Good intentions aren't a substitute for satisfactory progress, accepting limitations and practicing patience

6 months ago I resigned from my role at the National AI Centre (CSIRO) to build Edaith. After months of working early hours and weekends to post one newsletter issue a week, I was sure I needed to fully commit to make the progress I aimed for. Since then there are some things that it would have been good to figure sooner.

1. Start then move on

When I started full-time on Edaith I was so excited to have more time to do self-determined work that could help people, I decided to produce much more of what I had been doing when working on Edaith as a hobby. The problem is, what had been fine to get started (and overcome my longstanding imposter syndrome), wasn't fit for purpose anymore.

Considering the readership data it was clear that the Edaith briefs weren't:

a/ something that solved an acute problem and people would miss it if it were gone,

b/ good enough to recommend to a friend,

c/ fulfilling the goal to help people upskill in a convenient format

On top of the two weekly briefs, soon after I committed full-time I also started creating micro guides aligned with future of work topics. That's where I wanted to be spending my time, but there was always work on the newsletter briefs that was more urgent. Newsletters to the standard I was aiming for have full teams working on them. I was trying to do too much and not completing anything to the quality needed.

From the months of research behind the newsletter briefs, I understood that they can be a timely source of information that Edaith could (hopefully) provide in future, but are not the best use of time right now.

Although I would like to do more, I have to accept my limitations as just one person and focus on what I can do that would have the best chance to get Edaith off the ground as soon as possible. Each month instead of checking my bank account and having the comfort of my salary deposited, I take note of the extent our household savings have declined.

2. The more I don’t do, the more that gets done

Now I'm all in on doing just one thing as well as possible so that there might be the opportunity to do more later. I put on hold all activities for a few months to focus on the first guide. No reading newsletters or news publications, no meetings so people can 'pick my brain', no working on strategy, no following my curiosity into topics that aren't essential right now. Nothing other than research, writing and creating illustrations for one specific project.

3. Failing in public isn't so bad

Making progress has required disappearing. As someone allergic to sharing on social media and rarely catching up with people due to family commitments anyway, that may sound easy. But it has meant 'failing' in things I had put out into the world. It's meant not delivering the free newsletters to people that signed up, something that I had offered willingly and wanted to help people with.

Although starting and stopping things is part of the process of finding the 'right' things to be doing, it does hurt the ego to admit something didn't work out as planned. In the end though I'm not sure many people noticed, and if they did it didn't matter at all to either of us.

4. Pay monthly for flexibility

When I started Edaith there were some software platforms that I thought would be essential for at least 12-24 months. I purchased some yearly upfront subscriptions to 'save money.' However since my focus shift I no longer need them. I will now always opt for monthly subscriptions and default to paying slightly more until months have passed and it's clearly a longer term requirement as well as it's the best option for the service needed.

5. Patience and persistence (advice to self)

If I were a conventional founder I would be working on Edaith all waking hours each day; but I'm not, and I can't be.

Sometimes I get frustrated about my lack of resources and the limitations to my work day because I'm a mother. But then I remind myself I no longer lose hours each day to meetings, staying on top of endless email, procedural paperwork and approvals. Although I can't get the amount of hours I'd like each day to work, I am doing hours of deep work every day, which is a dream scenario compared to my usual employment.

For most people it’s a years long, difficult process to create something enduring from scratch that can support a livelihood and beyond. Having children to care for adds a barrier, but it also adds determination, so I don't think this is an impossible endeavour (just yet). I'm remembering the slow crawl of completing my PhD with two young children. Do the work, get feedback, be patient.