
Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised - ministrator
Created a throwaway for a variety of reasons. I am currently running a profitable service business, making $10k+&#x2F;mo. But I feel miserable and I don&#x27;t understand why. The work I get to do is easy and enjoyable. The clients I get to work with are great. Once I get started working I get stuff done pretty quickly, but the problem is getting started every morning. ONCE I get started, everything is fine, but every day I feel demoralised to GET STARTED. The time period of waking up until getting started feels absolutely miserable. I have no idea how to solve it since, from my perspective, it isn&#x27;t clear what the problem is.
Like I said, the work + customers are fantastic. But why do I still feel so demoralised and horrible every single morning?
How could I solve this?<p>Update: Additional info<p>* I work from home<p>* I only work 5 days a week, around 3&#x2F;4h a day.<p>* Don&#x27;t follow a specific diet and don&#x27;t exercise regularly<p>I&#x27;ve been struggling with this feeling for a few months now and I can&#x27;t seem to see why. My days are not long, the work itself is fun, but to get started in the morning is absolute hell. I keep postponing work until late in the afternoon sometimes.
======
dkns
If it's earning you $10k+ a month then you can probably afford going to
specialist and by that I mean psychotherapist. Just do it. Don't listen to
random advice from random internet people. If you're feeling miserable
(especially if it's going on for quite some time) that might be the symptom of
some bigger underlying issue.

~~~
kvonhorn
> Don't listen to random advice from random internet people.

> [Go] to [a] specialist and by that I mean psychotherapist.

It sounds like you've got a great setup. The way you're feeling could destroy
what you've built, however, and you may not recognize how. Drop a few
Benjamins and get professional advice from a psychologist.

You might also consider seeing a doctor and getting a physical, and start the
Couch to 5K if your doctor advises you to get some exercise.

~~~
twunde
Assuming you have health insurance and are based in the US, your plan most
likely covers this. Check your insurer's website or talk to your doctor's
office. Many insurance plans also have remote mental health services.

------
fairpx
What helped for me is build a team around you. The moment there are others
that join your mission, everything changes. I started out my service based UI
design business ([http://fairpixels.pro](http://fairpixels.pro)) as a
solopreneur. At some point, I started getting the same feelings as you're
describing and realised (from past projects) that having a team for support
had always worked for me. If you don’t have the budget, no worries. You don’t
have to hire full time people. These can be VA’s, freelancers that
occasionally help you out or even a mentor that actively pings you to keep
updated on the progress you’re making. Knowing you’re not by yourself has been
a huge motivator for me and might be the solution you’re looking for. Good
luck & feel free to ping me if you have additional questions.

~~~
davismwfl
fairpx has the right advice. I can echo it nearly word for word. Get some help
even if you are specifically carving out say work that takes you 10 hours a
week to do and you hire a VA or freelancer to do it each week.

A few additional things I'll add, make sure you are eating well, getting some
exercise/activity everyday and make a plan to take say a week off 1-2 months
from now. Part of your job during that 2 months is to make it so you can take
the time off and not panic. Just remember this, if you can't take time off you
don't have a business you have a job.

One other suggestion which I have personally done. I was having trouble with
doing the above personally, but I knew I was going to implode if I didn't do
something. So in my case I took my laptop got a hotel room on an island and
worked from the pool, hotel room, etc during a week. I found I could work a
few hours a day and accomplish everything and had enough time to go explore
and relax. That helped energize me, I think just getting out of my pattern was
the most important part.

Good luck!

------
brandonhsiao
I used to be the same way.

Wake up at 5am, meditate, exercise, and shower before starting your day. Stop
eating processed carbs and sugar. Get off the computer at 9pm and sleep at
10pm. Clean your room. Schedule sprints of work for yourself, drag yourself
over to your chair, and force yourself to start typing anything. Talk to your
friends more often. Set 1-3 large goals at the beginning of the day and
explain to yourself why they're important.

There are lots of reasons you might be feeling this way, and it's different
for everyone. Maybe you're disorganized, or you feel your work is too easy, or
your health is bad. You'll have to find out which one it is by trying a lot of
different things.

If after doing all this you still feel the same way, please seriously consider
the very real possibility of clinical depression, and seek professional help.

~~~
Gideonnn
This goal is too hard to achieve! It is like the 10x programmer, it is just
too much to be a realistic goal. I mean, good for you if you can wake up every
day at 5 am and meditate. But aside from the 0.0001% of people on the world
that can do this, most people can't.

This is a way of life which seems like living in a monastery to me. Totally
unrealistic.

~~~
ryanwaggoner
Neither getting up at 5am or daily meditation are all that rare or difficult.
And if you take perfection out of the equation, as you should, then aiming to
do them 80-90% of the time makes it even easier.

I’m a natural night owl, but I routinely (80-90% of the time) go to bed early
and get up at 4am. It’s really not that hard.

~~~
theonething
> It's really not that hard.

Based on the current research on chronotypes [0], you seem to be the
exception, not the norm.

'“If people are left to their naturally preferred times, they feel much
better. They say that they are much more productive. The mental capacity they
have is much broader,” says Oxford University biologist Katharina Wulff, who
studies chronobiology and sleep.'[1]

[0]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronotype](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronotype)

[1] [http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20171114-why-you-
shouldnt-t...](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20171114-why-you-shouldnt-try-
to-be-a-morning-person)

~~~
nicolashahn
Throwing a bit of anecdotal evidence out: throughout high school I had to get
up at 6:45 every weekday for four years, and constantly felt tired throughout
the day, but it cleared up at night and I'd be energized at 1am. I had to take
naps after school, but even if I didn't I'd still be unable to sleep at 11pm.
Something about everyone else around me being asleep and not distracting me
allowed me to focus on things better.

Now I have a job with very flexible hours so I go to sleep at 2am and wake up
at 10am like clockwork. I feel and perform much better all around. I'm
convinced that if I had had a sleep schedule that worked for me in my teens
I'd have been able to achieve much more than I did.

------
glancast
In basically the same situation, here's what's helped me:

1\. Hard limits on screen time (e.g. no screens after 5pm)

2\. Basketball, tennis, chess (find a social activity - physical ones are a
double whammy)

3\. Personal training

4\. Spend time learning - I spend a good portion of my free time learning
about my craft, but also about other things. Variability spices life up a bit.

5\. Working from coffee shops

6\. Writing. Serves mainly as a way to process my experiences, and the large
positive feedback has been rewarding. (example:
[http://www.programmerfu.com/2017/04/20/fast-is-slow-slow-
is-...](http://www.programmerfu.com/2017/04/20/fast-is-slow-slow-is-smooth-
smooth-is-fast.html))

My most recent strategy has been to wake up, make coffee and bust out an hour
of focused work before I do anything. My wife works with me during this time,
which is nice for accountability and togetherness. Generally, getting that
first hour out of the way without "easing into it" with reddit/HN gives me a
feeling of accomplishment that empowers me to tackle the rest of the day. And
if I'm unmotivated the rest of the day, I know I've gotten a decent slice of
work in already.

