In Business, the Next Day is Always the Hardest

Louis Sacher, author of Holes, wrote one of my favorite quotes: 

"Well, the first hole's the hardest," said Stanley.

"No way," said X-Ray. "The second hole's a lot harder. You're hurting before you even get started. If you think you're sore now, just wait and see how you feel tomorrow morning, right?"

"That's right," said Squid.

Plus, the fun's gone," said X-Ray.

"You're right," he said to X-Ray. "The second hole's the hardest."

X-Ray shook his head. "The third hole's the hardest," he said.

That meant he'd dug forty-four holes. Stanley dug his shovel into the dirt. Hole number 45. "The forty-fifth hole is the hardest," he said to himself. But that really wasn't true, and he knew it.

What I take from this, English major that I am, is this: the first day of doing something new can often feel fun and exciting, like a new game. It's the second day where the reality of the work sets in and you remember everything that stands in your way and everything you have to lose if you fail.

Except it's not just the second day. It's every day after that.

Everyday, as a new business owner, I get up and I remember...

• The revisions on those graphics for one client
• The newsletter for another
• The new project I haven't started yet
• The four prospect calls I have before lunch

I also realize how finite my time really is. I try to be started and at my desk by 8am and usually I'm going until 5pm. Still, it never quite seems to be done. There are more things to do. Not just for clients, but for my own fledgling business that also needs social media posts, website updates, emails sent, invoices delivered, and alternate revenue stream explored.

And then there's the sense of a precipice just a step or two away. The feeling that if I don't stay on top of the mountain of tasks, I'll fall into the abyss and there lies failure (and maybe dragons). And if I fail... oh god. What then?!

It's a monster to tackle each and every day.

So what do we do about that?

Well, if you're counting at home, my business has only been my full-time gig for 11 days. I'm by no means an expert. But when the overwhelm and the fear comes knocking for me, here's what's helping so far:

1. Progress is progress, no matter how small.

I'm not going to get to everything every single day. My anxiety would like it if I could, but is just not the nature of the beast. Still, progress of some sort is imperative or I may fall off the edge and be lost to the abyss. So, I try. I do my best, and I do what I can. It's all progress, even when it doesn't feel like enough. Slowly but surely everything will get done. It always does.

2. Done is better than perfect.

My fear of failure often manifests strongest in faux perfectionism. It's not that I really worry if the thing I've produced is PERFECT . It's more than I'm worried how it — I — will be perceived, and I tell myself that if it is the best possible version, then no one could think badly of me. Which is both ridiculous and categorically untrue. I still feel the stomach clenching worry whenever I press post or send or schedule, but I remember that if I wait until it's perfect, I will literally never do anything. I'm learning to settle for done and to sit in this discomfort. Soon that will be muscle memory, just like digging holes.

3. If it's not scheduled, it won't happen. 

This is the new fact of life. Everything goes on my calendar so I have a designated time to focus solely on that task. We know that multitasking really just prevents you from doing anything to your highest ability. So I try to keep my focus narrowed to single activity, and I find that this leaves my brain in fewer knots at the end of the day and I also feel more productive than if I'd tried to do 500 things. 

Regardless of what day in business is the hardest, I think the trick is persistence — stubbornness, if you will. Keep showing up. Keep digging those holes. Eventually the fear will lessen and confidence will replace it.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself.

Your Turn

• Where are you leaning into fear or perfectionism?
• Where are you focusing on the progress, rather than the outcome?
• Have you scheduled your most important tasks today?

XO,
E