how do i not burn out? taking on lots of responsibility at a high growth startup, nights and weekends are now "work hours" no solution for better workload management in sight, slowly drowning
quit if it's feasible and take some time for yourself the grindset hustlers are giving a future gift to therapists everywhere
Superhuman for email if you haven’t already Utilize only 1 knowledge/goal/organization management tool if at all humanly possible Have 1 “no fail” task each day and be a zealot about it - otherwise you might spend 3 weeks fighting fires and realize you haven’t done anything Godspeed 🫡
Don’t forget your purpose, avoid misalignments with core team and don’t wear masks 🎭
Say no, take breaks, the human body is finite Automate as much as you can and avoid micromanagement Also note that you are not indispensable if you do burn out you can be replaced, no job is worth it Try to maximize impact and minimize non impactful busywork
- Tell ur founders ur burnt out - Limit urself to only working 10-12 hours a weekday and maybe 3-4 on weekends - Block off work hours (weekdays: 8am-8pm, weekends 8am-12pm with flexibility) - Turn off notifications outside of those work periods - give urself 5 min at the end of each day to reflect what accomplished
Enjoy it. Or drop responsibilities. Take breaks if it feels like you’re burning out.
Taking lots of responsibility fast is complicated to manage. When I had a similar situation I focused on this: - Delegate in the people you trust. Focus on strengths and providing value. - Replace meetings with properly elaborated emails. - Put all meetings in a specific time slot. - Fine-grained tasks and reminders!
Let the low priority stuff go or delegate it out. Prioritize healthy food + sleep + exercise. Get going with a therapist you like *before* you have a meltdown. Have a clear plan for taking time off in the future. Tell friends and collaborators you’re approaching your limit to set expectations and get support.
Talk to whoever you report to. This is not sustainable. If they care about you and the work you’re doing then they’ll help figure out how to manage your workload. If not, then it’s probably time to leave.
Ask yourself what your purpose for being there was? Burnout starts coming more when we lose sight of that. You can handle a lot more stress when you’re doing it intentionally and in alignment with your goals than you can when those are out of whack. When you answer that you’ll know which suggestion is your solution
Ruthlessly prioritize. This means making sure the critical things happen first and you say “not right now” to the less important things. This also helps you see which things are most important. 75% of the time the things we think are important aren’t as critical as we think, or aren’t needed NOW. Eg: featur
You’ve got this. One suggestion is when you wake up try 10 mindful deep breaths before you look at your phone
try to live by your handle. That's the only way I have managed to fight with my wife, work 10+hr days, raise 2 kids, and now try start a company with no income in sight :) Not easy but fun is the thing that has propped me up every day like nothing else for the last 2+years.
Drop your schedule and manage your load by energy. Go with the flow. Maintain sleep and exercise.