~~~
borplk
Fun nitpick: Can "double whammy" be used in a positive context? I think it
implies two negative things no?

~~~
glancast
Clearly I was referring to the original meaning: shooting curses at people
with your fingers, which is a fun social and physical activity ;)

------
JepZ
Without knowing anything specific, lets check the basics

\- Sleep: Do you sleep around 8 hours per night and shake that rhythm up
sometimes (go party once a month or whatever to give you some change)?

\- Sport: You should definitively do something, like go running half an hour
twice a week.

\- Diet: Not following anything specific doesn't say much ;-) I mean, when you
say that, I would assume you are probably eating more suggar/fat than the WHO
recommends and less vegetables. So try to bring the sugar consume to a
recommended level and try to find out what a healty diet is about.

\- Vacation: When was the last time you left the place you live for at least
two weeks without even thinking about work? You should do that _at least_ once
a year.

\- Partner: Do you life alone? For many people it is helpful to have a
relationship with someone, but that really depends, as some people are also
alone pretty happy.

Last but not least: Finding a good psychotherapist is also something worth
mentioning. Its not like you have to have some mental illness to visit them.
They are more like consultants on how solve personal pain points.

PS: My personal advice: Do not read news pages before you work. At least for
me it kills my productivity and makes it really hard to concentrate at the
task at hand (might not apply to you).

~~~
JoeAltmaier
Re: therapist, years ago it was estimated that a good, listening friends has
about the same effect as a good therapist. So maybe cheaper (if you can find
one at all).

~~~
hennsen
If you can afford do both. Specialists have a bigger toolset with these things
to help. Their advice is independent from a friend or family relationship. But
hanging with them 1-2 hours every day as you might with a good friend can get
expensive... Both types of support are useful in different ways.

------
davekiss
I'm also a solopreneur making a healthy profit who has dealt with this. Some
days, I'll make up tasks to perform just to keep me busy so that I don't have
to go sit at the computer. Or, when I am at the computer, I'll close my email
only to reopen it a few moments later. It's the worst cycle of nothingness,
especially as a developer, whose primary motivation is to figure out how
things work (or, why something isn't working.)

You know what has helped me, contrary to all the advice I've been given?

Stepping away. Stopping trying to fight against the feeling and really
listening to it and embracing it. Putting my best effort into the _other_
thing that is keeping me motivated at the time. Slow down, breathe.

Ideally, maybe you can incorporate some of the other healthy advice into your
routine or interests. Need to eat better? Maybe you'd enjoy putting more time
into the intricacies of cooking. Need more exercise? Try picking up a fun
activity where you can level up, like mountain biking.

Consider building a team who can help you to grow your business and become
your professional family. Surround yourself with people who you can learn from
and help out. Leverage the fact that your healthy solo profit provides the
benefit of choosing your hours. We're made to feel so bad if we don't perform
40 hours of work per week, but that's total BS and an outdated social
construct.

If you want to talk more about this, I'm on Twitter. @davekiss

------
Fradow
Do you work from home? If you do, consider going somewhere else to work, and
make that place your workplace. Coworking spaces are especially good because
you'll be around people working all day, which will stimulate you to work too,
without having to actually employ anyone, like other comments suggest.

Some people are not made to work alone year-long. I know I'm one of them,
working for home has been exactly what you described. Now that I'm in an
office, I spend most of my workday actually working.

~~~
LandR
This co-working thing can backfire a bit. I work alone in a shared office.
There are plenty of people around, but they are all in teams and no one really
talks other people from not their team / company.

------
malmsteen
Because there's more to life than being successful and earning money: being
part of a team, having successful relationships with family/friends/lovers and
other factors is 90% of your happiness..

So the problem is not probably the money, nor actually the diet / exercise, it
won't make you happy because you are already disciplined enough in many ways
so more discipline to you will not make you more happy. Instead you should
focus on these other valuable aspects of life:

 __\- Learning to have fun __

 __\- Learning to be crazy __

 __\- Deepening your relationships. __

You 're depressed because there's a lack of something and clearly it's not
money so i would say it's relationships / feelings maybe.. or maybe a bit of
craziness ? We (SWE/maths guys) live in a world of rule and order but it's not
most of the essense of life. Life is messy and cahotic and we are made to
embrace it somehow... (edit: even it looks hard or if there is a voice in your
head saying 'this advice is stupid')

Finally a quote that i like: "sex is like water, it only becomes important
when you don't lacking of".. it's actually not only sex the same for food,
personal relationships, money, family. Life is pretty much about equilibrating
a few of these "basic needs". Just find what is missing to you.

~~~
mattferderer
This is really great advice. Balance is something I think many of us forget.
Without it I think it's hard to appreciate the good things. It reminds me of a
Bible quote I seen in a book the other week that reads like a nice poem. I
think it's relevant to anyone.

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Interpret it however you want, I don't personally feel it promotes violence
but I do think it shows how one might not appreciate the good without the bad.
It personally reminds me that life needs balance & importantly, life needs
much of the above not just being productive & wealthy which many of us focus
on to much.

------
kowdermeister
I'd move to a co-working space or simply rent a small office. I did that while
freelancing and startupping and never had trouble starting the day.

However don't be shy to take @dkns's advice try a professionals help, there's
nothing wrong taking care about mental health too.

~~~
campbellmorgan
I completely agree with this. While there can be many other issues that are
worth seeking professional advice for, being on ones own for prolonged periods
is definitely bad for one's mental health. I recently watched a documentary on
the effects of solitary confinment on prison inmates and saw that I was
developing very mild symptoms described by working on my own at home for many
days consecutively. Even having people in view helps immeasurably.

------
markfer
I imagine it's from a lack of mission/end goal. It may feel that you're just
"floating by" right now. What are your end goals? What's your mission? I would
recommend working backwards from that and setting timelines/goals.

