The Truth About Making Progress Fast

2025-08-31 · Short · Ali · recording, 2:58 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Productivity and time (also: Business and entrepreneurship) · mode: Explanation and tutorial

In a Short, Ali says progress in a new area means letting other things slip: pause routine work to build the next thing, let balls drop unless they would ruin your life, and have the courage to disappoint people.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Something must slip: pausing YouTube consistency to build a first online course, and the business "breath in"

★★★ Whenever you try to make something new or progress in a new area of life, Ali says, almost by definition something in other areas of your life has to slip. — 00:00:00

“almost by definition, something has to slip through the cracks in other areas of your life.”
★★ Someone making two YouTube videos a week who wants to make a first online course should accept pausing that consistency to build the course, Ali says; doing both is, as he quotes a video by Tintin, the ideal world. — 00:00:30
★★ As a business grows more things have to happen on a regular cadence, Ali says, but to grow it usually takes a breath in: a pause in which nothing seems to happen while the energy goes into building the next step. — 00:00:30

00:00:59 — Regular commitments fill all 168 hours; letting balls drop and the courage to disappoint people

★★ When regular commitments such as workouts, runs, a newsletter, a job, date nights and family evenings fill all 168 hours of the week, Ali says, there is never space to build something new. — 00:00:59
★★★ It is impossible to keep all the balls in the air, Ali says: to add a new ball he must accept others falling, as long as they do not ruin his life, such as less gym consistency or fewer YouTube videos in some seasons. — 00:01:28
★★ Ali sets a limit on letting things drop: not filing taxes on time brings a big financial penalty and a life-and-death situation must still be dealt with, but most of what people juggle is not life and death. — 00:01:57
★★ Every successful entrepreneur and writer, Ali says, blocks off a large amount of time to focus on their project, even if it disappoints friends and family and leaves them unavailable. (overstated) — 00:01:57
★★★ Ali calls it the courage to disappoint people: being okay with disappointing people some of the time makes life generally much better, because you can prioritise strategically, including rest and recharging. — 00:02:26

“the courage to disappoint people”
★★ The more you worry that you can never disappoint anyone, not even by leaving a WhatsApp message unanswered for 24 hours, Ali says, the more overhead takes over and the whole week goes on maintaining the current state of affairs. — 00:02:26 · WhatsApp

Threads in this video

refine · How many projects should you work on at once? — Whenever you try to make something new or progress in a new area of life, Ali says, almost by definition something in other areas of your life has to slip. (00:00:00)
refine · Should a business explore new ventures or focus on what it already does well? — As a business grows more things have to happen on a regular cadence, Ali says, but to grow it usually takes a breath in: a pause in which nothing seems to happen while the energy goes into building the next step. (00:00:30)
refine · How do you decide which work to prioritise? — Ali sets a limit on letting things drop: not filing taxes on time brings a big financial penalty and a life-and-death situation must still be dealt with, but most of what people juggle is not life and death. (00:01:57)
refine · How do you decide what to say yes to? — Ali calls it the courage to disappoint people: being okay with disappointing people some of the time makes life generally much better, because you can prioritise strategically, including rest and recharging. (00:02:26)

Mentioned

Tintin · WhatsApp

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