How I Avoid Burnout

Intro

Hi, I’m a founder with ADHD. While running my first startup, I struggled to balance my health, family, and work, which led to burnout. Taking care of my health by overcoming procrastination is the key to avoiding burnout. I brought my first startup to $1K MRR within 6 months while hitting the gym 5+/week, sleeping 8 hours, and fixing my diet. This has allowed me to break PRs on front squats (200 lbs for 5 reps), bench press (210 lbs for 5 reps), and return to climbing (V7) regularly. For context, I’m about 5’ 7 and weigh 160 lbs. Below are some of my challenges and solutions. 

How burnout affected me

I regularly fought off self-doubt, exhaustion, lack of motivation, and stress. I quickly learned I couldn’t eliminate these feelings, but there were tools to fend them off. In short, be healthy every day: workout, eat healthily, relax, and get 8 hours of sleep. When I was tired and running on fumes, stress built easier, my focus dwindled, the hard things were more challenging, and I didn’t have the energy to defend myself from my thoughts. I understood health is essential, but I was struggling to prioritize it. 

Solution step 1: Make your health your number 1 priority

The first thing I did was revisit my priorities. My ranked list is

1. My health and self-improvement
2. Building and maintaining my established relationships
3. Helping people (my career)
4. Having fun!

When I revisited my priorities, I realized that my actions didn’t reflect my priorities. I was putting all my energy into my career and not following my priorities. I’d 

• Skip the gym,
• Work through meals instead of taking a break,
• Work past my bedtime and miss out on 8 hours of sleep,
• Going straight from work to bed makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

At first, this seemed pretty minor to me, but I realized if I do it every day, it eventually catches up. I’d have amazing weeks because I’d put so many hours in, but the next week, I’d be exhausted and wouldn’t get anything done because I hadn’t slept. Consistent flow is always better than variable flow. Pro athletes don’t push themselves to their limits daily when training. They focus more on consistency. Otherwise, they risk injury. We need to do the same!

Solution step 2: Ensure your actions reflect your priorities

The second thing I did was build a daily routine reflecting my priorities. Instead of filling my schedule with work tasks and then squeezing in my health tasks, I did the inverse. I filled in all my health tasks and the rest with work tasks. My routine ensured that my highest priority items were getting done daily. The essential tasks that I planned my day around are 

• 8 hours of sleep
• 5 minutes of meditation & stretching
• Working out 5 - 6+ days a week
• Lunch/Dinner Break
• Reviewing my day by reflecting on my work and planning the next day
• Relaxing so that I can decompress & get ready for bed.
• Night routine (Showering, reading, and reducing phone activity)

Here’s my daily routine! All the white space is open for work and other tasks. My routine reduces the time it would take to plan my day because I do the same thing every day. A routine might not be for everyone, especially if you’re not full-time. Hopefully, this provides some ideas on managing your health better and avoiding burnout.