March 12, 2025 · 8 min read
A Practical Look at the First Week
The decisions made in the first seven days often set the pace for everything that follows. This note reviews what to prioritize, what can be left for later, and how to avoid the most common mistakes.
When someone starts a new project, the temptation to do everything at once is enormous. The first week, however, should not be a sprint but a period of observation and adjustment. In this note, I will describe what that stage looks like from the inside, with concrete examples and no grand promises.
What really matters at the beginning
The first mistake I see repeated is confusing activity with progress. Filling the schedule with meetings, creating documents, and setting up calendars can give the feeling of movement, but if there is no clear question to answer, all that effort fades away. In the first week, it is best to define three or four priorities and stick to them, even when urgent matters demand attention.
In my case, the priority was understanding how the real workflow operated, not the one written in the manual. That meant talking to the people who carry out the tasks, reviewing the time each step takes, and spotting the bottlenecks that no one mentioned in formal meetings. That information, although uncomfortable, is what allows for useful decisions.
Constraints as a starting point
An aspect that is often overlooked is the value of constraints. Knowing what cannot be done is as important as knowing what you want to achieve. In the first week, limits appear regarding time, budget, team capacity, or available tools. Instead of seeing them as obstacles, it is better to treat them as data that helps narrow down options and make faster decisions.
For example, if the team can only dedicate two hours a day to a specific task, it makes no sense to plan a deliverable that requires eight. Adjusting expectations from the start avoids frustration and allows for designing a realistic plan. This is one of the most practical lessons learned in the early days.
What I set aside (and why)
It is also useful to review what you decide not to do. In my case, I set aside exhaustive documentation of every process and creating templates for everything. Those tasks, although valuable, were not urgent and consumed time I needed for observing and conversing. I preferred to take brief notes and write down what I learned at the end of the week, when I already had a more complete picture.
Another decision was not to get involved in discussions that had no direct impact on the defined priorities. It is easy to get distracted by interesting but peripheral topics. Staying focused requires some discipline, but the results show quickly.
What I learned in seven days
The first week leaves lessons that do not appear in any manual. The most important one, perhaps, is that reliable information comes from direct observation and honest conversations, not from reports. I also learned that constraints, when well understood, are allies for decision-making, and that clarity about what will not be done is as valuable as the to-do list.
If you are about to start a similar project, my recommendation is to set aside time to observe before acting, define few priorities, and not be afraid to adjust the plan when new data emerges. The first week does not define the final outcome, but it does set the tone for everything that follows.