the Artemis II Mission
• Stillgram is an iPhone camera app that uses on-device AI to automatically remove other people from your shots

Words of Wisdom

If you think that something “goes without saying,” it is usually best for everyone if you just go ahead and say it. – Kevin Kelly

If you only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are. – Montesquieu

If you can imagine someone surpassing you, you should do it yourself. — Paul Graham

The future must enter into you a long time before it happens. – Rilke

Your current habits are perfectly designed to deliver your current results. — James Clear

Things that have never happened before happen all the time. — Morgan Housel