

Startups: Live longer, don't burnout - gdltec
http://ontechies.com/2011/08/31/live-longer-dont-burnout/

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kubindurion
Balance in your life is a cool thing, still, there is a question where is
balance? Is it 1 hour of "decompression" every day? 2 hours? a weekend? what
if you're still more effective with ALMOST no decompression at all? How long
can you endure?

Where is the point of "balance" for you?

~~~
wccrawford
I can't speak for him, but there's no single point for me. I can tell when
I've spent a week being 'too productive'. Mainly because the next week will be
killer on me. Energy levels will be down, I'll be on edge about everything,
etc.

~~~
kubindurion
isnt't it all about glucose levels?

<http://finalmile.in/show_article.php?aid=6>

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pud
I originally read the headline (and the first few paragraphs) as "[keep your
startup] live longer, don't burnout [and shut it down prematurely]"

Which is an article I'd like to read.

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Hisoka
Good advice that I need to heed.

But what about if first-to-market is the difference between success and
failure? What if you really really need to put in 60 hour weeks for the next
1/2 year or else your startup is going to die?

~~~
wccrawford
Then there's a good chance you will burn out. You have to balance the risk of
burnout with the risk of failure. It comes down to how much you value your
daily happiness vs future happiness.

Personally, my father valued his future happiness more and worked himself half
to death until retirement. At which point, he had money, but all the rest of
his plans fell apart. Now, I can't say he's happier than when he was working.

I've gone the other direction. My work is fun, my rest is fun, my fun is fun.
I make decent money, but I'll never be as important to a company as my dad
was. And he was that important to quite a few companies. Literally saving them
from bankruptcy.

A part of me wants those kind of tales to tell when I'm old, and the money
that goes along with it... But I know better than to give up my short and
medium term happiness to do it.

~~~
Hisoka
But that's different. He's waiting until retirement. I'm not planning to wait
that long - that's just silly. I'm saying 2 years of delayed gratification at
most.

