Summary

A new freelance writer reflects on the initial mistakes of overconsuming information without action, following too many mentors, and focusing on trivial tasks, and offers advice on how to avoid these pitfalls.

Abstract

The author, a new entrepreneur in the field of freelance writing, shares their personal journey of the initial challenges faced after starting their business. Despite feeling prepared with business knowledge, the author found themselves overwhelmed and unproductive due to several key mistakes: becoming an information hoarder without implementing the knowledge, trying to follow too many industry experts, and wasting time on non-essential tasks. Through trial and error, the author learned the importance of taking immediate action, limiting mentorship to a few trusted sources, and prioritizing important tasks, especially those that are challenging. The article serves as a cautionary tale for new business owners, emphasizing the need to focus on impactful actions and continuous learning through practice.

Opinions

The author initially overestimated their strategic business knowledge and underestimated the importance of practical application.
Taking messy action and applying new knowledge promptly is crucial for actual business growth and personal development.
Being selective and following a limited number of experts helps prevent information overload and keeps the focus on actionable strategies.
Prioritizing and tackling the most challenging tasks first can significantly improve productivity and business outcomes.
New business owners often spread themselves too thin by trying to implement multiple strategies at once, leading to ineffective results.
The author admits to being a recovering perfectionist and emphasizes the importance of overcoming the fear of imperfection to make real progress.
The article suggests that the key differentiator between important and unimportant tasks is often the level of difficulty and the immediate impact on skill development or problem-solving.

New Entrepreneurs, Stop Wasting Precious Time On These 3 Mistakes

Catch them early to move ahead.

This story is truly one that many of you, new business owners, will relate to. Why? Ultimately, because we’re all innocent, scared humans — of failure, of rejection, of the unknown. That’s also what makes it a hell of a ride.

I legally registered my freelance writing business thinking I’d nail it. Heck, I even considered myself a special kind of badass.

“I’m already ahead of many because I know a few basic things about business”, my mind was telling me in utter oblivion.

Anyway, once I officially started, there was no going back.

Look, I consider myself at least an average smart person. I don’t know much, but if I put my mind to work, I can accomplish my goals.

I was certain I already had all the strategic know-how to do just that.

Boy, was I wrong…

The mistakes and the advice that fixed them

In the first 2 months of my freelance writing journey, I started an IG account, I was taking multiple courses, I was following big names in the industry, I joined Fiverr…

I was spending at least 8 hours per day doing… something?

But nothing really happened. And that feeling was rapidly wearing me down.

The overwhelming rollercoaster of emotions was taking me through 3 different moods per day — from self-doubt to enthusiasm to crippling fear of failure.

Why wasn’t I reaching my income goals?

Because I was making these 3 wildly stupid mistakes as a new business owner:

All info, no action

A course? Cool! Write it all down and get on with your day.

This kind of “action-taking” made me believe I was advancing in my business.

Hint: a few thoughts in your head won’t bring any benefits if you don’t act on them.

I had a hunger for knowledge, but a lack of practice. It never felt like I had learned enough. I was always feeling unprepared to take action.

If you’re going through something similar, here are 2 pieces of advice that may help:

Take messy action. Start where you are, with what you have, and learn along the way. It doesn’t have to be perfect, but it has to be done.

As a recovering perfectionist, this was extremely hard and terrifying for me. But now, I’m grateful I went headfirst into the unknown.

When you learn something new, put it into practice in the next 15 minutes.

When I tell you this changed my life… This advice is so incredibly simple, but so powerful because it challenges you to move your ass and take action.

If nothing else, you just spent 15 minutes of your day actually learning something by doing it. That’s a massive step forward.

My suggestion? Within 15 minutes after reading this, go implement something you’ve learned. See what happens.

Listen to too many gurus and coaches

This is one of the biggest things that REALLY messed with my head. I didn’t know which strategy to try, because there are so many moves you “absolutely” need.

On top of that, the “shiny object syndrome” kept distracting me from doing what is actually important.

Want a piece of wise advice? I got this one not too long ago, but it was essential:

Follow 3 experts you truly admire and resonate with.

That’s it. No more. Otherwise, you’ll be flooding your head with too much shit and get none of it done.

Imitate them for a while. Observe what they do. Listen to their teachings. Implement every piece of advice within 15 minutes.

Waste brainpower on insignificant tasks

You may think you have this figured out… But unless you actually put in the effort to sort it out, you won’t do it effectively.

As a freelancer, I’m technically a “solopreneur”, which means I have to do everything myself.

I let that get the best of me. I gave in to the overwhelming amount of tasks I had to do (in hindsight, it wasn’t even that many, but I had terrible time management).

Look, I’m a lazy person, ok? My productive timeframe is extremely short.

And I was spending it all on meaningless tasks that didn’t truly move the needle in my business.

The funny “coincidence” was that the important tasks were often the hard ones that took a lot of mental effort. My guess is that I just self-sabotaged because I didn’t want to do them.

Another piece of expert advice that helped with that:

Take care of the important tasks first thing in the morning.

I made a list of 3 tasks I absolutely DID NOT want to do — because those actually mattered. And I could finally see some results.

Do them in the first 2 hours of your morning while sipping on a cup of coffee to help with the tediousness.

Even if it hurts, getting them out of the way for the rest of the day is a real mood and productivity enhancer.

A reflection

Spreading yourself thin, shifting focus every 20 minutes, and chasing 5 strategies simultaneously, implementing none of them, can only bring failure.

As a new business owner/freelancer, I know you’ll probably make these mistakes. It’s normal.

The key is to not indulge in these time-wasting situations too much. Be present enough to catch yourself spending precious time doing insignificant things.

How to differentiate the important task from the unimportant one?

It ticks one of these boxes:

You don’t want to do it because it’s difficult.
It makes you practice your skills.
It gives you the exact piece of information you need to solve your next problem immediately.

Try it.

And if you don’t try it, the good thing is that we can always learn along the way. Open your heart and mind for that.