Welcome to Verstreuen—meaning “to scatter”—where I unpack the ideas I’ve collected this week in my 🗃️ Zettelkasten, “note box,” personal knowledge management system. Here, I’ll share the highlights, insights, and stories I find interesting—and I think you will too!

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This Week’s Highlights

This week's notes come from 58 new additions to the Zettelkasten, with three key takeaways:

• Why good UX sometimes requires making things harder, not easier.

• How problems don’t just exist in categories—they evolve between them.

• Why your attention is a form of currency—and you're probably overspending.

UX vs. UI: The Best Design is Not Always the Most Convenient

A few years ago, I believed good UX (User Experience) was all about eliminating obstacles—making everything as smooth and effortless as possible. But as I’ve learned more about UX design, I’ve realized that a designer's true role is more like that of a parent: making the right actions easy and the wrong actions difficult.

Take Amazon, for example:

• Amazon makes buying effortless (one-click checkout).

• Amazon makes canceling Prime frustrating (multiple steps, confirmation screens).

This is the real power of UX. It’s not just about removing friction—it’s about guiding user behavior. The best UX designers don’t just simplify; they strategically apply friction to shape decisions.

Meanwhile, UI (User Interface) is about storytelling—it adds emotional depth to an experience. If UX focuses on functionality, UI determines how it feels.

The key difference?

• UX asks: "What can we design to ensure users do the right thing?" (Predict & shape behavior)

• UI asks: "How can we design this right to make users feel?" (Create emotional engagement)

  **🗃️**

The Cynefin Framework: Why Your Solved Problems Keep Becoming Problems Again

Have you ever fixed a problem only for it to return in a new form later? That’s because problems don’t just exist—they evolve.

The first time I encountered The Cynefin Framework, it didn’t quite click for me. But after revisiting Martin Berg & Dave Snowden’s version, I realized what I had missed: problems don’t stay in fixed categories—they move between them.

The framework defines five categories:

• Clear (Obvious): Cause and effect are straightforward; best practices exist.

• Complicated: Requires expert analysis; multiple valid approaches exist.

• Complex: No clear cause-effect relationship; requires experimentation and adaptation.

• Chaotic: No order; immediate action is required to stabilize the situation.

• Disorder: The situation is unclear; categorization is needed before proceeding.

Recognizing the category a problem falls into is the first step in choosing an effective strategy in problem solving. But understanding the broader system at play makes it a much more applicable mental model.

But the real insight? Problems shift between categories over time.

The Hidden Movement Between Problem Categories

• From Simple to Chaotic: Over-standardization can lead to fragility, making small issues suddenly spiral into chaos.
  Example: A company with rigid, bureaucratic rules might function fine—until a crisis exposes its inability to adapt, leading to sudden collapse.

• From Complex to Complicated: When patterns emerge, a more structured approach can be applied.
  Example: The early days of cryptocurrency were chaotic and complex. Now, with clearer patterns, regulation and financial systems are structuring the space.

• From Chaotic to Complex: In a crisis, stabilizing actions can move a problem into a manageable space before imposing rigid structures.
  Example: The 2020 pandemic initially threw supply chains into chaos, but companies adapted with agile decision-making before enforcing structured solutions.

The biggest mistake? Treating a moving problem as if it’s static. Recognizing how problems shift is key to effective decision-making.

**🗃️**

Attention is a Currency—And You’re Probably Overspending

I had a realization recently: My attention is not infinite, but I was spending it like it was.

And worse—someone else was profiting from my lack of awareness.

It’s no accident that we “pay” attention. It’s a currency, and companies literally make money when we overspend it.

I’ve started treating my attention like my portfolio, analyzing where I am making investments with my attention, here’s how:

3 Simple Steps to Take Control of Your Attention Budget:
1️⃣ Audit your screen time – Where is your attention actually going?
2️⃣ Compare against your priorities – Are you consuming what truly benefits you?
3️⃣ Reallocate – Cut out low-value distractions and double down on high-value inputs.

If you don’t actively budget your attention, someone else will spend it for you. Attention is like a garden—what you water grows, and what you neglect withers.

**🗃️**

Closing Thoughts

Each of these ideas—understanding design, categorizing problems, and managing attention—is fundamentally about decision-making. Whether designing products, solving problems, or directing our focus, the ability to make better decisions determines the quality of our work and lives.

Thanks for reading Verstreuen

Thanks for taking the time to explore and reflect on my notes with me. If any ideas particularly resonated or challenged you, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

👋 Until next week.

-GH

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