How to beat Analysis Paralysis?
Hey everyone, i'm reletively new here but i've been reading alot and listening to podcasts of all ranges to try and find motivation, yet i've been at a stand-still for a good few months and i'm not sure how to beat this mental block.
TL;DR - What are some strategies to say "screw it" and just do something?
Context: I feel like I have all of the tools and knowledge ready to begin business building, and the only the thing i'm missing is an idea...
The issue for this is that I've been searching and analyzing which idea is the most profitable / what I beleive in personally, which has been my struggle for the better part of 5 years now. I do market research, personal meditation, give up, rinse and repeat.
I keep noticing a pattern of the best way to beat this mindset being to "just do something", yet it feels as if i'm physcially unable to push myself to do anything because I'm still searching for my "perfect business".
Main Question: Is there a way to force yourself to do something even when you feel it wont make any profit?
(I do not currently know what my passion is, nor do I have any bias to what type of business I do)
More specifically re "Main Question: Is there a way to force yourself to do something even when you feel it wont make any profit?":
My take on this is that it sometimes is easier to follow your curiosity than your "passion", no need to force yourself to start something you aren't excited about.
"follow your curiosity" - this, this is the main thing no one ever tells you, I can't express how much to thank you for this reply
@nosuuddo Looks like you are finding it a little difficult to get started, what you mentioned in your post is absolutely normal.
Here is how I would overcome this from your point of view.
Attend a hackathon. Startup weekend do these weekend hackathons where you team up with random strangers and build an MVP in 48 hours. It's a lot of fun and gives alot of motivation.
Don't overthink and just build a small product with maybe just one or two functions but make sure the building process doesn't take more than 3-5 days maximum. Aim to solve one tiny problem. Dont aim to make any revenue etc. Just build it, show it a few people and retire it.
The building process will give you the strength to start the next project.
Regarding the ideas part you were talking part , you may want to follow @Kevcon80 who is doing an amazing job with Software Ideas.
I can absolutely relate. I tend to over-analyze and sometimes err on data gathering/understanding instead of on acting.
One thing that sometimes works for me is to remind myself that for most decisions the worst case scenario isn't very bad because I can iterate and correct going forward. I don't have one shot at the decision but rather 1000s. Many decisions are closer to walking around in the field instead of choosing which portal to pass through (with no way to return).
Another thing that works for me is to come up with a deadline/time-box for a decision. This helps both with actually making the decision but also with focusing on gathering input for the decision to help me make the best decision I could within that time-window.
Last but not least, divide and conquer: some decisions can be re-framed or broken down into smaller decisions that are easier to do.
hth, have a great weekend & all the best.
Been here before my friend.
If I can suggest a few things that helped me through this that I still use today:
What analysis Paralysis? What kind of force? No such thing as perfect! Best thing is not to search but you can't make any effort not to search.