Untangling

When I was little, my mother called me a magpie ("soroka" in Ukrainian) because I was always attracted to shiny things ??

That has changed some (now I prefer silver over gemstones), but not in terms of ideas. I am still very much easily distracted by new, shiny ideas.

New ideas have so much potential, untarnished by complexity or failure.

I think when I became a founder, I opened up a box somewhere in the attic of my brain that was secretly storing all my pent-up ideas - releasing them into the wild. All of a sudden - I could build anything and everything, with enough time, effort and stubbornness. The possibilities were endless.

My team at Zemlia are very familiar with this phenomenon - we have had around 6-7 products on the to do list since the beginning, and despite literally everyone telling me we need to focus - I have been stubbornly holding them all close to my heart. My ideas are precious to me.

But finally - this was the week (cue: sigh of relief) that I realized - I am spread way too thin. It feels chaotic, and we are not making progress consistently or fast enough.

As all honest procrastinators know - doing fourteen things at once does not make you more productive. It means you end up not making progress on anything - it gives the illusion of productivity while calming your sense of FOMO.

I think it is also related to a personal insecurity and fear - making the decision to focus on one thing has risks. It might be the wrong one. If you don't make the call, you can't make the wrong call. In theory, it makes sense. In practice - it just means you're not just half -??ing every individual task, but you're also being a little bit of a coward.

So - after talking to several mentors, colleagues and friends, and also listening to A LOT of startup podcasts, I decided to focus.

Let's whole ?? one thing*, really well. Let's make... a Plan.

I have also suddenly remembered that I am a trained researcher and project manager. I am good at organizing things. For some reason - those parts of my brain temporarily disabled themselves while I was getting over the idea of "Starting A Company". But wait - I have done this before - this is just another rather complicated research project, albeit with higher stakes, but more freedom and potential that I've ever had before. We can do this.

The overwhelm and chaos I often feel - is self-created. It is under my control.

I can clear my own plate. I can untangle this mess.

Even though being a founder is very much like being in an all-you-can-eat buffet, taking a deep breath and making good choices is important. You do not have to overfill your plate. In fact - you will feel much better if you chose wisely.

I'm grateful to have people in my life that 1) tolerate my attraction to shiny new things** and 2) know that sometimes they need to remind me where we are headed.

Sometimes, founders just need someone to hear their shiny new idea, pat them on the head, and tell them it's a great idea — for later. Not never! but definitely later.

?? If you're an early stage founder, know that you are not alone. If you know an early stage founder - reach out to them. Let's support each other as we build the future together. Let's not go alone.

* Thanks to my friend Joshua Beeler RE: Parks and Rec for sharing this joke :)

** Special thanks to our fractional head of product Gray Graziani for this.