leeches

When you're learning a language, leeches are the annoying vocab flashcards that take way too many reviews to stick in your memory.

I was surprised to find -

Everyone says to delete them.

Because leeches sap your time and energy. And especially for a hobby, it's way more more important to keep the learning process enjoyable and efficient.

There are leeches in other domains too.

Here's a real-life example: Last week, I was writing a product spec for work. I realized a sentence I wrote needed evidence to back it up. I spent 20 minutes looking for the evidence. But then I realized that finding the right data would take hours. Instead of diving into that rabbit hole, I took a step back, cut the scope, and just deleted the sentence.

The same idea applies to almost any task. There are always subtasks that drain your time and energy. That might not even be necessary.

More examples:

• Workout struggles? If there's an exercise in your routine that drains you or takes forever, swap it out or skip it.
• Writer’s block? Stuck on a paragraph that’s impossible to get right? Delete it and move on.
• Event planning woes? If some detail, like fancy catering, is stressing you out, cut scope and pick an easy caterer.
• Hungry? Microwave chicken nuggets. lol

The key habit here is noticing when a task is taking a long time. Ask, do I really need to do this task?

Overall: Cut scope, 80/20 everything and...

Notice the leeches and delete them.