Build, use what exists, or hand it off: five checks, run in order, tell you which. If you can say the gap in one sentence, it keeps coming back, nothing already fills it, you want the work and not just the result, and you can start small, then you build it. Jess Webber calls this the Make It So filter, and the question it answers is this one: "Should I is the hardest thing."
Use this when you keep saying "I wish someone would make this" about a tool, app, template, or system for your business or your life and you are not sure it is worth building. You do not need to be a coder.
Run your idea through these five checks in order. Stop at the first one you cannot pass. Each check tells you what to do next.
Check 1: Say it in one sentence
Star Trek name: Captain's Log
Fill in this sentence: I need something that does ____ for ____, and nothing I can find currently does it.
- Does your sentence say what the thing does and who it is for?
- Could a stranger read it and know what to search for?
- Are you naming a gap you can describe, not a feeling you have?
You pass if: you can say it in one sentence that is specific enough for a tool or a person to act on.
Check 2: Dodge check
Star Trek name: Holodeck
- Have you felt this gap more than once, across several different weeks?
- Does it keep coming back in different places and different conversations?
- What would you be doing instead? If something is due Friday and you keep putting it off, that goes first.
- Once the due work is done, do you still want this?
You pass if: the gap is a repeating one and nothing harder is waiting for you. A one-time "that sounds more fun" does not count.
Check 3: Look first
Star Trek name: Scan the Sector
- Did you spend up to 30 minutes, not three weeks, looking at what already exists?
- Did you search the words people with this problem use to describe it?
- Did you read what people complain about in the closest tools? Complaints are data and they make good maps.
- Does anything get you 80 percent of the way there?
You pass if: nothing comes close, or you only found pieces. If one tool covers 80 percent, use it and build only the missing 20 percent.
Check 4: Do you want the work?
Star Trek name: Captain's Chair
- Picture the ugly version: the broken button, the wrong colors, the automation that does not work yet. Does it excite you more than it annoys you?
- Are you fine making the same request several times because your first versions were not the right language?
- If other people will use it, have you talked to one of them before building anything?
- Who keeps it running after you move on?
You pass if: the ugly version makes you curious, and you can name who will use it and who will maintain it.
Check 5: Build small, in the gaps
Star Trek name: Engage
- What is the smallest budget you can give it? An hour on a Saturday morning or ten minutes while a file uploads both count.
- What does done mean? Done means one real person could use it and tell you what worked.
- Can it live in the gaps of your week without pushing out what is already due?
You pass if: you can name a small budget and a finish line, and the project fits around your real work.
What your result means
Stalled at Check 1: it is still a feeling
You are naming the feeling, not the gap. The order was fuzzy.
Next action: Rewrite your sentence until it says what the thing does and who it is for. Stay on this check until you can say it in one sentence.
Stalled at Check 2: it may be a dodge
The idea is more fun than the work in front of you, or it has only shown up once.
Next action: Do the due work first. Write your Check 1 sentence down, put it somewhere safe, and come back to it when the deadline is behind you.
Stalled at Check 3: it already exists
Somebody already built most of this, which saves you time and money.
Next action: Use the tool that gets you 80 percent of the way there. Build only the missing part, which is often an extra form, a short script, one automation, or a template.
Stalled at Check 4: you want the result, not the work
Wanting something to exist is different from wanting to build it.
Next action: Hand your Check 1 sentence to someone who would enjoy building it. You already wrote the brief, which is half the job.
Stalled at Check 5: it is too big to start
The idea is real, but it has no small starting point yet.
Next action: Shrink it until it fits a budget you can name and a finish line one real person can test.
Passed all five: make it so
You said it in a sentence, the gap is real, nothing already fills it, you want the work, and you can start small.
Next action: Build the ugly version in the gaps of your week, with the budget and finish line you set. If it helps one real person, it earns more of your time. If it does not, you lost something small and kept the rest of your week.
FAQ
How do I know if I should build something myself or use an existing tool?
Look first, for no more than 30 minutes. Then ask whether anything gets you 80 percent of the way there. If it does, use that tool and build only the missing 20 percent, which is often an extra form, a short script, one automation, or a template.
How long should I research existing tools before I build my own?
Give it at most 30 minutes, not three weeks. Search for what the thing does and for what people with the problem call it, and read what they complain about, because complaints are data and they make good maps.
How do I tell if my idea is a real gap or just a distraction?
A real gap keeps coming back across several weeks, in different places and different conversations. A distraction usually shows up once and sounds more fun than what you should be doing. If you have work due and you keep putting it off, do that first and come back to the idea afterward.
Do I need to know how to code to build my own tool?
Jess says she is not a coder, and that knowing what you envision and being able to say it is most of the skill you need to start. You describe it, check what comes back, and adjust with feedback until it gets where you want it. Start with the ugly version and one real person who can try it.
Go Deeper
the episode behind this filter. Jess tells the story of the fitness plan that did not fit, the 40 percent gap, and the Star Trek names for each check, plus the magazine-quiz version of the flowchart.
Listen here: https://jesswebber.com/bigideasmadesimple/when-to-build-it-yourself
Related
Episode 38: Skynet Check, how much to trust AI before it acts under your name -> https://jesswebber.com/bigideasmadesimple/how-much-trust-ai
Episode 39: Say It Plainly, drop the title and say what they get -> https://jesswebber.com/bigideasmadesimple/explain-what-you-do-plainly
Big Ideas Made Simple is a decision-making podcast for fast thinkers who are tired of hiding behind hustle and perfection. Hosted by Jess Webber. New episodes weekly at bigideasmadesimple.captivate.fm.
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