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Beginners paralysis

Yesterday was my last day at my day job. Today I’m faced with fear paralysis.

It was nice having a 9-5, knowing what I needed to do everyday.

Now it’s the Wild West.

I shoulder the responsibility of failure or success.

This mixture of emotions; fear of the unknown, excitement, plethora of options has my brain frozen.

I’m having trouble breaking down what I need to do into actionable bits and clearly define a roadmap.

Have you faced beginners paralysis?

How have you overcome it?

on June 9, 2021
  1. 4

    I have it too and I am 6 months in.

    Best medicine is start working on something, anything, early in the morning. Don't check social media, newspapers, emails. Just do some kind of meaningful work

  2. 2

    Admire the courage there, jumping all in.

    My suggestion would be, just start writing down all your ideas on paper, even if there are not yet organized, just write them down.

    I find that while I write them down, I also frees my mind to just thing about that and then the patterns and organization start flowing in.

    Good luck.

  3. 2

    Left in March and have spent time 'learning' which has been great, but you can attribute it to beginners paralysis. Thanks for posting this and know that you're not alone JJ.

  4. 2

    This month, I also started focusing fully on my startup, Producter. Actually, I was so afraid of the beginners paralysis; I tried to prepare myself before leaving my job. These are how I keep up with it so far:
    On the first morning after quitting my job, I woke up at the same time and carried on with my routine as if nothing had changed. I didn't let myself think that now I can relax a little bit.

    • I noted down what I should focus on throughout the day and the next week.
    • I broke tasks into small chunks so that I don't feel like I'm doing nothing and getting overwhelmed. Plus, completing small tasks gives me a feeling of accomplishment and helps me stay focused.
    • I check in with my cofounders to stay on track and keep ourselves motivated since we are a remote-first team.
      I'm new to the concept, too. Hope it helps. Good luck! 🤞
    1. 1

      Great advice.

      Having cofounders to help keep things in check must be nice.

      I found that grouping my daily tasks into different categories helps prevent burnout.

      Whenever I feel burnt out in one “category” I switch to the next.

      Cheers

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    This comment was deleted 5 years ago

    1. 1

      Haha just adds to the pressure.

      I quit after working on a side project for a couple of months and then landing a potentially large client.

      Now that I'm working on it full time without an income the pressure to get money in the door and a product out is something I haven't experienced before.

      I've always hacked alongside my day job.

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        This comment was deleted 5 years ago

        1. 1

          Luckily I have a client willing to pay once things are up and running.

          Agreed though - keeping laser-focused on getting a product out that will bring in money before perfecting it is a great place to start.

          Thanks for the advice!

          1. 1

            Having a paying client should be helpful in focusing your energy. Whatever they are paying for is the top priority, and needs to be better than they expect it. Once they are happy then you can worry about other things.

            I admire the courage to make this change 💪