30-minute fallacy that makes businesses fail - the reason most founders don't get the results they want

There is a reason most founders don’t have the results they want.

I call it a 30-minute fallacy.

When you do something for 30 minutes, get no immediate/fast result and feel bad about it.

Sometimes to the point where you never do the thing again.

Even though the work itself took 30 minutes, you spent time thinking about it before the task.

You spent time switching from the previous task.

You spent time thinking about it after the task.

You spent time thinking about the lack of results.

All this unproductive, wasted time and mental energy are added to the real and perceived expenses of the task.

That’s why 30 minutes feel like 3 whole days in your head.

This makes you feel as if you actually did more work for no result.

While in reality, the work was not even enough for any result, and the time is simply wasted due to inefficiencies.

Reasons it makes you fail

Are obvious.

You don’t get to test things at volume they require, making your picture distorted.

You don’t find high leverage activity for growth.

You don’t do the work that matters.

You don’t finish the bridge to success.

How to fix it

In some sense this problem never goes away.

Luckily it can be mediated.

1. Notice your productive time vs wasted time (and manage it)
2. Set specific input goals (e.g “I will do X for Y days”) and execute relentlessly. No excuses, no random pivots
3. Make sure your test size is big enough and the idea itself is worth testing. Maybe you already know much better levers to pull (and should focus on them instead)

Observe your own actions and you’ll get to your goals faster.

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P.S. 30 minutes is an example. If the task is worth 40 hours of hard work but you only spent 4 active hours, the exact same problem occurs.