Stop Overthinking, Start Doing
Lessons from a Stray Ethernet Cable
We all see the advice people give about, "just start," "just write," "stop thinking and do it." What we don't see often enough is how this works in practice—no real "proof" of it working in reality. Yesterday, I FAFO'd—not really, I just wanted an excuse to use the term.
The Cable Situation
In my apartment, I've had an Ethernet cable snaking its way from the living room, through the hallway intersection, into the corner room for the better part of 7 months. It’s been bothering me, but not enough to deal with it properly. The annoyance of it hadn't become greater than the effort it would take to trunk it nicely. I kept telling myself that when I had spare time, I would get it done. Simply thinking about the trunking being completed was giving me a dopamine hit.
So, why didn't I just do it already? I was overthinking.
The more I thought about it, the bigger the problem became. In reality—and what we often fail to realise—is that the problem itself was exactly the same. The only place where the problem was growing was in my brain. The Internet was working, the cable was in the same place—partially hidden under the carpet, for the past 7 months. It's like when you hear stories about people, especially famous or infamous people. Their actions get exaggerated to the nth degree—this is especially true of perceived negative actions. I want to really stress the perceived part—99% of the time, things are taken out of context and made to seem worse in the minds of others.
This doesn't mean we should never think about things—this is still vitally important. I use the term overthinking on purpose because that's what gets us into trouble a lot of the time.
Where's the Line Between Thinking and Overthinking?
That's the tricky part. This should highlight the points in your life where you transcend mere thinking and burst into the realm of overthinking. Over time, you can start to see it more clearly and stop it in its tracks.
Thoughts That Were Stopping Me From Doing the Work:
I have no idea how long it's going to take (LIE)
I don't know if I want to spend the money right now (EXCUSE)
I don't know what I need (PART LIE)
I don't know how much I need (KEPT PUTTING OFF MEASURING)
It's going to be super awkward taking the bus with all that stuff (EXCUSE)
I would rather do x right now, and it's not that critical anyway (EXCUSE)
Yesterday, I finally decided enough was enough. I began planning and measuring—this is where overthinking reached critical mass. I took measuring tape and measured all the lengths along the walls and different gaps. Simple enough. Now, instead of simply choosing one type of cable trunk and buying the right amount, I started getting fancy—I was trying to pick different types and attempting to match them. In the back of my mind, I knew I was overcomplicating it, but my conscious hadn’t yet come to terms with this fact.
I narrowed it down to two types. I then proceeded to figure out how much length of each type I would need and, of course, in the process overcomplicating it. Because of all the different lengths of the different types, I realised I would have to buy a lot more than I actually needed. This partly snapped me out of my overthinking delirium. I decided to go with the one type. After all this overthinking, the most crucial factor was whether the height was low enough to fit under the door. Narrowest trunk it was, then. Let's not forget about the connectors—for the joins and corners. Another bit of time wasted searching those—and there's not even that many to choose from!
The Journey to Getting It Done
Which store should I get them from? I wanted to finish it today, getting them delivered was out of the question. I would have to go on the bus or walk a long way with them, whichever store I chose.
Picked a store.
Got on the bus.
Got on a connecting bus.
The wrong bus.
A one-hour trip to the store (one way) turned into two.
Found the store.
Found the trunks.
Found the connectors.
I really didn't want to take the bus with a bunch of long cable trunks. I know it's silly.
I decided to walk.
9 km, let's do this.
Figuring I could do it in 1:30–1:45 hours, I'd be home around 4 p.m. Smash down the trunking when I get home and have it finished before dinner time. Easy.
3.3 km—started having some doubts and remembered there were other things I wanted to get done.
Let's get the bus.
The right bus.
Made it home.
When It Came Time to Actually Do the Trunking
It was easy. A breeze. Breasy.
What Did All That Overthinking Accomplish?
I overthunk the time away. For most of the trunking, I didn't even measure precisely—held it where I wanted it, marked it, cut it, placed it. There are things we don't consider when we're conceptually thinking about a topic or project. For example, once I started the actual work, I was easily able to sort out the nuanced gaps I overlooked when I first measured. Parts of the wall that weren't flush—for these, I simply cut a small piece of trunking to go on the uneven section. When you're in overthinking mode, oftentimes it's a blessing in disguise to gloss over details such as these. Who knows how much more time would have been wasted thinking over this "problem"?
The funniest part is I've done many things like this before—I've worked on cars, built computers, troubleshot many problems, made stuff out of wood, metal, plastic, soldered, welded, many different things. I have the skills, I have the tools, so why the overthinking?
Good question, and if you’re one who is prone to overthinking, it's a question you figure out for your own unique circumstance. For me, when I really think about it, I was worried about money, "wasting time" (which, ironically, I did through my overthinking), and potentially some social anxiety. In the end, my overthinking served as a mechanism for distraction, and it wasn't helpful in getting something done that I know deep inside I really wanted to do.
Oh, and I spent an hour and a half setting up computers after relocating them to a better, tidier spot. Such is life.
Get Out There and Stop Overthinking Everything!
Write. Draw. Build that deck. Fix those holes. Whatever it is you do, do it—don't think it!
That's it for now.
As always,
Good luck,
Stay safe, and
Be well.
See ya!
