Ask HN: What's your biggest schlep?
Following up on pg's essay - what's your biggest schlep? What's the one annoyance you face, professionally or personally, that you most wish would just go away?
9 comments
Several years ago I went through a depressive episode that led to most of my life falling apart because I didn't feel invested enough in my own life to do things. It wasn't like I was preoccupied with more entertaining options, it was more like I had set fire to my life and wanted to watch it burn. I spent some time in a hospital, and the most useful thing I took from that experience was a talk with a social worker about getting things done before you were buried under shit to do. "Do it now" became my mantra and that got me back on my feet. The mindset isn't as vivid as it once was, but it's still very much ingrained - I've just gotten worse at listening to that voice in my head.
Since then, I have very limited tolerance for people who don't share that mindset. Unfortunately, that seems to describe most people I know. but even still I don't know many people I'd count on to take care of something important without nagging. I hate to feel like I have to follow up any time I ask someone to take care of something, but more than that I hate the disappointment I feel when someone doesn't and doesn't have a good reason.
Since then, I have very limited tolerance for people who don't share that mindset. Unfortunately, that seems to describe most people I know. but even still I don't know many people I'd count on to take care of something important without nagging. I hate to feel like I have to follow up any time I ask someone to take care of something, but more than that I hate the disappointment I feel when someone doesn't and doesn't have a good reason.
I don't always have the energy to execute on my ideas. I'd rather be traveling. Or daydreaming about another new idea.
Which I guess makes me one of those people who need to be nagged when I'm doing stuff I don't like :)
Which I guess makes me one of those people who need to be nagged when I'm doing stuff I don't like :)
"Or daydreaming about another new idea." I also share this past-time. Just the idea of planning to sit down and think of business ideas gets me excited. :|
So you think most people don't take their lives seriously enough?
I wouldn't have phrased it that way, but I think I agree with the sentiment. Most people I've met seem to live without any sense of urgency and expect that success will just fall into their lap.
I live without much sense of urgency, because I plan far enough ahead to get things done at a nice pace. Why would you let things pile up until you end up in the hospital under the weight? seems silly
It depends what mode you actually successful with. Many people just can not bring a project to completion little by little over time. It gets buried and forgotten. Others need the "do it now, or never" approach. I am feeling that may be me as well.
I just formed an LLC in California, and the process and the associated hassles suck. It's a bootstrapped business that's profitable, but barely, so I didn't have a lot to spend. However, I needed to get the LLC in place relatively quickly (days, not weeks or months) to sign a contract. Here's some of the schleping involved:
- Creating the LLC itself sucks/is expensive. I ended up using Legal Zoom to create the LLC because California's government is so understaffed that they're weeks and weeks behind on processing LLC paperwork, so the only way to get your stuff processed quickly is to have a courier walk it into the office by hand, in addition to paying all sorts of expediting feeds. I think I ended up paying Legal Zoom $900, in addition to the $800 franchise tax, etc.
- Figuring out how taxes works sucks. I'm a sole founder, and have only offshore contractors, no employees. It should be really simple. But I honestly still don't have a solid idea how I should be paying myself, what paperwork I should be filing for taxes, and what witholding and estimate payments I should be doing.
- Setting up proper accounting sucks. I used quickbooks to run a small freelance business 10 years ago, but I suspect there's something better out there that's web based. I'd really like to just be able to hand accounting and taxes off to someone who knows more about it than me, but I don't know where to go about finding someone, and am worried they'd cost more than I could afford.
- Figuring out how to get healthcare as a bootstrapped small business sucks. I'm on COBRA right now, but once that runs out, I have no idea what my gameplan is. This is separate from the suckage that is healthcare in general once you have it.
These are all things that are necessary to start a business, but at least for me, none of them are fun, or really increase the value of my business. They only cause headaches if I screw them up.
For most if not all of these, I'd actually be willing to pay someone to just say "Here's a checklist of how to get through all this stuff. Here's the paperwork to fill out, here's who to talk to, here's the service worth paying for."
