

Ask YC: Would you take a short break before the final push? - moog

Say you had one final push required to complete the beta phase of your startup, maybe 7 days of work total. If you'd been working on the startup for months and felt exhausted, would you a) take a short break now, aiming to complete the project in ~14 days or b) keep marching through clenched teeth and have it done in a week?<p>Option b) could be considered DIFN, I guess, which appeals to me. But a short break is also an attractive prospect right now. I've read elsewhere on Hacker News that the hard work doesn't really start until you launch, so is this all the more reason to go with a)?
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pius
I'm in favor of a short break prior to the final push. But, to me, a short
break is a pre-sprint evening of dinner and drinks to boost morale and get the
team feeling good together.

I personally wouldn't break for two weeks when you can see light at the end of
the tunnel.

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mixmax
I would push on, get it done in a week and then take a break.

Then you're done, and a break will be good for you to get your thoughts clear
for launch.

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Kaizyn
Each one of us works differently, but I would say this probably depends more
on your momentum at the present time. If you find that your productivity
remains high, then you probably should push through the final week. However,
if you've seen a precipitous drop in your ability to get work done, then you
should take a break. Why not start with taking 2-3 days off? If you still
don't feel like that was enough, then extend it up to 7 or more days as
required. Good luck!

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NoBSWebDesign
I felt the same way as you right before we launched our site. I tried to take
a week off, but it ended up being a week of me coding for 4 hours a day
instead of 8 hours a day. (I still have a full-time co-op required for
graduation, so this doesn't count my 40 hours a week for that)

Nonetheless, it was very relaxing and I'm glad I did it. At the same time,
when you're this close and really into your company, it's hard to NOT work on
it.

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redorb
do you what you think your body needs. If you launch and your burnt then what
is the point?

