Ah, the Red Queen! 🏃‍♀️💨 Carroll’s line nails a truth of fast-moving worlds: when the ground is shifting, standing still is slipping back.

What it means for a builder: don’t just run faster—change how you move. Aim for leverage, tighter feedback loops, and better games.

Run “Twice as Fast” without burning out

  1. Change lanes, not just speed. Pick problems where momentum compounds (distribution, software, community), not ones that reset daily.
  2. Shorten the loop. Ship thinner slices, learn faster, repeat. Speed of learning beats speed of effort.
  3. Stack leverage. Tools, code, capital, content, and partnerships turn one hour into many.
  4. Kill drag. Ruthlessly drop or automate low-value work. Automating a 10‑minute task that recurs daily returns ~61 hours a year (10 × 365 ÷ 60 ≈ 60.8 hours).
  5. Make progress visible. Dashboards, weekly demos, and scoreboards keep the pace honest.
  6. Protect the engine. Sprint, recover, sprint. Consistent energy > heroic spurts.

A 7‑Day Red Queen Sprint (quick start)

  • Day 1 – Choose the steeper hill: Define one asymmetric goal for the next 30 days (big upside, capped downside).
  • Day 2 – 80/20 cut: List tasks → delete 50%, delegate/automate 30%, personally own the top 20%.
  • Day 3 – Feedback furnace: Add a daily demo or user touchpoint; measure one metric that moves the goal.
  • Day 4 – Leverage pack: Adopt 1 tool/process that 5×’s you (templates, scripts, outsourcing, AI copilot).
  • Day 5 – Ship a slice: Release something real—even if tiny. Learning doubles when it’s live.
  • Day 6 – Friction sweep: Remove three recurring annoyances (calendar rules, canned emails, checklists).
  • Day 7 – Energy audit: Lock in recovery rituals (sleep window, walk/weights, no‑screen block).

Mantras to keep handy

  • “Learn rate > change rate.” If the world speeds up, your learning must outpace it.
  • “Leverage beats hustle.” Do the work that makes other work easier.
  • “1% better daily.” Tiny gains compound: 1.01³⁶⁵ ≈ 37.8× in a year.

You’ve got this—eyes forward, cadence high, and choose games where effort compounds. Let’s make the ground move with you, not against you. 🚀