Also, personally working from home as a solopreneur sounds like a nightmare
for me. I interact at my best when I'm surrounded by others, though ymmv. If
hiring is out of the question - spend $500 of that $10k per month and get a
coworking space (WeWork, etc). If that doesn't help you, cancel the monthly
contract.

~~~
celestialcheese
I'd second the getting an office or joining a co-working space - i'm in a very
similar situation to you and being alone all day was demoralizing. Getting up
and going to an office makes the day much more bearable.

------
jondubois
That's a pretty good situation to be in.

I think that maybe it's partially because you spend too much time on Hacker
News. On HN, you constantly read about people who are luckier than you who
complain about their lives... Then you think "Whoa; these people have way more
than me and they're unhappy about it; how am I supposed to feel?" \- Answer:
"Depressed".

------
alex_duf
I've been through depression and this sounds like how I felt at many points in
my life.

Assuming I'm not simply projecting my feelings, there's a good news: the
hardest for me was acknowledging I had a problem (which you just did). Once
you pass that and get help you'll get the ball rolling quickly.

I hope you solve that issue promptly, the sooner the better.

------
tw1010
Getting into a habit of exercise is the obvious answer. A less conventional
advice that has sometimes worked for me is to totally embrace the feeling of
being somber, and binge on some of the classic sort of _miserable apathetic
existentialist_ books. Things like Albert Camus' The Stranger, Sartre's
Nausia, Beckett's Waiting for Godot, and Dostoyevsky's Notes from Underground.
Sometimes after I have read those works, after I have stopped trying to ignore
the feeling and just went all in for a few days, do I even get bored with
being miserable and then start to look for other emotions to experience, and
usually they're a lot happier in flavour. Obviously this advice could also
exacerbate the problem, so try it at your own risk.

------
vineet
What is your nutrition story like? Do you have a healthy diet?

Your symptoms could also be caused by a vitamin deficiency.

------
gdfer
* Don't follow a specific diet and don't exercise regularly *

\-------

Honestly, this is the biggest red flag for me. Yes, you may have other
personal/emotional/mental health things you want to get support for, but
regular exercise can do absolute wonders for your overall well-being.

My advice: watch a couple youtube videos about navy seals -about how
disciplined they are and the will power they develop to get up every day and
attack the day during their training. Challenge yourself to get up early and
do a good quality workout for about ~2 weeks straight, then re-evaluate how
you feel. I bet you'll feel 5x better.

~~~
x2f10
What's a good workout for a beginner w/o access to a gym?

~~~
gdfer
I got into recreational gymnastics about a year ago to challenge myself and
have really taken to simple body weight exercises with no weights... But
people have different bodies and need to find what works for them.

Here is what i may do in 30-40 minutes in the morning: * stretch quick. *
ab/core workout for 5-10 minutes. Then 2-4 rotations through the following: *
hand stand hold against the wall. * air squats or power jacks. * push ups. *
calf raises. * variations of pullups.

The only equipment i have is a pull up bar over a door frame.

Super simple super effective.

------
lhuser123
For what is worth, you are like my kind of hero. My dream is to someday
accomplish something like that and be able to work from home. And on top of
that, you have so much time available for other things, that’s awesome.

------
j_s
At the end of the day, save yourself something very simple to start with the
next day.

There are different stages in the life of a buisness, this stage may not
appeal to you. Maybe it is time to start another one?

\- The recommendation to stick to the parts of business development that you
love comes up occasionally on the
[http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com](http://www.startupsfortherestofus.com)
podcast. Rob Walling actually does another podcast specifically targeting
mental wellness: [https://zenfounder.com](https://zenfounder.com)

------
saluki
Check this out . . . if you haven't already.

I think this could help.
[https://zenfounder.com/services/solopreneur/](https://zenfounder.com/services/solopreneur/)

Congratulations!

It's tough being a solopreneur.

One thing that helps me get started is setting up a task I really look forward
to working on to be the first thing I work on after some warmups.

Warmups are tiny tasks that are quick and easy to knock out, I usually try to
have 4 to 5 of these at the top of my trello board for the day. It literally
warms you up to tackle more challenging work.

Start eating a better diet, if you drink soda/sweet coffee try switching to
tea and more water during the day.

Since you work from home if you find yourself not getting things done stop.
Spend some time with family, go for a walk, go for a bike ride exercise. There
are many times during the day where you just get in a lull and aren't doing
anything productive at the computer.

Service businesses are tough, you should check out StartupsForTheRestOfUs.com
and start learning about building a product or SaaS. This can give you
something to look forward to working on and help supplement your services
revenue and replace it in the future.

Good luck hope things are going better next week.

------
mistersquid
Given that you've come here to ask relative strangers about what might help
you solve this, it would be easy to presume that you might not have friends
and family you can turn to for advice.

But if you do know anyone with a bit of life experience (could be any age or
background, but as a general guideline at least late 30s with similar
professional accomplishments to yourself) who can make time to talk with you
in person, reach out to them.

Let them know you'd like to get their advice on something personal that's
affecting your professional life. I'd also recommend refraining from
intoxicants for this meeting but the face to face is the most important part.

Others have already suggested ensuring that your personal footing (exercise,
meditation, self-care) is solid. This is essential, and as I've grown older
I've noticed that I've needed to change the balance and kind of things I do to
maintain my mental and spiritual well being.

On occasion, I've gone outside my personal network and sought the help of a
therapist. If you haven't already considered doing so, add professional
counseling in the list of possible options to help you through this phase of
your life.

Emotional and mental well being are, to my mind, the entire point of
everything we can do for ourselves and for each other and finding the balance
can be hard, solutions elusive.

Given how well you've done for yourself so far, I'm guessing you will get
through this even stronger than you were before.

Good luck.

------
LorenzoLlamas
Hey man, there may be a LOT of things going on here, but I can relate. If I
don't get my day STARTED by 6am (or so), I see it slipping away from me.
Others below have alluded to it, also. Diet and exercise are important (but
the world is jacked when it comes to 'exercise', pushing gyms and supplements
and dumb sporting events. Honestly, just keep lights low at night before dusk,
don't be on devices after dark, read only paper books after dark, and start
getting up early (tons of info out there if you search). Get up at 5am, go for
a walk and get a coffee (not a sugar bomb - just a small coffee like your
grandfather probably would do) and be back at 6:30a to start work. According
to you, you'll be done well before lunch. Make plans for a lunch date with
friends/family (sounds like you can afford it) and have a healthy fun salad-
ish eating out time. Then go do something fun - or go see a movie matinee - or
go do things for other people (volunteer, visit your kids if you have any, go
make some if you don't... ha ha, or go help other business owners solve
problems since you sound like you have good ideas in that area, or go talk to
wayward youth at schools... something! Switch it up so you look forward to
that afternoon 'you-only' time. Then, do your personal errands at end of day
(like the rest of us working stiffs) like groceries, laundry, house cleaning,
etc... one last check of devices before dusk, then it's either date night,
relaxing at home, maybe a night out 1/2 times/week on the town, etc... No
coffee after noon, no alcohol before noon, walk everywhere you possibly can
(and keep stretching that), no devices after dusk, and I promise you, no
matter what, you'll be feeling at LEAST 3x better in a month or so. Happy
holidays, dude.

