Short Daily Update: on day 10 we transform agony into clarity thanks to... frameworks

Week 2 - Day 10

Today is Day 10. TEN days since I had a realization one evening—that I didn’t need to keep searching for a career coach to help me sort through my doubts and ambitions. I could just open ChatGPT. Ten days since I started this Substack, prompted by a challenge from my AI career coach.

It’s been a fun ten days, and I feel like I’m moving in the right direction—even if plenty of pivots are still ahead. And when it comes to navigating those pivots or assessing whether I’m on the right path, nothing beats a good framework.

Have you found your Ikigai? Thought about what percentage of your time you truly own? Or maybe there’s a business idea lingering in your mind, but you’re unsure where to start?

That’s my invitation for today: a deep dive into frameworks that can bring clarity and direction.

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Work Agonies & Thoughts into Frameworks

Yesterday, I was roaming through Substack, reading like usual, when I came across this note from

Chris Tomasso

:

I don’t know about you, but I’m the same. I love visual representations that help structure ideas into small, neat systems.

Time Ownership

Let’s start with an idea from

Hello from AELO

, who wrote an essay about who owns your time. It was a great read, and I took the liberty of summarizing it like this:

Mental Models

Naval Ravikant is known for many things—one of them being his mental models. He often condenses his ideas into simple math-like equations, which inspired me to experiment with a few mental models of my own on how I see work.

One note about the last one: I believe true fulfillment comes from being exactly where you’re meant to be, without questioning alternatives. You might not be happy in that moment, but you know it’s the right place for you. Like when you're sitting by the bedside of a sick loved one—there’s suffering, but no hesitation. Or when you're starting a new business, sacrificing personal time, yet fully committed because, despite the challenges, this is exactly what you want to be doing.

IKIGAI

And now, a classic: the Japanese Ikigai philosophy, which translates to "reason for being." In short, it suggests that finding your Ikigai means discovering the sweet spot where four things align: what you love, what you’re good at, what you can be paid for, and what the world needs.

Originally, this philosophy applies to a hobby, way of life, or personal fulfillment, but for our reflection, let’s apply it to work.

Have you found your Ikigai? I feel like I’m circling mine—I have a clear long-term vision (which ChatGPT conveniently summarized for me two newsletters ago). But turning that vision into something financially sustainable? That’s still a work in progress.

New Work Canvas

And for our final framework today—one that’s a favorite among startup founders. Instead of drafting long, rigid business model documents, you map everything out with sticky notes on a board.

What I love about this approach is that it starts with the problem. Whenever I do this exercise, I begin by talking to potential customers—diving deep into their pains, needs, habits, and current solutions. From there, the rest of the board naturally takes shape.

This method isn’t just for startups—it’s a powerful tool for any business in the making:

Pardon my visuals—I did my best with Canva, but let’s just say… design is not part of my Ikigai.

Work Mood Tracker

On a scale from 1 to 5 (1 being terrible, 5 being awesome), today was a null. Why?

I felt terrible this morning so I call in sick. So I’m keeping the count to be transparent but nothing to report back.