You don’t see the seed you planted in March until July. Stop digging it up to check.

Growth happens underground for longer than feels reasonable, and checking on it interrupts the very process you are anxious about. Most worthwhile efforts have a period with no visible return, where the only available evidence is that you are still doing the work. Constant measurement during that stretch mostly produces discouragement.

Decide in advance how long you will keep going before you evaluate, and then leave it alone until then. Track the inputs if you need something to look at. When the review date arrives, judge the whole stretch rather than the last bad week.