~~~
usaphp
> Get up at 5am, go for a walk and get a coffee (not a sugar bomb - just a
> small coffee like your grandfather probably would do) and be back at 6:30a
> to start work.

I never understand these suggestions of waking up at 5am, I, on contrary feel
myself much better if I can enjoy a late dinner/Netflix with my wife after
kids are in bed or going out with friends. Waking up at 5 am means you need to
fall asleep at 9pm. It means that if on a weekend your friend invite you to
hangout or on Friday after work - it will be hard to adjust to this time
change on a fly and you will feel miserable with them and the next morning
too.

~~~
stefs
people are different when it comes to a good time to get up. what works for
one doesn't work for another. some are naturally early birds, others late
risers. personally i had a job for about two years that forced me to get up at
6am and i felt sleep deprived and miserable for the whole two years because
even after all those months it still felt natural for me to go to bed after
midnight.

this is also the case without screens; i used to attend a training camp a
couple of years prior. up at 6am, morning sport, breakfast, nap, training,
lunch, nap, training, dinner, cards then off to bed at ~10pm. after 2, 3 days
i get used to it and start staying up longer until i'm back to going to bed at
or after midnight and then sleeping through the morning sport.

i guess people are just naturally different when it comes to sleep times.

------
pipio21
Well, there is very little data here, but let's guess from it.

You say your job is easy, but feel miserably, so it looks like your body is
telling you it needs something you are not providing him.

Let's review the basics: -Do you sleep well? -Do you eat well? -Do you
exercise regularly? You answer that question, no. -Do you have friends, wife,
partner or children? -Do you spend too much time in front of a computer? -Do
you spend too much time sit down? -Do you see the light of the day every
single day or work in the dark?

Normally someone will postpone a job that is tedious or hard or makes you
suffer(mental). If that is not the case, odds are that it is just a physical
thing.

When I started working at home I had to be in front of a computer 8-10 hours
per day, but I could not be more than 1 or 2. So I bought a stool, put my
screens at eye level while standing up and started going out in sunny Madrid
every single day to exercise.

After one year of doing that(it took training of my muscles to be able to work
standing up) I could work for more than 8 hours in front of a computer without
issues.

There are things like the lymphatic system that needs movement of the body in
order to work. If you do not move your body will alert you into stopping
whatever you are doing to fix this issue first.

------
ericmcer
Holy cow you are in a great position. I am guessing you are missing social and
health elements because your work life would be the envy of 99.99% about the
people on this planet.

You already know how to fix the other stuff: exercise, find new hobbies, find
new friends/relationships. Just do it. There are no shortcuts or secrets to
getting in shape, getting good at stuff and meeting new people, it just
requires a little courage.

------
dchun
When was the last time you took a vacation? It might be worth it to spend some
time to find someone to try and hold your clients at bay while you take off
for a month or even to just tell your clients that you wont be available for
that period.

If you can't take the time off, you can try and travel and work at the same
time. You can join a coworking space and meet people and build a community and
you might gain some perspective. Developers outside the US make significantly
less and you may discover a sense of gratitude that you gain from this
perspective.

I've been working remotely mostly in Asia with short stints in South America
and Europe for a few years now and this has worked wonders for me. I mostly
work alone and I can't imagine being back home doing the same thing.

A change in environment may be all you need to engage in new healthy practices
like exercising. For example, if you're near a beach in Bali, like I am, it's
easy to jog along the beach during sunset. And if you're not, being surrounded
by yogis might get you in some regular classes that may help with being more
mindful.

Hope this helps.

------
SkyPuncher
Do you have access to a co-working space? What about some meetups in your
area?

I work from home significantly and find that I struggle when the social aspect
completely disappears from my job. I'm not a particularly social person, but I
absolutely need some social interactions to feel positive and happy throughout
the day.

~~~
jordan_clark
Agree completely. Being isolated from people and not making connections can be
detrimental. Being in a co-working environment and being able to have small
interactions can make a big difference.

------
senko
Separate your living space from your working space.

I started working from my home and after a few years of productivity and
motivation sliding down, I'd spend entire day trying to motivate myself to
work to only actually produce a couple of hours of useful work.

I rented a small office nearby that forced me to go out, walk a bit, and
separate work from leisure. This has helped me tremendously. Ff there were
coworking options nearby at that time, I'd use that - it has the added benefit
of having other people around, which will motivate / inspire you.

Additionaly, try to end each day's work with a small, well defined task/thing
- leave that bit for tomorrow. It'll be easier to start with, and it'll help
you get rolling.

Excercise helps - but dont't try to attack several problems at once. Start
gradually.

------
z3t4
Seems you are into a light depression, what helps the most is routines! Go to
bed the same time every day, wake up the same time every day, eat at least
three good meals, at the same times every day. Go to work at the same time,
and go away from fork at the same time _every_ day. Get some exercise, like go
to the gym, and you guess it, same day, same time every week. Also how long
time since your last vacation ? Get at least four straight weeks of vacation
every year where you do not work at all. And how does your life look like
outside of work ? Do you have relationships, friends and family ? Relations
are essentially how much time you spend with someone, so go work on your
relations, eg spend more time with people you like.

------
potta_coffee
It sounds like you're depressed, possibly you're in a rut. You should
definitely exercise (I know, easier said than done). What's helped me? Going
for an hour long walk everyday (I don't do it everyday like I ought to but
even 3x per week has tremendous benefits). Walking is enough. Don't feel like
you have to change your whole routine, just try walking 3x per week for two
weeks. I guarantee that you'll feel better. After that, reassess and see if
you need to add/subtract other stuff to/from your routine.

Other things to experiment with: Meditation, social life, meetups, weight-
lifting, juicing, etc etc.

------
tenkabuto
It sounds like you might be having a difficult time transitioning from the
non-work (personal?) mindset to the work mindset. If this is indeed the case,
I have found the following to help: develop a middle ground that warms you up
for whichever mindset you shall transition to.

Find some topics within the work domain that interest you personally. (Maybe
jot some down as you come across an idea or two while working, then set them
aside for this semi-work period.) Allow yourself to look into these, slowly
getting yourself interested in moving into the work mindset.

