My list of brilliant, useless ideas

Hi, Gopi here.

My notes app is a graveyard.

It’s a graveyard of brilliant ideas. Or at least, they felt brilliant at 2 AM.

Ideas like: a physical, satisfying "click" switch I can put near the entrance of my home. When I’m leaving the house, I just flip it, and it automatically turns on all the security cameras.

Why? Because opening the app on my phone, waiting for it to load, and tapping three different menus is just… annoying.

I know, it sounds ridiculous.

It’s not a startup. It's not going to change the world. It’s not even "important."

It’s just a small, dumb thing that would make my life 1% better.

And for months, that’s where it has stayed. A single line-item on a list that just keeps getting longer.

For a long time, I told myself this list was a good thing. It was proof of my creativity. A catalog of my potential.

But lately, when I look at it, it just feels like a museum of things I've failed to start.

Every time I re-read that "camera switch" idea, the exact same mental script runs:

1. "Man, that would be so fun to build this weekend."

2. My brain immediately flashes an image of my university assignment. Of this newsletter. Of my "real" commitments.

3. A wave of overwhelm hits me. How can I possibly justify spending a Saturday soldering a "dumb" switch when I have these important things to do?

4. So I close the notes app. "It's not a priority," I tell myself. "It's not a big enough idea to waste time on."

And that is the lie.

It’s the "Not Big Enough" Lie.

It’s the most convincing, bulletproof excuse our brains have to protect us from the overwhelm of starting something new.

We use our "important" work as a shield. We tell ourselves we’re being disciplined, focused, and responsible.

But really, we’re just avoiding the hard part.

We’re avoiding the messy middle. We’re avoiding being a beginner (like my video game disaster). We’re avoiding the very real possibility that we might try... and fail.

It’s easier to say "I'm too busy with important things" than to say "I'm overwhelmed by where to start."

But here’s the truth I’m being forced to accept:

Those "stupid" projects are the most important ones.

They aren't a distraction from the real work. They are the work.

They're the gym. They're the training ground. They're how you build momentum and practice the single most important skill a creator has: finishing something.

You can't do the big, scary, "important" stuff if you've forgotten the joy of building something small just for the hell of it.

That "camera switch" isn't a stupid idea. It's a spark.

And I'm done letting my "important" work put it out.

So, what "stupid" idea on your list is actually the most important thing you could be doing?