BR20: The Trap of Overpreparing

Access to widespread information and tutorials on how to do just about everything is of course generally a good thing, but it also creates a paradox of choice.

i.e. having so many options that you end up paralyzed because you don’t know what to choose.

When people think about starting something new, be it an entrepreneurial project, freelancing, or even just a hobby, it’s easy to fall into the trap of overpraparing.

Countless articles will tell you that you have to do this and that and that and 12 other things in order to succeed. But do you have the resources, time or knowledge to properly do everything when you’re just getting started? Usually not.

Let’s take a practical example so that this doesn’t feel like I’m trying to make a point hypothetically:

When I was an ambassador for Upwork, I’ve had countless freelancers who were just trying to start out telling me that they are unable to get clients for a host of reasons:

* too much competition,

* people underbidding them,

* people overbidding them but with more experience,

* their profile isn’t good enough, etc.

The interesting thing is that when pressing further, a lot of those freelancers weren’t actually applying to many projects. Because they felt that their profiles weren’t good enough, they didn’t have enough experience, they were pricing too high, etc.

And that’s not real-world feedback. That’s your own perception holding you back.

But there are so many things that you’re told you should be doing in your pursuit of whatever it may be (freelancing, entrepreneurship, a new project), that you end up stuck and overwhelmed before you even actually start.

My advice has always sounded something like this: start with what you can do, instead of focusing on everything that you think you should be doing. What can you realistically make time for now? What do you realistically have the resources for now?... and prioritize!

Most of the time, when you’re starting something new, you’re not going to be able to do everything that you “should” be doing. But what you can do might just be enough to get your foot in the door so that it’s open for what comes next.