This may feel like you're further postponing work, but it may in fact lead you
to start work much sooner than if you did not do this.

------
bewe42
First of all congrats on your business success, many here dream of having
this.

Could it be that your day misses structure? Is joining a tech hub/shared
office an option for you?

I have been working from home for many years. The trick for me is that I have
to be careful that my daily life doesn't become too comfortable. I absolutely
need to start working first thing in the morning.

What also works for me is getting out. Physical work is important. I do
weightlifting and really enjoy sweating and working out.

Go to meetups, do networking or meet clients. This works especially well if
you don't like socialising! Because once you have done this, you will feel
eager to be back at your home office to work.

------
rihegher
As you're getting close to the top of the Maslow Pyramid. Maybe you need to
gives more sense at what you're doing and how you are living.

Also as you are working from home it is easy to lose real life socialization
opportunities, could it be that?

------
zapperdapper
1) Can you perhaps schedule a brief 10 minute meeting with a client at, say,
9.00am each day to get the ball rolling? It seems like once you get started
you are OK.

2) Another option - get a business/life coach - you can afford it. He might
give you a call at 9.00am each day for say fifteen minutes to get your 'state'
activated.

3) Try starting the day with a workout. Good thing to do anyway.

4) Another thought ....

I'm curious how much of that 10K a month are you saving?

Let's say you save 8K - that's 96K a year savings. Do it for a couple of years
and you have 192K - a tidy sum with which to perhaps take a year or two out,
doing something that gets you more pumped.

------
CodeWriter23
This is what I do. I use a canary pad and I write down specific actions
needed. When I complete actions, I cross them out in red. When I get
distracted, I look at the pad. I sometimes gamify it a bit, like cross off 3
items then I can play a game or similar.

Also, I have a special DNS set up in my router that shunts certain sites to
localhost.

Couch time is a good suggestion. Any therapist worth a damn is going to tell
you to walk 20-60 minutes a day, eat right, and supplement B and magnesium at
a minimum because all that exercise and nutrition will minimize the funk. And
yes, I do that too.

------
harness_up
What you describe sounds awful. I'm sorry that you're going through that. Some
of the advice already mentioned is good. I would add that everyone needs
something outside of work, a social life, hobbies, etc...It doesn't sound like
your business suffers if you don't start work first thing in morning. If
that's the case, don't worry about it and spend the time from when you wake up
on other non-work things. Things that engage your imagination, passions, and
body. Then come to "work" in the afternoon refreshed. I wish you the best of
luck.

------
hennsen
Are you _sure_ all of your work is fun? When you have trouble to get started
with something i‘d assum There must be _something_ about it you don’t like.

At least for me that is when i an in a similar state as you describe. It
happens every 1-4 months depending what im doing. If i see no sense in my
work, have ugly code bases to work with abd colleagues who don’t bother to
think crappy code, processes and communication could be a problem, i get into
that state... i can then try to change my attitude about it, try to improve
the situation, or leave if both don’t work.

------
venantius
At $10k/mo, you can easily afford to hire someone else. That'll both give you
a community to keep you encouraged and give you a bit of breathing room, which
you should use to take a vacation.

------
dgut
Hey. I was in the same situation a while ago (running a profitable service,
making about the same and feeling miserable). What eventually helped was
moving from Norway to Spain(Madrid), where I started exercising and for the
first time had a proper social life. My body and mind were full of energy all
the time. It was like being on opium. Of course, there were some downs now and
then. Then in 2014, I meet my wife, we got a child together (now 2y old) and
since then my life has been filled with meaning every day.

That is my two cents.

------
lastofus
I've in a similar situation in the past. For me, the problem was ultimately
boredom and lack of fulfillment. It was the prospect of doing the same thing
all day every day with no end in sight, with no purpose other than paying
bills.

Consider how much of that $10k/mo it would take to hire 1-2 other people and
make yourself unnecessary in the business. Turn it into a passive income as
much as possible. If you succeeded in this, you can reclaim your time and do
anything with it which is a freeing experience.

------
danschumann
You feel miserable. Why? Also, try getting a solid routine. An accountability
buddy who you meet with every day at the same time. Perhaps you feel miserable
because it is a battle every day, rather than a mindless routine. When you
wake up, get up. Don't go back to bed. Get up and make coffee. You can always
take a nap later, but eventually, you'll get used to waking up only once. Go
watch the sun rise if you wake up too early. Trust that when you wake up, you
should just get up.

------
tmatthewj
Though I'm not a solopreneur, I've been through similar streaks of difficult
mornings. One thing realised - I was pretty weak on a sense of purpose those
days. I wasn't sure what my immediate / 1 year / 2 year goals were and this
led to complacency. Maybe deciding where you want to be in a year's time might
help. A goal/mission to look forward is certainly a good thing to have. All
the best!

------
a_lifters_life
Your point #3 about diet/exercise could only help contribute to this
feeling...or in other words you're really killing yourself not doing this.

------
jonesss-s
Don't even try to start in the morning. For a couple of weeks, just plan on
working in the afternoon maybe starting at 2pm.

Everyone keeps talking about wanting to start work early so they're done
early. But relaxed, free mornings are such a wonderful thing! Have breakfast,
read the newspaper, enjoy doing stuff that is annoying at other times because
everyone is doing it then. Everyone's at work now, so lines are short ;)

------
wellboy
Why not just become a digital nomad for a while and go to Thailand for a
month, where you can just chill at the beach for $100 living expenses a week,
then Argentina, then Israel, then Germany and get to know the world.

Here is a good resource
[https://m.facebook.com/groups/859952234028551](https://m.facebook.com/groups/859952234028551)

Let me know if you have any questions of course.

------
foobaw
Similar situation here - positive reinforcement helped me.

Every morning, I'd reward myself with something that I like - sometimes I
watched a good TV show, sometimes I went to the gym and worked out. I also
have a girlfriend but I guess that's a different point. Anyway, I just found
stuff I like to do. I eventually associated waking up with happiness.

YMMV. Just what worked for me - try it out if you want.

