Opportunistic Sharing: Leverage What You Do
Most of the work you spend your time on is doomed to decay in the depths of a forgotten folder. But it doesn’t have to be this way. With 10% more effort, you can unlock new opportunities, become a clearer thinker, and provide more value to others.
All you have to do is start sharing.
The Benefits of Sharing
Little marginal effort, unlimited upside
There are no free lunches. But sharing your work with others is as close as it gets. You spend an extra five minutes making your book notes more readable. You recap a podcast episode in a tweet thread after listening. You summarize and formalize an internal workflow.
Worst case? Nobody reads it and you lost a few minutes of your time. Best case? Others find it valuable. You meet interesting people. You expose yourself to the serendipitous interactions which would have otherwise never come about.
Clearer thinking
It's easy to trick yourself into thinking you understand something. That is until you have to put it into our own words. Or explain it to someone else. Or give a presentation on it. The extra 10% effort you put into your work in order to share it will sharpen your understanding of it.
Compounding over time, these bits of clearer thinking weave into a dense web of wisdom.
Focus, accountability, and consistency
Committing to a sharing practice raises your baseline level of effort. You hone in on what is worth learning and consuming. You produce higher-quality work knowing others are reading it. Most importantly, you develop a habit of consistency that spreads to all areas of your life.
What To Share
The goal is to share the work you are already spending time on with little additional effort. The question to ask yourself: what am I spending 80% of my time doing or learning that others might find useful? Then, share that work with those people.
Share what you consume
I started my newsletter Dickie's Digest because of this question. I spent a good chunk of my free time reading books, articles, and listening to podcasts on things I was curious about. With only an extra hour or two per week, I now share those readings and learnings with others.
Share your experiences
We are biased to believe our experience is nothing special. But our perspective is uniquely ours. Share how you ended up here, what you're working on, or what you're thinking about. Others will find your journey more interesting than you think.
Share what you're learning
Pick something you're learning about and start sharing the process. Chances are there are hundreds of others learning (and struggling with) something similar. You'll learn faster, meet others interested in similar topics, and create a flywheel of learning, sharing, and interacting.
Formalize processes, meeting notes, and projects
Many of us work in corporate jobs that are littered with unclear processes, unstructured meetings, and disparate projects. Become the person that formalizes processes and distributes the document to your team. Take notes on meetings and conference calls and send them out with a list of next actions. Start an internal newsletter with weekly updates to your team of the projects you are working on.
Why People Don't Share
Many people have reservations around sharing things publicly.
"I don't have time to share anything." Yes you do, you're already doing 90% of the work. That's what's opportunistic about it.
"What if nobody reads what I share? What if I sound stupid?" Let me answer those. Nobody will read it and you might sound stupid. At least to start. But over time, others will discover what you share and begin to appreciate it.
And even if they don't, you will become a clearer thinker, a better writer, and a more consistent worker.
All with a little extra effort.