Making a Thing Exist

Created: April 13, 2026

Brief thoughts on experiencing friction when attempting to start something new

Making a Thing Exist

I have struggled with the friction that manifests when attempting to start something new. I tend to share ideas with friends and daydream about theoretical projects. A few thoughts consistently come up that seem to fight against me.

The first issue that comes up is delaying the start until "the time is right". I'll postpone starting a project until I have a wide open day with nothing on my miscellaneous to-do lists. Some mythical day where I can sit in a coffee shop and devote my full attention to the task.

The second issue is "analysis paralysis" or something of that nature. I excitedly jump into research and preparation, all while fantasizing about the finished product. However, I end up in a cycle where I endlessly read documentation or watch tutorials without ever taking a concrete step towards creation.

Naturally, I find myself falling down rabbit holes on YouTube about "productivity". I do strive to be mindful and avoid anyone simply aiming to sell courses or push harmful ideologies. That said, I do want to highlight a recent video that motivated me to make something exist.

I've heard plenty of times to "start with something small" or "do the task for just five minutes"; this has never stuck with me. However, for some reason, this video inspired me to take a first step.

It's not much to be frank, but I did stand up a microsite to track the online ranks of Pittsburgh SSBM players. The PGH Slippi Leaderboard is a fork of the CO Slippi Leaderboard. You can see the git repository here.

Many thanks and credits to blorppppp, the original developer. Players can enter their Slippi connect codes via a Google Form. An automated GitHub action periodically pulls the list saved to the a Google Sheets file, updates the ranks, and deploys a new version of the website.

Setting up this little project has given me a burst of motivation to pursue a few other ideas.