------
ZenFounder
There's lots of great advice here- especially regarding the importance of
being connected to other people and taking care of yourself physically (sleep,
exercise, diet). Those are the most basic things to tend to when you're
feeling off. I'm a psychologist who works with founders (zenfounder.com) and I
can assure you that you are not alone in feeling off your game, even when the
business is going well. Sometimes the answer to the question "why am I feeling
this way?" is really hard to come by. It might take some time to sort it out.
I'm really glad you're talking about it here. That's an important first step.
It may be a good idea to see your physician and check your thyroid and
testosterone levels. Both can wreck havoc on motivation and can affected by
sleep-wake cycles (ie. why you feel so low in the morning). A psychologist or
therapist can also help you sort out whether you may be experiencing
depression or burnout (low motivation is part of both). Being successful and
having a great life don't also protect us from physical problems or from
depression. Its a good idea to see a professional to check out a variety of
possible causes. If you have a clean bill of health, then it might be time to
ask some existential questions: Are you bored? Is your work meaningful to you?
Are you as connected as you want to be to other people? A therapist, coach,
priest, or good friend may be able to talk you through some of these
questions. Feel free to reach out to me directly if you'd like more ideas or
resources.

------
AndrewOMartin
You might have just found a good level. You must have worked really hard to
get to this point and now a few hours in the afternoon might be all your body
wants to do for good reason.

I go through the same writing my PhD literature review. It comes and goes and
I've decided to accept it rather than defeat it.

When I go through periods of making little PhD progress, I don't hate myself
and do something else.

------
Southworth
You are burnt out. Have a holiday. Take a break. Life isn't about work, work
is the process by which we attract coins to live.

------
cleansy
Hey,

I am currently also working remotely but without a team back in the company,
struggled with depression and such for most of my life. What helped was a team
sport, 3 times a week. Besides all the things the other posters say (sport in
general, meditation, psychotherapy) bonding and having a human connection to
other people is probably the most important one, IMHO.

I hope you are getting better, friend.

Cheers

------
libx
Clearly, to me, you need to find the purpose of your life here on Earth. There
are people that may help you, although you have to choose carefully. Not
psychiatrists or anything like that. Look for indigo people that have a
"highway" connection to the Universe, that came to show the way to others.
Read and practice about meditation and spirituality.

------
haZard_OS
Is your current work challenging? You said repeatedly that it is easy and
enjoyable but, if you aren't being challenged enough, work can begin to feel
pointless even if the work itself is enjoyable.

    
    
      In my experience, overcoming regular (but not constant) challenges with cultivated skill(s) creates motivation to continue.
    

Good luck.

------
hkmurakami
How's your social life both during and outside of work? I personally think
working with great comedies is invigorating.

------
carlossilva33
Widen your horizons. It's tabu for some to mention but perhaps your lack of
fulfillment is of a spiritual kind. I don't mean to become a born-again
christian or a hippie, but if that's your thing that's fine too. I'm just
saying there's more to life than making money in a pleasant and safe
environment.

------
auslegung
The good news is, you already know the right things to do, as do we all: diet,
exercise, sunlight, meditation, build a good community of friends/family
around yourself. In short, take care of your whole being, body, spirit,
emotions, social, etc. But the trick is doing it.

Read Superhuman by Habit, and acknowledge and do something about the deep
effect community has on you and on your ability to start and maintain habits.
This should help build these habits that we all know we should do.

But I also agree with the others on here who said to seek some sort of
professional help. If you really want to overcome this, you're going to need
someone else's perspective who knows you. Best of luck, I hope you come out of
this better than ever!

PS I've been doing 5BX exercise program for a couple of months and it's great.
It's designed to increase your chance of sticking to it, which is what so many
of us need. Once I started doing this very light workout, a lot changed for
me. I started thinking of myself as "the kind of person who works out", and
that kind of person also eats well, gets up early, goes to bed early, doesn't
drink much alcohol, etc.

------
hollander
I've had morning anxiety for a while. It meant that when I woke up, I had
these terrible depressing thoughts running in my mind, and I couldn't get out
of that circle of thought. I couldn't get out of bed, and could stay in that
mood for hours. I knew that once I got out of bed that it would be over, but I
just couldn't do that and wanted to stay there forever. I got out of bed for
work, but in the weekends I could waste half a day like that. Turns out that
somehow I had stomache or belly tensions (probably caused by overweight). When
I figured that out, the problem was solved immediately. Now I wake up, feel
that tension, go to the toilet, have some water and let my belly relax for a
moment (google for high vs low breathing). I go back to bed and have some
sleep. (NB: If this is anxiety, I don't say that this will work for you, but
who knows!)

Alternatively, you may be depressed or you sound like that. Find a good
therapist to get things clear. Therapies nowadays can be very focused, so it's
not about endless talking about vague feelings. If you don't want to say that
you have a depression, say that you feel depressed, or that you have decided
to go into therapy to find out what is going on. You have the money and the
time!

Meditation, dancing, theater sports, book club, fitness, yoga can be
therapeutic as well. If you really have a depression, these won't solve that
problem, but they make things lighter and life more enjoyable.

Stop working from home. Go to one of those places or bars where people work
all day, rent an office for a day, so you meet people. It seems like your
lonely maybe? Hire someone or partner up with someone. Having a (business)
partner and working from the same place daily will make things more enjoyable.

------
dawilster
The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg gives incredible insight into how to
build habits. I highly recommend it.

------
rodolphoarruda
Create a recurring task for yourself, a very easy one to be done, something
mechanic that doesn't require any big thinking, problem solving or making
decisions. Design it in a way you could be transitioning from it into actual
work for your business. Give it a try. Adjust. Re-do.

------
oaxacaoaxaca
Likely unhelpful question but would you be willing to share how you got to
your level of success? If you have a blog or something similar, plenty of
folks would love to read about your solopreneur experiences. Perhaps some
morning writing would help get the day going?

------
yasbhagchandani
I think you should prepare a solid morning routine, like workouts, running,
meditation, etc whatever feels you good to do because it will pump adrenaline
in your body which will motivate you to Kickstart your day full of energy. Try
it one day and see what works for you.

------
petepete
I walk my dog before and after (occasionally during) my working day - usually
five hours per day five days per week. Exercise, fresh air, quiet with the odd
chat to fellow walkers.

It makes working from home enjoyable and a bit more sociable. I do one day a
week from a co-working space, too.

------
jtchang
You may benefit from a bit of life coaching. I have a friend who specializes
in this. You've created something awesome but just need to fix a few things in
your life. Happy to make a referral if you're interested. E-mail is in my
profile.

------
cm2012
I'm exactly like you but make $250k per year. Making more money wont solve the
issue.

------
ioddly
There's been a lot of good advice thrown out there, so I'd just add that you
might consider looking into a sleep study. I had untreated sleep apnea and it
was like waking up with a hangover every morning.

------
matt_the_bass
I hate working from home. Generally if I have something that needs to get
done, I go to my office. No distractions there. I feel down/negative if I try
to work at home because I see I’m not achieving.

