Three things that start-up life has already taught me

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I recently joined Homegene as the head of communications and brand. Here are some things that I've learned in my short time in an interior design and remodelling start-up:

1. Put theory into practice. Fast.

I'm used to researching and reading for weeks on end before incorporating new ideas, theories, techniques and styles into my work, and this is true for all of the work I do as a writer, designer and artist. But in a start-up, action is everything, and it's forced me to distill the most important parts of any material that I'm reading or referencing and act upon them. It's been a lesson in letting go of my fears of failure or not living up to the impossible standards I set for myself and simply acting from well-informed instinct. And it's paying off!

2. Don't stop moving.

Whether it's actioning items on your to-do list, producing content, contacting suppliers, convincing users and evolving the brand, there's no time for stasis. This has been a huge learning curve for me as I'm accustomed to moments of stillness and have actively cultivated that between projects and even as small breaks during my day. The funny thing is, I don't feel stressed or hurried. I'm stimulated and energised. Which has surprised me!

3. Let go of procrastination and perfectionism.

I believe that procrastination and perfectionist tendencies are merely two sides of the same coin, and having ADD, I do tend to put off things that I feel I may fail at, which ends up making the pressure all the more worse for me when it comes to crunch time. But being in start-up, when things move fast and failures must be brushed off and moved on from, I find that I'm more confident in my abilities to execute tasks, reach my hourly, daily and weekly work goals and dive headfirst into projects, rather than letting my insecurities get the better of me.

What have you learned from switching jobs or industries?