Knowing Isn’t Doing: Why You’re Still Not Using What You Know
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Hey there, Last week, I had a virtual coffee chat with a client who’s easily one of the sharpest, most well-read people I’ve met. She’s taken all the courses. Read all the books. Built entire databases (yes, plural) in Notion just to organize the learning. She shared her screen and said, “See this? I know what to do. I just never actually do it.” Sound familiar? In contrast, my mom just turned 75 this past week and somehow avoids this whole problem and gets everything done she wants to get done without a single productivity app—but that’s another story…here are a few pics from her birthday celebrations! What Your Brain Thinks Is ProgressHere’s the thing I’ve seen over and over—across my own research, inside client businesses, and especially with the solopreneurs, business owners with teams, and productivity enthusiasts I support: Your brain treats knowing something as the same as doing it. You watch a webinar. Finish a course. Highlight a book. And your brain throws you a dopamine party like you just restructured your backend and launched a funnel. But your systems? Still a mess. Your business? Still stuck. That’s the implementation gap. It’s not a motivation issue. It’s a systems issue. Why the Learning Feels Good But Goes NowhereMost learning experiences are designed for consumption, not conversion. They overwhelm you with strategies but never help you choose. They hand you frameworks but never help you use them. And most of them assume you’re a robot with infinite time and cognitive bandwidth. Here’s what cognitive science research shows: Working memory has a limited capacity of approximately 3-5 items that can be actively maintained at once (Cowan, 2010)—not the widely cited “7±2” from Miller’s 1956 paper. Studies demonstrate that when people try to process too much simultaneously, performance suffers and information gets lost (Sweller et al., 1998). After that, everything becomes noise. And no, this doesn’t mean you’re lazy or unfocused. It means your tools aren’t built for how your brain actually works. So What Does Work?Here’s what I’ve seen work again and again—for myself, my clients, and members inside the Systematic AF Club:
Shift the question from “What did I learn?” to “What one thing will I do with this?”
Every insight should have a next step—otherwise it’s just mental clutter.
Implementation happens when the path forward feels easier than staying stuck. It’s not about learning more. It’s about creating a habit of activating what you already know. Tech Corner: The Simplest Implementation Tool I KnowNo fancy setup. No new app to learn. Just use something you already reach for—like Apple Notes, Google Keep, or whatever note-taking tool you actually use. Here’s the mini system:
The power isn’t in the tool. It’s in the constraint. One insight → one action → actual progress. What I'm Building NextInside the Systematic AF Club, we’ve been talking a lot about this shift—from accumulation to activation. Which is why, in May, we’re focusing on what I call activation systems—tools, habits, and workflows that help you turn insight into execution without overcomplicating the process. This is exactly why I’ve been quietly building something different: A learning journaling system built in Google Docs, powered by Google NotebookLM, that helps you go from “I saved this somewhere…” to “I actually did something with it.” It’s simple. It’s searchable. And it’s designed for how real humans think—especially if your brain doesn’t do well with a multi-database Notion* setup. I’m validating this with a small group of early users soon. If you’re interested in being part of the first round when I open it up, let me know by making your selection in the poll below.
* You know I love Notion though, so yes, a thoughtfully designed Notion template will be available. Final ThoughtYour learning backlog is costing you more than just time. Every course you start but don’t finish, every framework you understand but never implement—that’s not failure. That’s data. Data that your current system for activating knowledge isn’t built for how your brain actually works. Look, if you haven’t implemented it yet, another course won’t fix it. Neither will another framework. But a system that meets your brain where it is? That changes everything. Quick Test: Reply with the ONE learning investment you made this year that’s still sitting untouched. First 5 responses get early access to at the pre-launch price. Limited to 5 spots. Talk soon, Dr. Monica P.S. No judgment here. My own “digital library of good intentions” used to have its own zip code. Now it’s a lean, mean learning + action machine—and I’ll show you exactly how I did it. |