I will not work weekends when building my startup

mpiresc·Oct 20, 2021

Posted in:Solo Founders Health & Wellness Startups Tech Founders

Three years after leaving Google I'm coming to terms with the fact that I was pretty burned out towards the end. Of course I didn't see it that way. I though that taking a train across Siberia was a normal way of disconnecting. (Okay, it was a cool experience).

The last 3 years have been a process of healing and renegotiating boundaries. And it leaves me with the questions: what am I willing to put into the work? What do I want to preserve of my newly found peace of mind?

And the big question:

Can one build a startup, while bootstrapping, without working on the weekends?

I like to think the answer is YES. If you are out there and you are in this journey, please send smoke signals my way.

If the answer is NO, my weekends win, my startup won't be.

Magdalena

Iynna·Oct 20, 2021

Ha I am a big advocate of taking time off when needed. Know that some times maybe you will indeed need to work during your weekends but make sure to balance this out on other days of the week e.g perhaps make a point to finish your days earlier. Or you could also just work a lot more during the week on specific days to save your weekend for unplugging. At the end of the say it’s all about finding a balance that works for you! This was a long winded way of saying that no you do not need to be working on the weekend. Work smart, not hard :)

Katharine142·Oct 20, 2021

I am a co-founder of a bootstrapped startup, and I do not work most weekends. At my previous job at a startup, I was working 15hr/day all 7 days. I accomplished many big things, but no surprise burned out in less than two years. Never again. Some say a startup is a marathon and not a sprint. I think it's a journey, and founders should go at their own pace. As a Chinese proverb goes, there are many paths to the top of the mountain, but the view is always the same.

mpiresc·Oct 20, 2021

Love the proverb! I guess they cost is that it takes longer. Though, I'm not sure this should always be the case.

KimCallender·Oct 20, 2021

I also got pretty burnt out at Google before leaving to found my startup, and have been going through the same journey of trying to sort the right work boundaries that work for me. There's no easy answer and I'm finding for me it shifts over time as well - sometimes I'm motivated and excited and find myself putting in long days, but energized by it. Other times I need a 3 (or 4) day weekend to recharge. PS - my getaway trip was a sailboat in Eastern Greenland - I think we have similar styles of disconnecting!

JessieZepeda·Oct 22, 2021

I totally agree with @iynna re: working smarter. And while I can't speak yet to the success of my approach -- I feel the same way. I've burned myself out in the past because there will *always* be more work to do, even when you aren't a founder. I also have two young kids and refuse to miss their childhoods. This almost prevented me from even trying in the first place, but I decided that until more women do, nothing will change.

mpiresc·Oct 22, 2021

@JessieZepeda curious about how you negotiate between the time with your kids and the time with the startup? How do you know when you are spending too much time at work?

Iynna·Oct 22, 2021

I love this for you Jesse! How did you start working smarter? Do you have like a process you use?

BrittonMcDermott·Oct 24, 2021

Yes! It may take longer but it’s worth it to keep healthy boundaries in check. You’ll also be more creative, strategic and productive with your business by taking that time to rest and recharge on the weekends 💫

mpiresc·Oct 25, 2021

@BrittonMcDermott if you don't mind sharing, what are some of the boundaries you enforce for yourself?

BrittonMcDermott·Oct 26, 2021

Do you have some time available later this week? I’d be happy to jump on a call to chat. Always love the chance to connect with a fellow Elpha!

mpiresc·Oct 26, 2021

Yes! I'd love that. https://calendly.com/helloheron/heron-meeting

malea·Oct 26, 2021

I also left Google at the end of 2018. I am now a co-founder of a somewhat bootstrapped startup (pre-seed stage). I don't work on weekends, and my co-founder doesn't either. To me, 1) working more hours ≠ getting more done (aka find a way to work smarter), and 2) recharging is important to be my best, most creative, most focused self. I might feel differently if I was a much younger founder version of myself (not as much experience, more energy to devote to work, maybe different priorities in life).

mpiresc·Oct 27, 2021

Thank you @malea. I'm glad there are others out there. Now, we need to make it to the news for being incredibly successful so we can talk about how we did it while protecting our weekends :)