Okay, so I wanted to share something I tried out recently, this whole ‘Sam Highsmith’ thing. Not sure where I picked up the name, maybe just something floating around, but it stuck in my head as a way to, well, simplify things.
I was getting really bogged down with one of my side projects. You know how it is, notes everywhere, complex plans, trying to use fancy software to track every little detail. It just felt messy and honestly, slowed me down. I wasn’t building, I was just… organizing, endlessly.
So, I thought, right, let’s try this ‘Sam Highsmith’ approach. My take on it was: strip everything back. Absolutely everything.
Getting Started
First thing I did? Closed all the fancy apps. Seriously. Shut them down.
Then, I just opened a plain simple text file. Like, Notepad simple. No formatting, no cloud sync needed right then, just a blank page.
Next step was listing out the absolute core things I needed to do. Not the fluff, not the ‘nice-to-haves’ yet. Just the bones.
- Get the basic user login working.
- Make sure data saves to the test database.
- Build the main display screen.
- Add the one critical feature.
That was it. Looked ridiculously short. Felt weird.
The Process
As I started working, I forced myself to stick to this bare minimum idea. When I finished a task, I just put an ‘X’ next to it in the text file. Done.
If I hit a problem or made a decision I thought I might need to remember, I added a super short note below the main list. Like:
Note: Used library XYZ for login because ABC was too slow.
Or:
Issue: Database connection drops sometimes. Check server logs later.
It felt unnatural at first. My brain kept screaming, “Add more detail! What about edge cases? What about future plans?” I had to actively resist that urge. The point was speed and focus on the now.
Did it Work?
Well, surprisingly, yeah. For this specific small project, it really helped.
I stopped getting lost in planning and just… did the work. Checking off items on that simple list felt good, kept the momentum going.
Looking back at the text file now, it’s clean. I can see the main steps I took and the key roadblocks or decisions without wading through paragraphs of stuff I don’t need.
Now, I’m not saying this ‘Sam Highsmith’ method is the magic bullet for everything. No way. If I was working with a team, or on something huge and complex, this would probably fall apart fast. You need more structure then.
But for my personal stuff? For getting a prototype out the door quickly? It was kind of refreshing. Cut the noise, focus on the essentials. Sometimes the simplest tools are the best, you just have to actually try using them simply.
