Deadlines
Posted: July 8th, 2012 | Author: tim.soo | Filed under: All, Startups, Thoughts | No Comments »July 4th marked the joyous occasion of the Independence of the USA. It also marked another deadline missed.
The toughest part as a first-time entrepreneur so far has been time management. It’s a constant battle of wondering if you’re spending your time in the most efficient manner possible while not falling into a poor state of mental health. Combine this with the self-given pressure of attempting to reach optimistic deadlines (which you thought were pessimistic when you made them) and it makes for a hell of a mindset. In short, the brain stalls out like a sixteen-year-old trying to drive a manual transmission vehicle.
At the time of this writing I continue to deal with this issue, though it has improved. As our team increases in size, I also imagine these issues will abet in great part. Here are some of the realizations I’ve made so far.
- Exercise is important – True, it keeps you fit, but more importantly it keeps you sane. An internal reset button that gives you a brief respite from the 24/7 bashing that is start-up life.
- Write Daily Agendas – I’ve only started to do this, but a clear path gives concreate landmarks so at the end of the day you feel as if something as been accomplished.
- Set Realistic Goals – For all of our abilities, we still only have two hands. Personally I constantly run into the problem of equating my potential accomplishments with ones already completed.
- Don’t work alone – If you can outsource it without huge consequence, do it. A page out of Tim Ferris’s book, but I’m finding this to be more and more true.
- Stop burning out – Haven’t figured out how to completely deal with this yet. It’s more of a bipolar pattern of productivity at the moment. I hoping surrounding myself with more structured individuals will normalize our productivity speeds.