- Creating the LLC itself sucks/is expensive. I ended up using Legal Zoom to create the LLC because California's government is so understaffed that they're weeks and weeks behind on processing LLC paperwork, so the only way to get your stuff processed quickly is to have a courier walk it into the office by hand, in addition to paying all sorts of expediting feeds. I think I ended up paying Legal Zoom $900, in addition to the $800 franchise tax, etc.
- Figuring out how taxes works sucks. I'm a sole founder, and have only offshore contractors, no employees. It should be really simple. But I honestly still don't have a solid idea how I should be paying myself, what paperwork I should be filing for taxes, and what witholding and estimate payments I should be doing.
- Setting up proper accounting sucks. I used quickbooks to run a small freelance business 10 years ago, but I suspect there's something better out there that's web based. I'd really like to just be able to hand accounting and taxes off to someone who knows more about it than me, but I don't know where to go about finding someone, and am worried they'd cost more than I could afford.
- Figuring out how to get healthcare as a bootstrapped small business sucks. I'm on COBRA right now, but once that runs out, I have no idea what my gameplan is. This is separate from the suckage that is healthcare in general once you have it.
These are all things that are necessary to start a business, but at least for me, none of them are fun, or really increase the value of my business. They only cause headaches if I screw them up.
For most if not all of these, I'd actually be willing to pay someone to just say "Here's a checklist of how to get through all this stuff. Here's the paperwork to fill out, here's who to talk to, here's the service worth paying for."
People still just use QuickBooks, and check out http://www.ehealthinsurance.com. It makes finding insurance simple.
so Legal Zoom did the shlepping for you. Though if you didn't need it rushed, it would be a smaller Legal Zoom fee + $800 CA annual fee (or tax, whichever it is).
Bureaucracy, i know its rather generic and quite a large subject but i absolutely detest it and i feel its only purpose it to make everyones lives harder. Whether its doing the mandatory paperwork i need to do for running my company (which is always late cuz i procrastinate) or absolutely ridiculous requirements like the umpteen amount of papers and ID i have to provide to get something as simple as a Costco card.
I do recognise the government is getting gradually better at a very slow pace but it grates on me so much that i will refuse to participate in something unless i really really want it or have to do it by law.
I do recognise the government is getting gradually better at a very slow pace but it grates on me so much that i will refuse to participate in something unless i really really want it or have to do it by law.
Licensing, compliance with endless laws and regs, and quarterly and annual reports for several departments of government. It's especially discouraging when you speak with a particular branch of government and they have no official interpretation of their new laws, as a result you may or may not be in compliance, they're still deciding.
true. consultants address this shlep.
False Emergencies. As an "IT Guy" my life consists of fixing false emergencies.
Would you mind listing a few examples? I think I have an idea of what you're talking about, but I'd like to hear more (and make sure I understand, as well).
Like the show? Have you ever dared answering the phone "Have you tried turning it on and off again?"
That is so cliche it's hard to even say... worse so because it fixes everything, including "the internet".
All of the things below could be ideas for startups. I 'd pay for them:
- Find a domain name (and a name) for your site
- Recruit beta version users
- Writing the documentation/help pages for your startup
- Making those pretty screencast videos where a cute girl explains how (awesome|exciting|hippy) your site is
- Brand advertising. For example while there are tons of ways with which you could advertise a brand in your website, there's no easy service for that.
- Find a domain name (and a name) for your site
- Recruit beta version users
- Writing the documentation/help pages for your startup
- Making those pretty screencast videos where a cute girl explains how (awesome|exciting|hippy) your site is
- Brand advertising. For example while there are tons of ways with which you could advertise a brand in your website, there's no easy service for that.
My biggest schlep is being involved in too many meaningless activities and meaningless interactions. Things that don't really contribute to my long-term goals, or purpose. Of course, we all have obligations, but it seems like my daily life is 99% filled with meaningless activities.
I'd love for Outlook to magically identify events in emails and ask to add them to the calendar. copy & paste of date/times from email to calendar seems so 1990's. (this is where someone politely alerts me to a simple option I only have to enable)
Error checking.