------
thisisit
How about selling me the services business? ;)

Jokes aside, loneliness is a serious problem ignored in tech circles. The
water cooler talks and that annoying co-worker is missed only when that is
missing. So build a team.

------
erlich
> Don't follow a specific diet and don't exercise regularly.

Exercise every day.

------
pcmaffey
Journal, meditate, exercise _before_ you work. Before you even touch your
phone. When you get in touch with the WHY each day first, you're more likely
to stay aligned with where you're going.

------
api
I've posted this kind of answer a couple times:

I started ZeroTier (www.zerotier.com) initially alone. Being a sole founder is
tough for many reasons. The biggest one I've found is not so much time in the
raw sense but cognitive load. There are _so_ many things to pay attention to
at once: fund raising, economics, product dev, HR, engineering, devops,
talking to customers, ... it's endless.

Then there's the standard issue rollercoaster of entrepreneurship which you
have to weather alone. Some weeks it feels like ZeroTier is going to conquer
the world. Other weeks I feel like "wow I'm an idiot this is doomed." I've
learned to just ride that up and down thing and always apply a consistent
forward pressure no matter how I feel.

Paul Graham always harped on single founders being a bad idea and in general I
kind of agree with him. It's a tough thing to do. Doesn't mean it can't be
done though and there are lots of success stories. There are many reasons you
might be solo. In my case it's because I founded ZT after just moving to the
area and developed it alone, so there wasn't a good co-founder. (Just picking
a co-founder for the hell of it like getting married by Elvis in Vegas to
someone you just met. It's a worse idea than going solo.) If you are solo just
count it as one of your disadvantages (every team and venture has them!) and
therefore something you'll have to work around/through. Honestly founder drama
is way worse. Being solo means you get the problems of solo but in exchange
you get to pass on founder drama.

One of the best things I did early on is to move into a co-working space. We
are in LA/OC (SoCal) and are here:

[http://peoplespace.us/](http://peoplespace.us/)

It's a friendly hacker space with many tenants from other small startups to
consultants and solo people. Lots of events like code camps, maker meetups,
and OWASP meetings are hosted here too.

Being at a co-working space makes you feel like you're not totally alone,
especially if other entrepreneurs are present. If you have some in your area
(most major cities do these days) then I highly recommend using one. If there
are options other than the larger franchise ones like WeWork I'd recommend
those since they're more likely to feel like a community.

(There are now four of us but we're still here. We occupy a corner office
upstairs.)

Other things I highly recommend include talking to other entrepreneurs and
independent consultants who are in the same boat. Then there's the basic
health stuff. Exercise, eat well, and get enough sleep. Bad health practices
can wear you down quick. Imagine you're an athlete trying to keep up on
training for your career. You _are_ , but your muscle is your brain. Keeping
your whole body fit keeps your brain fit because it's part of your body. The
myth of the out of shape genius nerd is just that. Being out of shape makes
you less intelligent.

Finally if you are really feeling symptoms of depression go see a
psychiatrist. Depression can be biochemical and we have good fixes for that
available. The stigma here is silly. If your feet hurt you go to a podiatrist.
If you have an issue with your brain you go to a psychiatrist. The brain is an
organ like any other and it's one of the most important you have. There should
be as much stigma about seeing a brain doctor as there is about seeing a foot
doctor.

Edit: if you are in SoCal stop by and visit! My contact info is in my profile.

------
atsaloli
What is your purpose in life? Does your work align with your purpose?

------
koliber
My thoughts are from extensive research into self-improvement and from
personal experience. They are things you could try. Some may not apply as I do
not know your personal situation.

\- Are you feeling challenged? I found myself in a situation like this in the
past. I was wanting nothing, yet felt unsatisfied. It took some time to
realize that I was not feeling challenged and felt a bit like I was cruising
through life. Things that helped: hobbies, a side-project, and a realignment
of how I think.

\- Are you getting enough sleep? This one is very easy to get wrong. Everyone
is different. Things that helped: going to sleep earlier. Sleeping a minimum
of 8 hours per night. Kids got older and don't wake me up as much.

\- Are you feeling overwhelmed? I sometimes I would feel overwhelemd in the
morning, for no discernible reason at all. It felt there was so much to do,
and it created a self-reinforcing cycle that would make it tough to get the
day started. Things that helped: getting enough sleep. Having a morning
routine that I don't need to think about and just do: get out of bed, go to
the bathroom, drink a glass of water, make coffee, brush teeth, hot shower w.
cold shower ending, light stretching + exercise, drink coffee, eat breakfast.
By doing these things automatically I start the day without actually having to
analyze anything. I start moving. Blood start pumping. When I'm done, I'm
ready for whatever I need to get done that day. It's a warm up to get the
engine going.

\- Do you drink alcohol? I found that even small amount of alcohol have an
effect on the next day. If you do consume any amount of alcohol, take a week
break. Nothing. Nada. See if it helps. If this makes a positive difference,
consider changing your habits. Perhaps limit drinking to one or two nights and
give yourself a good sober week between the weekends.

\- Exercise. This one is tough to get into a routine. I do it on and off. In
general, when I do it, I sleep better and the following day just flows better.

\- Depression. If these things don't help, you may have light depression. It's
not always easy to tell. Go talk to a doctor. It's a sickness like any--no
shame in it.

------
ddorian43
Maybe you're burnout or depressed (see depression signs) ?

------
arca_vorago
I suspect if you take the time to look back at the last few months, and then
the last few months +, then run a mental diff, you will find your answer.

------
chrisper
It could also be that you are just very bored, no? I mean, maybe you are the
type of person who needs a constant challenge to keep going.

------
k__
Maybe a question of how long you are doing this?

Getting a month off could help if you are in constant "work mode" for over a
year or something.

------
mabynogy
Maybe you dislike the tools you use, or the domain you work on...

Without details, it's difficult to point the issues.

You could try to ask that to someone you trust.

------
benmorris
I've lived this type of life for the last 5 years (solopreneur as you put it).
Reading the other comments it seems like you don't have very strict boundaries
of work time. You're getting a lot of good feedback. I agree with others you
are likely experiencing burnout. You obviously like your work, but if you
aren't motivated to get started then it will probably not get any easier.
Again, from experience, spend your off time not doing or thinking too much
about your work.

------
sharemywin
Are you sure you don't need another goal? sounds like you might have hit a
plateau and it's time to find another goal.

------
daSn0wie
try to analyze what you're doing when you're postponing your work.

what are you doing instead? what are you seeking out? it might give you an
indication to what're you subconciously seeking

a lot of suggestions here about what it could be... maybe you're bored, maybe
you're seeking socialization.

