Re:Ask HN: How to cure a burnout?
by ncash on Monday March 07, 2011 @04:59PM
(#2298890)
Burnout sucks, and it can be hard to deal with. I began work on my startup in my spare time in college because it was fun. Once I jumped into it full time it turned my life on its head. After several months I was tired of working solely on my product, and I was tired of being at the computer in general. To gain perspective, I unplugged for a while. I read more books. I took up running again. I watched talks on TED.com and rediscovered movies and TV shows. Most importantly, I began coding stuff for fun again -- stuff that was totally not related to work. I felt guilty at first, but I ended up being far more productive in the long run.
It turns out it's the little things in life that keep you sane.
Are you a founder? Do you hold a significant amount of equity? If so, you have the power to chill out and take some time off. If not, you should remind your employers that you are a human being who will work reasonable hours. Maybe that means extending your deadlines; maybe it means they need additional developers to help handle the work. The bottom line is this: if you aren't being compensated the same as the founders then you should not be expected to have their level of dedication.
It turns out it's the little things in life that keep you sane.
Are you a founder? Do you hold a significant amount of equity? If so, you have the power to chill out and take some time off. If not, you should remind your employers that you are a human being who will work reasonable hours. Maybe that means extending your deadlines; maybe it means they need additional developers to help handle the work. The bottom line is this: if you aren't being compensated the same as the founders then you should not be expected to have their level of dedication.