The Three Sentences Keeping Founders Overworked

I’m going to say this lovingly: I think you’re working harder than you need to. I understand how many voices there are saying the same things and how easy it is to get caught up in comparing yourself to other founders.

You’ve tried more systems. You’ve tried those miracle morning routines, too. No matter what you do with the structure or the schedule you set for yourself, nothing is moving the needle like you want it to. Chances are you’re blaming yourself.

But what if it isn’t about you at all? What if you inherited this compulsion to overwork despite the constant evidence that working harder isn’t producing the results you’re working for?

The problem isn’t your discipline

As I wrote my book, I compiled 18 pages of research results on this topic alone. What I discovered needed a full chapter to highlight the documented cultural and historic trail we can trace, showing how we’ve inherited the drive to overwork.

The scripts running the show

We’re only going to talk about four of these, but each one will likely sound uncomfortably familiar. Let me show you what each of these common phrases pushes us into, and the context that made each so embedded in our culture that it still impacts us today.

“Money doesn’t grow on trees”

This is deeply ingrained in all of our psyches. It creates a scarcity mentality that has long since outlived the conditions where people were facing the Depression and World Wars. Yet to this day we find ourselves underpricing our work, postponing hiring a team, and struggling to invest in our development because it feels like an indulgence rather than a business asset.

“Rise and grind”

This approach worked in the era that produced it. It doesn’t anymore. Productivity has increased nearly three times as much as pay since 1979. Many of us walked away from careers modeled on this anthem, choosing instead to actively reject this concept. Somehow, though, it has found its way back into our routine with the after-hours inbox check and that weekend catch-up session.

“Something’s gotta give”

This is one I hear from clients and contacts all the time. It is happening right now and getting louder. Chances are, you’ve said this one yourself at some point this month.

This is what has you juggling five equal priorities while expecting yourself to somehow have 100% capacity for each. This is a math problem treated as a character flaw.

The one that does the most damage

It's said in the very next breath after “something’s gotta give.”

“I should be able to handle this”

You never see the contradiction this presents. The need for something to give is about the quantity of tasks. That’s math.

Questioning your capability to handle things is altogether different. That is passing judgment on yourself. The argument between these two then pushes you to the default of working harder, again and again.

In trying to diagnose your struggle, you’ve assumed guilt based on past circumstances that have nothing to do with your current reality. Hear me on this: It is not your fault.

What to do about it

Take a screenshot or write down these phrases. You’re not going to try to fix them or spend time overanalyzing them here. All I want you to do is spend this week thinking about where you first heard these or phrases like them.

Every time you catch yourself thinking or saying one of these, take notice. Maybe add the count to your notes. See what your common reaction is when these come up.

Prove to yourself that your need to constantly expend more effort, regardless of results, is not a discipline problem. You inherited the habit of overworking. It’s time to break it.

The expanded research and patterns are in the book. Sign up to receive notices about my book and supporting resources here: https://books.yourclarityedge.com

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