Why You Should Stop Working On Your Startup.
I've put 0 hours into my startup 'Spread' all week.
Even though last week I hit a record of over 1000 users, and was starting to 'trend' a lil... I still spent absolutely 0 real hours on Spread. And I have no shame at all.
Why? - I've worked on it religiously for 2 hours every weekday night, and all weekend, for the past 6 weeks.
2 Hours + weekends doesn't sound like a lot. But when you have a 9:30-7 job and workout for 1.5 hours every day on top of that. 2 Hours every night is my only time.
I've been doing this entrepreneur thing for the past 2 years. Usually, I will do about 1 hour every night. However, due to corona (no traveling) I have doubled it to 2 hours.
So why the sudden stop? (Especially after a trending week)
I WAS BURNT THE FUACK OUT.
I was happy to do the work and even motivated to do so. But I could see my quality slipping. Blog posts became more of a chore and started lacking substance.
I've FORCED myself to take this entire week off. So I can replenish my mind and body. (I've also taken a de-load gym week). I've taken time to be outside a little more. Listened to inspiring podcasts. Learned about copywriting and growth strategies. And watched dumb ass tv shit just to rest my head.
It's like when that guy from Dragon Ball Z charges up an attack. I've been charging all week. Monday I'm attacking.
Right now I'm like a hungry caged animal. Itching for Monday to come.
When Monday does finally arrive. I have a wealth of energy, inspiration and pure tenacity to spill into my work, the results will be far crazier than if I carried on slogging along creating basic content.
Every 8-12 weeks I take a de-load week from the gym. I'm also going to take de-load weeks from work, so that I'm consistently producing high-quality content.
This can be doing no work at all. Or very minimal.
To be honest, all I did was tweet on my personal account, make 2 IH posts, and reply to freelance/team messages...
I suggest founders who work hard, do the same. It's improved my mental state, productivity, and focus.
I will be crushing it on here with https://www.spreadtech.online/ from Monday
Google Whisk - Generate images using images as prompts, not text prompts
After 19,314 lines of code, i'm shutting down my project
Need feedback for my product.
We are live on Product Hunt
Don't be a Jerk. Use this Tip Calculator.
I always had those empty weeks since I started working. It's a great opportunity to catch a breath and just think about stuff without limiting or stopping yourself.
On the last one I took, one day I rode up to a mountain road, found a peaceful place and just layed down on the grass for a few hours. Nothing but the sound of wind and birds. It was great.
Mate that sounds like absolute heaven... omg
I wish I was able to do that right now
Good advice. People often overlook the impact of working hard for many hours non-stop and thinking that burn out will never affect them. It's important to realize that there are other things in life, which will be especially helpful when the things that we are working on don't go the way we planned.
Exactly. Do less, to get more... in a roundabout way!
Taking a break usually means coming back stronger and more invigorated! This is great advice.
I have! Have you tried it?
I've just started working on my own projects but I compare it to taking a vacation after working on an intense deadline at my day job. I definitely feel much better when I get back out after the break. Now as I continue to work on my own personal projects I'll remember to take a break ever so often.
Take care. All the best. BTW the idea is awesome.
Like nectar in the content garden... :)
Thank you very much
Sign up if you haven't already ;)
How many users/customers with this project do you have?
I have 151 BETA users signed up for the June launch
Any reason you ask? :D
Yes, there is a reason. Because sometimes you are burnt not because you worked too much but because of lack of motivation what paid users can serve for.
"Every 8-12 weeks I take a de-load week from the gym. I'm also going to take de-load weeks from work, so that I'm consistently producing high-quality content."
I love this idea, and the mindset you have about it. Nice job listening to yourself and taking the time you need.
Thank you.
The funny thing is I didn't want to take a break. I was still motivated to carry on and wanted to, but I saw my quality slipping too much.
How have you been getting on since lockdown?
Many people would have pushed on regardless and ended up hurting themselves. It's great you were able to pull away when you saw that you needed to.
I've been good, thank you for asking! I cut out a lot of other vices (junk food, alcohol) and noticed I was then using work as a drug, so I've been taking action on finding a healthier balance.
I've become a very self critical person (in a good way).
I'll analyse and ask myself why I do many of the things I do. It's been super healthy for me personally - I know it isn't effective for everyone. But I really dive into my mind and try my best to talk to myself as objectively and as harsh as I can.
E.g Even the terrible things such as coming to realisation that I said or did something because I'm jealous/angry/annoyed etc...
I'm not a bad person. But it helps to keep me in check and stop it from happening again.
I hope you find the balance you are looking for. However, if you want to achieve some amazing things with your work, balance isn't always the best thing... Just a thought though :)
I have been doing 100 hours of work a week for the last 3 months, we are shipping this week. After reading your post I may take a week after launch to just read, walk, and relax.
Honest to god it will help IMO
You come back fresh and sharp. Ready to take on the next hurdles.
Reply back with how launching went, please? I'm launching in June and I need some real advice on how to do it haha
Nice analogy; it's similar to de-loading at the gym. You come back stronger.
I have pretty much the same schedule as you. After job hours + 1.5h working out + a little family time, there's only one or two hours left for me to work on my project, and it's the ones where I'm the most tired :(
So no regrets, go and crush it!
Honest to god "most tired" I've never related to anything so much in my life
Thankfully I started this entrepreneur thing quite early so I don't have a family or anything but still time is SO tight.
The hour or two I spend on my business I ensure is the most focused though
I put my phone away
Already plan out what I'm going to do
Put Binaural beats on
Won't eat for at least 2 hours before starting work
and do the exact same routine every night
this ensures that those precious two hours are extremely productive
Great tips on getting focused. I think if we had the full 8 hours the quality of those hours just wouldn't be the same. Having less time forces you to get the most out of your time.
" Won't eat for at least 2 hours before starting work"
I'll have to try this one, since I'll be more alert on an empty stomach for sure. I get sleepy right after dinner so maybe I'll have it much earlier in the day.
And since my project involves helping people getting focused and optimizing their time usage, this is inspiration. Thanks, @LouTromans!
No worries, glad I could help you out!
The eating one is actually a big one for me, I especially realised after trying to work on the weekends after a big fry up breakfast hahaha