I want to do things but I don't do them, why?

Hi Carlos,

Trying thinking of the smallest step that you could take towards your goals today and do that one small step. And then do it again tomorrow. It's a great way to build some momentum and you may find the answers you're looking for along the way.

Hi Carlos, this is a great place for your questions.

Being an entrepreneur is difficult. It can be easy to go down the path of self-doubt, feeling like what you do doesn't matter, and beating yourself up over procrastination, or, like you said, lack of motivation.

I have 3 things I'd like to share with you from my experience:

1. Try to position your thoughts as positive. If you have a difficult time with that, start by just being aware of your negative thoughts.

2. Work and build something you enjoy. This is said very often in our community, but it is for a reason. When you do something you enjoy, it brings down the barrier of getting started and to continue working on that project. Write down a list of things you enjoy. See if you can find an area that resonates with what you enjoy and also solving a problem that other people have.

3. Be consistent. Don't give up. Keep working, keep trying, keep building. I've recently discovered what it means to work on a project consistently and it has changed my world. Your success won't be built overnight. Be patient and keep chipping away on a project you enjoy.

As for your other comment about finding a team to work with, check out this group here on IH: https://www.indiehackers.com/group/looking-to-partner-up

Best of luck!

Hey Carlos,

You are definitely not alone in those feelings. I have often struggled with motivation and finding myself unable to complete even simple tasks I have laid for myself. In the past couple years I have done a lot of work to unwind my recurring feelings of burnout.

There have been 3 main causes for me personally:

1. Uncertainty
The times where I have felt most lost have been when my life and schedule has been too unpredictable and filled with uncertainty. Now I think it is good to have some amount of uncertainty, otherwise we can get stuck in an unchanging rut. One of the biggest factors here for me was financial uncertainty. I quit my job last March and it was the first time in a decade that I didn't have a steady paycheck. This took a mental toll on me and it actually took away the motivation I had to work on the projects I had quit my job to work on in the first place. I solved this by getting a steady income via part-time contract work. I combat other uncertainty in my life by having a structured weekly plan every week.

2. Self-doubt
It feels amazing to launch something and get great, encouraging feedback. The first launch where things do go as well as you hoped can be utterly devastating and can make you question a lot of your decisions. What's worse, is that the next time you feel more hesitation and fear of failing. When I was hacking on projects in college, I wasn't afraid of failing, because I was young and inexperienced, anything I accomplished would be cool and I would be proud. Now in my thirties, I wish I could feel as free to try and fail.
I've been able to improve on this recently by challenging my most insecure thoughts. When I notice myself feeling anxious or afraid of failing or looking stupid, I try to challenge those thoughts by checking if those worries are actually based on fact, 99% they are not. I learned my coping strategy from reading about battling automatic negative thoughts.

3. Lack of emotional regulation
I had a series tough personal struggles I dealt with over the past 3-4 years. The result was that I realized how avoidant I was with any negative emotions. I would try to sweep it aside and just push through and stay positive. These negative emotions just fester and become harder to deal with later. This summer will mark 2 years of consistent individual therapy where I have worked hard to better regulate my emotions and just improve my life all together. Never too late to invest in your mental health, it has been a life changer for me. Do note, finding the right therapist can be tough, it is normal to try at least 3-5 before finding a good fit (think of it as dating). If therapy feels like too much, I recommend Kati Morton's YT channel. Also consider trying journaling and/or meditation if you haven't already. For me, those are tools and practices that help you better master your own mind and emotions.

Best of luck, Carlos! You got this.

Hey fellow Indiehacker,
I understand what you're going through Carlos. I have a huge problem with procrastination myself. I often put off doing things until I absolutely have to. This is a major pain, because it cause me to do many things at the last minute under a lot of stress. I usually "work well under pressure", but the final outcome isn't as good as it would have been if I had given myself more time.

One technique I have found effective in combatting this is to take "baby steps".

If you haven't seen the movie "What About Bob", find it and watch it. In the movie, there is a guy seeing a psychiatrist who is more focused on his new book "Baby Steps" than he is on his patients. It's hilarious.

For example, I need to get caught up on my side project after work, but I can't motivate myself to get going. So I motivate myself to sit down at my desk and clear everything off except for my computer. (Then I might allow my self to be distracted by cleaning and polishing my desk. :-))

Next, I motivate myself to turn on my computer and open VS Code. (Then I get up and make myself a cup of coffee.)

Coffee in hand, I force myself back to my desk and take a look at my last commit on Github and my todo notes. Sip coffee, stare at screen, decide what to do. It's painful, but it works for me, after a couple of minutes I find my self in the flow state and I can work away happily for another several hours without coming up for air.

I find that getting started is the hardest part. If you can just force yourself to begin working on your project by taking baby steps, you will probably suddenly find that an hour has passed and you are in the groove.

I hope this helps man, if you would like to get in touch and share your journey with someone, shoot me a DM I would love to help.

Hey Carlos 👋

You seem like a technically capable person with both self awareness and many of the skills you’d want to “start your own thing”.

It sounds like you’ll be able to build/code a product yourself (without a team) given your background in cybersecurity or learn the coding skills you’ll need fairly quickly.

The problem you face might be due to a lack of clarity about the product, the direction or the first steps you’d need to take after you’ve done your initial analysis.

If this is true, and lacking clarity on what to do now is the core problem, one thing you can try is:

do “one small thing” at the very first opportunity you have.

Timebox it to ensure you don’t get stuck and stop making progress. Making some progress is the key.

So take action by doing one tiny/small thing regularly and see if that helps to build momentum.

It might be worth reading the book atomic habits, if you haven’t already.

You could also try using a habit tracker, or join something like WIPChat to see if that helps.

Good luck!
🍻