In the early days of my company, I had to figure everything out. I was often doing things in areas where I had zero experience. Some tasks were intimidating and complex. Other were simple but time consuming and tedious. All of it had to get done if I wanted my company to be a success, so I dug in. The tasks themselves weren’t always fun, but I enjoyed learning about new things. That’s true to this day.

I spoke with a former founder who’s now in corporate America. When he started his company, he too mastered learning new things. That skill has been invaluable over the years. It helped him take on new challenges in his own company and now in a large organization. Time and time again he’s been successful. When we spoke, he mentioned learning and executing new things as one factor that’s gotten him where he is today.    

I believe curiosity is a trait that helps founders succeed. It helps a lot to have a genuine desire to learn about new things and get things done by applying that learning.

If you’re considering entrepreneurship, ask yourself, “Am I naturally curious?” If the answer is yes, it might be a perfect match.

Today marks the end of my fifty-fifth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week fifty-five:

• Transferable skills – A friend asked me to help with something. I initially said I didn’t have the experience to do it (which was true). He pointed out that I have skills that are transferable and that qualify me to help him. I don’t often think in terms of transferable skills, but my friend was right, and I was able to add a lot of value to his project.
• Good enough – This week was a reminder that sometimes things just need to be good enough to check the box. Done is better than perfect. I have to continually remind myself of that.
• Journeys – Everyone has a story. It’s so interesting to learn about someone else’s. This week I was totally surprised by the journeys that some have taken.  

Week fifty-five was a rewarding one. I was able to move the needle on things that matter to me and help others too. The week was a win–win.

Today marks the end of my fifty-fourth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week fifty-four:

• New ideas – I had some great new ideas this week. I’ve already shared them and gotten some good feedback. Excited to dig into them more over the coming weeks.
• Connections – Made some great connections this week. It’s always nice to chat with smart people who have different perspectives on things.
• Pace – I was more intentional about the pace I worked this week and about managing my calendar. It worked well. I feel like I had a balanced week.

Week fifty-four was pretty normal. No extreme highs or lows. Straight down the middle.

Demonstrating traction is important for any company, and especially an early-stage one. A lot of founders communicate it through standard metrics like revenue, number of customers, number of users, etc. Those are fine, but they aren’t the only indicators of traction. If you’re still trying to find product–market fit, giving people insight into your journey can be a great way to show that your company is gaining traction.

If you don’t have product–market fit, you’re no doubt talking to customers often to better understand their problem and what they need in a solution. Ideally, what you learn leads to changes in your product or service. Customers react to those changes positively or negatively. If you’re getting closer to what customers want (and will pay for), that’s traction. It’s not as easy to get across as, say, revenue—because it’s not quantifiable—but it’s still great traction.

If you’re an early founder and someone asks about your traction, consider sharing what you’ve learned during your journey toward product–market fit. Your customer and revenue numbers may not be going up yet, but what you’re learning could signal that you’re on to something big!

Today marks the end of my fifty-third week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week fifty-three:

• Expect the unexpected – Life throws curveballs sometimes. That’s OK; it’s just the way life goes. This week life threw one at me, but in the end, the situation worked itself out for now. Can’t let these set me back or put me off my game.
• Process – Whenever I do something involved on a fairly regular basis, I like having a process. When I don’t, I get frustrated and feel like I’m not making the best use of my time.  
• Admin time – I spent time this week doing admin stuff that I was behind on. I even got to inbox zero. I like having a chunk of time every week for this kind of work. Decluttering makes me feel like I’m on top of things.
• Spring – The sun shone a lot this week, and I loved it. Lots of pollen in Atlanta, too, but I can deal with that when it comes with great weather.

Week fifty-three was productive and upbeat. The month and quarter started out on a good note. I hope they end on one too!

Today marks the end of my fifty-second week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week fifty-two:

• Off days – Over the years, I’ve learned to embrace off days. This week I had one of those days, and I didn’t fight it. It put me behind workwise, but I was in a better place mentally the next day.
• Q1 – The quarter is almost over and it feels like it’s flying by.
• Feedback – I’ve been getting lots of feedback this week, which has been a good learning experience. I enjoy hearing others’ perspectives even if I don’t see things the same way.

Week fifty-two didn’t go as planned, but I made the most of it. Looking forward to closing out the quarter next week.

Today marks the end of my fifty-first week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week fifty-one:

• Learn by listening – I sat in on some great conversations where I was able to just listen. It was a good learning experience. Something about not participating allowed me to absorb and retain more information. (I guess it’s true what they say—people listen better if they’re not thinking about what they’re going to say.)
• Scheduling – Lots of last-minute scheduling changes this week. I coped, but it definitely threw me off and will have ramifications next week. Stuff happens. I’m playing the hand I’m dealt as best I can.
• Zoom fatigue – I’ve written about this many times. It’s a real thing (for me at least) and hit me hard this week.
• Pace – March is shaping up to be a very busy month. Interesting how the beginning of the year (January, specifically) felt much slower. I imagine this pace will continue into the spring.

Week fifty-one was fast-paced and productive for sure. Pretty sure this will be the pace for the rest of the month.  

Today marks the end of my fiftieth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week fifty:

• 365 consecutive posts – I’ve been sharing my thoughts via daily posts for a year. That’s a long time. Never would have dreamed I could do something like this. I’m going to reflect on everything I’ve learned from this experience.
• Time blocks – This week I had more blocks of concentrated time available, which was helpful. I was able to make progress on some things that require deep thought. Too often, I block out time on my calendar . . . and then fill it with meetings! I need to do a better job of not doing that.
• Learning – I’ve begun working on some things I don’t have experience in. It’s making me a bit uncomfortable, but I want to close this gap, so I’m leaning in. Looking forward to a time when I’ll know what I’m doing and feel confident and comfortable.

Week fifty was fast-paced. Next week is likely to be, too—I (happily) anticipate making progress in some areas that are important to me.

Today marks my 365th consecutive day of sharing my thoughts. Exactly one year ago, I began posting because of a friend's challenge. Little did I know the impact that decision would have. Our sixty-day challenge has gone on for a year and counting.

Thanks, Ethan, for encouraging me to share more. I never would have gotten to this point without your suggestion. I’d also like to say thank you to everyone who’s read any of my posts. Your time is valuable, and I appreciate your spending some of it with me. I hope they were helpful and added value to your life.

Posting over the last year has been one of the most challenging, but also fulfilling, things I’ve done in a long time. It’s become something I look forward to and plan to continue!

Today marks the end of my forty-ninth week of working from home (mostly). Here are my takeaways from week forty-nine:

• Patience – Sometimes great things don’t happen exactly when we want. Just because you want it to happen, that doesn’t mean it’s the right time. Patience is important if you truly believe in something or someone.
• Priorities – I have a finite amount of time and energy. I have to prioritize how I use them.
• Weather – Sunshine is known to affect people’s moods. It does mine! Atlanta was warmer and sunnier this week. I noticed that I was more productive and in an overall better mood. Spring is around the corner, thank goodness.

Week forty-nine was a balanced week. I’m looking forward to warmer weather and a productive spring.