Rest

One of the things that I struggle with as an entrepreneur is this idea and culture of non-stop work. 100 hour weeks and no family life etc... and the idea that this is somehow normal and necessary or worse yet; celebrated and something to strive for.

When I was in my late teens and early 20's, I ran an office for Cutco Cutlery. I was young and hungry and willing to do anything to make money and prove myself. That turned into 100 hour work-weeks, skipping family events like birthdays, holidays, and not really having any sort of social life to speak of. I was making tons of money, but at what cost?

I can feel the pull of that life and schedule once again. So this year, we have made a plan to have something small but fun scheduled every weekend and then something a little bigger every quarter. That way we can feel good about working hard during the week and putting in a little bit longer hours because we know there is a scheduled break. It gives us something to look forward to and makes me more focused during the hours that I am working.

It's an interesting and divisive topic in our society and especially in the start-up world. No one wants to seem like they aren't trying hard enough or being lazy. One commonly accepted way to win/succeed is to just out-work everyone else. And while I don't dismiss this as an option I feel like there are other alternatives. At the end of the day I guess it all comes down to what your goals are. Why do you do what you do? What drives you? What's the end game? The answers to those questions will guide your path to get there. But if you're reading this, I think that you want to provide a top-quality product or service and you care about your clients. And in order to be the best you can be and serve your clients the best you can, you need to take care of yourself. 

Here are a couple interesting articles related to this topic:

The Most Successful People Make Room for Rest

Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian is taking a stand against "hustle porn"