Real Progress isn't Always Linear
Week 13 (2025. 09. 22. - 2025. 09. 28.)
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This week was a mix of wins and setbacks. I hacked energy, but failed to deliver. Weird combo, right? Let me explain.
Hello! It’s Zoli, the 17-year-old building a tech business from scratch, documenting the journey, so You can learn from my mistakes.
One month has passed since the start of Season 2. Week 41 wasn’t the most successful, but I learned a lot from it.
(Having Systems) Expectation…
Last week, I created a strong productivity protocol. For this week, I wanted to test how it works by setting ambitious, but achievable goals:
Substack: hit ~10 subscribers, post consistently
Coding: finish half of the new app and deepen knowledge
Growth: progress with The 4-Hour Workweek and the copywriting course
Business: close the problem phase of my market research
…VS Reality
The productivity protocol clearly leveled up my performance. However, my approach was incorrect:
I’ve got a system, now I can lower my efforts because it’ll solve everything.
Spoiler: nope. Systems don’t replace execution.
I had the energy, but not the speed. Some days, I just moved too slowly or got distracted while working. This week’s big problem was efficiency.
I made dumb excuses, which led to falling behind with coding and marketing learning.
With market research, the problem was different: I hit a big wall. I couldn’t reach enough people (but procrastination played a role here as well).
Here’s a summary of my weekly achievements and failures:
My #1 Achievement
Substack was again the biggest success (you guys motivate me so much, this became my #1 priority).
But I must mention a method from my new productivity protocol:
The Power Nap.
I had my doubts about it at first. But after a few days of testing, I didn’t expect how powerful this small change is.
I’m being real when I say that exhaustion almost fully disappeared from my life.
Even on the days when I get home at 7 PM after 9 classes and a 1h+ workout. 20 minutes of passive relaxation. Simple as that, problem solved.
Once I get efficiency covered, I might finally tap into my full potential.
Plans Ahead
Next week will be focused on solving this exact problem: efficiency. But of course, I’ll work on other objectives as well:
Substack: keep consistency, engage more, and start community-building.
Coding: progress with the new app2. Can I finally quit vibe-coding?
Personal Growth: finish the copywriting course + The 4-Hour Workweek.
Business: finally reach tangible success with the research.
Want to directly shape what I build? This 2-minute survey will influence my next months. Your insights are invaluable!
Monthly Spotlight
Each month, I’ll share a few resources and tools that shaped my past weeks. Here are the highlights from September 2025:
The Hustley Journey. Bara is on the same path as me. If you enjoy my content, you’ll love his too. He’s the proof that you don’t need to be done to provide value.
The 4-Hour Workweek by Tim Ferris. Couldn’t finish it yet3, but my opinion won’t change: it’s a true game-changer. It made me rethink lifestyle, productivity, and the meaning of wealth.
The Power Nap Method. Already talked about it, and I’m now I’m not the only one who tested it. Give it a try, have a good rest, and the best working session of your month!
See You in Week 5
We’re slowly uncovering all the elements we need for a true productivity protocol.
Week 5 is when I’ll attempt again to fix the blueprint.
Catch you there,
Zoli
Week 4 of Season 2, also Week 13 of the complete journey.
This app isn’t ready to be shown yet. Hopefully, next week you’ll hear about how I built it.
Once I do, you can expect a post covering the top lessons I learned from it in the future.