The First Rule of Holes

By Amy Wartham, UNC Charlotte Director of Corporate Training and Executive Education

When I was a kid, anytime I got myself into a mess – like giving our dog a haircut or “accidentally” painting my bike – my dad would say, “Amy, the first rule of holes is: when you’re in one…stop digging.”

I didn’t fully appreciate this gem at the time, probably because I was still holding a shovel. But oh, how those words ring in my ears today – especially on days when I look up, it’s 1:00 pm, and I realize I’ve spent half the day stuck in a project that should’ve been put out of its misery by 10:00 am.

Here’s the thing: I didn’t stop because I had an epiphany. I stopped because my body needed lunch and my brain started buffering… and buffering… and buffering.

Let’s talk about sunk cost bias. You know it well. You start watching a movie. It’s bad. Like, really bad. But you’ve already invested an hour. “Might as well finish it,” you say, clutching the remote like a hostage negotiator. You suffer through the final 47 minutes because giving up feels like wasting what you already spent.

Sound familiar?

Now swap out that movie for a work project, a process, or a strategic initiative. We’ve all been there – pouring time, energy, and probably too many Post-it notes into something that’s no longer serving us. But instead of quitting, we dig deeper, convinced that finishing what we started is noble, not stubbornly misguided.

Spoiler alert: It’s usually just that.

While you’re busy digging that hole (or watching that movie), you’re not doing something else. That’s where opportunity cost comes in. Every minute you keep investing in a low-yield task is a minute you’re not brainstorming something brilliant, collaborating with your team, or just tackling something with a better ROI – and walking away feeling like your time actually mattered.

I once spent an hour trying to redesign an illustration for one of our courses. I’m not a graphic designer. I used a template. It looked like clip art met a kindergartener and everyone lost. But I kept going. Why? Because I’d already spent so much time on it. Meanwhile, actual designers were an instant message away.

Quitting gets a bad rap. But strategic quitting? That’s next-level wisdom. It’s how we shift from busy to effective. It’s how we turn “I spent all day doing this” into “I decided this wasn’t worth my time – and moved on.”

Want to know the best part? Quitting opens the door to parallel paths.

Sometimes, the best way to get out of a hole isn’t to dig faster or throw the shovel at a colleague. It’s to back up, survey your options, and explore more than one idea at a time. Start a second version. Test two prototypes. Consider alternate sources. Keep two viable courses running side-by-side until one emerges as the better bet.

In business and in life, knowing when to quit is a skill. It’s not lazy. It’s not weak. It’s how we stop wasting time on what was and start investing in what could be.

So… next time you catch yourself knee-deep in a project with no pulse, remember: The first rule of holes is to stop digging.

If you need some help with productivity or innovation training for your team, shoot me an email at awartham@charlotte.edu or check out our Course Catalog for our list of program offerings. I’d love the opportunity to connect and learn more about your organization’s goals, and explore how we can help support your learning and development initiatives.