------
hartator
PM if you are in Austin, TX. (my current HN username @gmail.com)

I've been in similar situations. Having people to talk to matters.

------
tiredwired
Make a list at the end of the day of what you should do tomorrow. Use that
list in the morning to get started.

------
magratargam
get some exercise first, THEN start work

------
JoeAltmaier
A food change can be an immediate, large improvement. Cut out the sugar
entirely. That includes the lattes.

------
ryanwaggoner
Are you maybe bored? Or feeling unchallenged? Maybe you’re lonely?

These are all things I struggle with as a solopreneur.

------
RantyDave
Go find a coworking space. Being in a good one has, quite probably literally,
saved my life.

------
cvaidya1986
Run, meditate, find a way to give back. Perhaps set a challenge to make the
business turnkey.

------
nsebban
The advice you might get here are worthless compared to a few hours talking to
a shrink.

------
GrumpyNl
Sound like you need a vacation.

------
bitxbitxbitcoin
Exercise. It'll really help mentally and physically. Seriously.

------
mancerayder
.. and when is the last time you took a vacation longer than a week?

------
the-dude
Do you work every day?

~~~
ministrator
yea, but usually not more than 3h

~~~
the-dude
Start taking weekends and holidays like normal people do.

I take days off whenever I feel like it.

Also, if it was me having trouble to start, I would consider it as an early
burnout symptom.

Good luck.

------
gbugniot
From my point of view, your professional situation seems really enjoyable.

I guess the first step is to be proud of you. Next, go to the gym, and spend
more time with your loved ones (friends/family). Do you have a hobby?

------
Clubber
You might be bored.

------
tylercubell
It sounds like you don't have clarity of purpose in your life. Work is just a
comfortable distraction. Diet and exercise won't solve your problem.

------
gbbr
Get into a spiritual practice that is non sectarian or religious. Yoga and
meditation can help you.

------
futhey
Hope you feel better soon.

------
anon62343
Creating an anonymous account to respond for obvious reasons as well...

I've been a _de facto_ solopreneur for a couple of years now, and I deal with
the same feelings every day. I don't particular like the market I'm in—I
really don't think there's any kind of social good that comes out of it
(arguably its a social ill), although on an individual basis I do like my
customers. I have a partner who's been basically AWOL since taking a couple of
new jobs (consecutively—neither of us was full time and she's an attorney in
her day job). Its basically on me to handle not just the tech but sales,
marketing, design, etc, most of which I'm really not good at (everything but
tech, basically.) On top of that, because of the way we're structured and the
agreement we negotiated when I started trading time for equity, back when she
was more active, she's getting about 30% more of the cash-out from an
impending sale.

(side rant: I used to be opposed to vesting schedules on a company that's
bootstrapped—no more. If you have one or more partners, you need to be on a
vesting schedule. Period. There's a reason those are a thing. As far as that
goes, I basically made every mistake you can make in getting the company to
this place—the fact that I'm even seeing a prospective payday is almost in
spite of the mistakes we've made, not because of anything special we did.
Someday I'll be able to tell that story.)

On top of all _that_ I rolled out the new version of our platform a month ago
and overall its not going great. It was premature but because its been delayed
several times and our work is seasonal, there was a hard deadline on getting
it out and I had to release it missing several features that were part of the
old product. (As I'm writing this, I'm cringing—another rookie mistake from
someone who ought to know better.)

All that to say, you're not alone in finding yourself in this position.
Something I spend a lot of time thinking about when I'm not fantasizing about
accidentally stepping in front of a bus is what gives me meaning and self-
worth, and how fucked up it is that so much of that is tied to my career. I'm
also a father (so no, won't be intentionally accidentally stepping in front of
any busses) and a husband, and when I'm being objective, a friend to many and
mentor to more than a few. There's more to me than just my career, but damned
if I could prove it right now.

So now I'm really trying to consider how to claw my way out of feeling this
way. I see both a therapist (two, actually—one personal and one couples) and a
psychiatrist, I'm on an antidepressant, and before anyone goes dropping
medical advice without a license— I've got years of experience with different
meds so yes, I'm certain this one is the right one for me. No, I'm not
exercising or getting enough sleep, and yes, I recognize that's likely part of
the problem but its difficult mental hurdle to get over to take time away from
(unproductively) coding. As I'm writing all this down it sounds even worse.

Sorry, I keep trying to get to my point but I get sidetracked (also I'm super
ADD, and depression and sleep habits accentuate that). My therapist and I talk
a lot about how people with a certain kind of mind/mindset need stimulation,
and part of the problem for me is that the work simply isn't stimulating. I've
got too much free time (until I've got not enough) and I haven't always done a
great job at finding something new to engage in on the side. I picked up a new
platform a couple of years ago, which has been a lot of fun to work in (but
then I decided to port our platform over to that, which arrested all forward
momentum product-wise—like I said, I've made every mistake you can make as a
company here...) Maybe what you need is something engaging to start your day
with—learn AI (that's what I keep promising myself after this exit happens,
assuming it does) or get into some side of technology you've always been less
good at. For me that's hardware—I dropped out of my CS program well before we
got to the more advanced circuits classes, so while I understand digital logic
the EE side of things is a black box for me I've always wanted to grok.

Maybe you just need more work to do—sounds like you've got a lot of free time,
thought about consulting work or mentoring at an incubator? As boring a the
business may be, I'm certain you've learned a lot of things the hard way, and
that's valuable knowledge to share. Maybe if you put something in the
afternoon that you really want to do, getting work out of the way early would
be easier. But also, maybe you're just not a morning person. If your company
is making you enough money, and it really only takes 3-4h/day, is it so bad
you don't start til the afternoon? Some people just don't click in til then.
Also worth noting, the average american worker only spends about 2-3h/day
doing actual work [[https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-
aver...](https://www.inc.com/melanie-curtin/in-an-8-hour-day-the-average-
worker-is-productive-for-this-many-hours.html)]

Getting out of the house would probably help some too. Do you have a dedicated
work environment? I bought a house recently and one of my favorite things
about it is that I have a dedicated office now. (I also get an inordinate
amount of pleasure out of yard work, which is difficult to explain. When I'm
not fantasizing about bus factors, I fantasize about pulling weeds. Go
figure.)

I've been kind of thinking about starting an accountability group or something
with a couple of friends. That might be something to consider.

Anyway, I'm sorry to hijack your post with my own problems. I hope there's a
kernel of something in there that points you in a direction that makes you
feel more fulfilled. Best of luck, friend.

