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Should Kids Follow in Our Founder Footsteps?
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Assume Everyone Will Leave in Year One
Stop Listening to Investors
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When Our Ambition is Our Enemy
Are Startups in a "Silent Recession"?
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Michelle Glauser on Diversity and Inclusion
The Utter STUPIDITY of "Risking it All"
Committees Are Where Progress Goes to Die
More Money (Really Means) More Problems
Why Most Founders Don't Get Rich
Investors will be Obsolete
Why is a Founder so Hard to Replace?
We Can't Grow by Saying "No"
Do People Really Want Me to Succeed?
Is the Problem the Player or the Coach?
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The Value of Actually Getting Paid
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Wait a Minute before Giving Away Equity
You Only Think You Work Hard
SMALL is the New Big — Embracing Efficiency in the Age of AI
The 9 Best Growth Agencies for Startups
This is BOOTSTRAPPED — 3 Strategies to Build Your Startup Without Funding
Never Share Your Net Worth
A Steady Hand in the Middle of the Storm
Risk it All vs Steady Paycheck
How About a Startup that Just Makes Money?
How to Recruit a Rockstar Advisor
Why Having Zero Experience is a Huge Asset
My Competitor Got Funded — Am I Screwed?
The Hidden Treasure of Failed Startups
If It Makes Money, It Makes Sense
Why do VCs Keep Giving Failed Founders Money?
$10K Per Month isn't Just Revenue — It's Life Support
The Ridiculous Spectrum of Investor Feedback
Startup CEOs Aren't Really CEOs
Series A, B, C, D, and E Funding: How It Works
Best Pitch Decks Ever: The Most Successful Fundraising Pitches You Need to Know
When to Raise Funds
Why Aren't Investors Responding to Me?
Should I Regret Not Raising Capital?
Unemployment Cases — Why I LOOOOOVE To Win Them So Much.
How Much to Pay Yourself
Heat-Seeking Missile: WePay’s Journey to Product-Market Fit — Interview with Rich Aberman, Co-Founder of Wepay
The R&D technique for startups: Rip off & Duplicate
Why Some Startups Win.
Chapter #1: First Steps To Validate Your Business Idea
Product Users, Not Ideas, Will Determine Your Startup’s Fate
Drop Your Free Tier
Your Advisors Are Probably Wrong
Growth Isn't Always Good
How to Shut Down Gracefully
How Does My Startup Get Acquired?
Can Entrepreneurship Be Taught?
How to Pick the Wrong Co-Founder
Staying Small While Going Big
Investors are NOT on Our Side of the Table
Who am I Really Competing Against?
Why Can't Founders Replace Themselves?
Actually, We Have Plenty of Time
Quitting vs Letting Go
How Startups Actually Get Bought
What if I'm Building the Wrong Product?
Are Founders Driven by Fear or Greed?
Why I'm Either Working or Feeling Guilty
Startup Financial Assumptions
Why Every Kid Should be a Startup Founder
We Only Have to be Right Once
If a Startup Sinks, Founders Go Down With it
Founder Success: We Need a Strict Definition of Personal Success
Is Quiet Quitting a Problem at Startup Companies?
Founder Exits are Hard Work and Good Fortune, Not "Good Luck"
Finalizing Startup Projections
All Founders are Beloved In Good Times
Our Startup Culture of Entitlement
The Bullshit Case for Raising Capital
How do We Manage Our Founder Flaws?
What If my plan for retirement is "never retire"?
Startup Failure is just One Chapter in Founder Life
6 Similarities between Startup Founders and Pro Athletes
All Founders Make Bad Decisions — and That's OK
Startup Board Negotiations: How do I tell the board I need a new deal?
Founder Sacrifice — At What Point Have I Gone Too Far?
Youth Entrepreneurship: Can Middle Schoolers be Founders?
Living the Founder Legend Isn't so Fun
Why Do VC Funded Startups Love "Fake Growth?"
How Should I Share My Wealth with Family?
How Many Deaths Can a Startup Survive?
This is Probably Your Last Success
Why Do We Still Have Full-Time Employees?
The Case Against Full Transparency
Should I Feel Guilty for Failing?
Always Take Money off the Table
Founder Impostor Syndrome Never Goes Away

Optimize for Productivity

Wil Schroter

Optimize for Productivity

When people visit the Startups.co office and see hockey sticks leaning against a wall, or members of our team wandering through the woods, they might wonder if we’re one of those Internet companies that plays too hard to really work hard enough.

We do love to have fun here at Startups. But the truth is we’re also militant about our productivity. There’s a reason we’re doing plenty of fun activities in any given week. We’re not just enjoying our lives, we’re optimizing for productivity.

Productivity in Waves

Like many people, we see our productivity peak and valley like a wave. It’s not linear – we don’t just wake up in the morning with constant peak productivity throughout the day.

Working through peak productivity is easy. It’s the valleys that we’re concerned about. And on top of that, I’ve noticed a similar crash throughout the week almost like clockwork.

It then builds up throughout the quarter, at which point I’m totally exhausted and need some serious downtime.

As the day, week, or quarter grinds on, and my valleys start to become more frequent, I’m not only less productive, I’m less happy. There’s got to be a fix for this.

What Are We Optimizing For?

Before we get into how to optimize the valleys, let’s first take a moment and talk about what we’re optimizing for in the first place.

At Startups, our jobs typically require creativity, presentation (usually to clients), flow (like when we’re coding, writing or designing and it’s just all flowing), and ultimately output.

We’re not a factory. We can’t just work longer hours and expect the same output. We have a limited window when we’re actually useful, which means the rest of that time is basically wasted.

If we know for sure that we only have a certain amount of creativity and flow, then it would stand to reason that when it runs out, we should make better use of that time so we don’t waste opportunities to recharge effectively.

Predicting the Valleys

Typically when you hit your valley while sitting at your desk, you goof off. You update your Facebook status, you watch funny YouTube videos, and you surf the Web mindlessly.

You aren’t goofing off because you aren’t a productive person. You’re goofing off because you’ve hit a valley and your mind is telling you it’s time for a break. So why not take one? Why not take lots of them?

The key here is to plan for valleys throughout the day. You plan for one at lunch time every day, and it’s generally accepted that you should take one. But what about the rest of the day? How do you optimize for those valleys?

Creating Value from Valleys

Instead of mindlessly wandering at our computers, how about just getting up and doing stuff we genuinely enjoy? At Startups when we’re burnt out after a few hours we get up and pass around a hockey ball. We play pool. We take a walk through the woods (our office is in the woods, so it’s not a long journey).

Instead of looking at stupid YouTube videos, we’re looking at trees and wildlife. We’re aligning our workdays with our Saturdays. We feel genuinely recharged and ultimately we’re happier.

Pacing for Life

What we’re doing in the short term is pacing our days. But longer term, in a matter of weeks and months we’re deliberately taking time to avoid burnout.

Years ago I ran a sprint triathlon (read: wimp triathlon). I found during training when I let my heart rate run to 170 bpm I would burn out quickly, while only increasing my lap time slightly. Yet when I ran or biked at a measured pace of 150 bpm I felt like I could run forever.

What we’re doing by scheduling breaks is optimizing for productivity. We want to be able to gain more peaks by recharging in the valleys. And we’re not just thinking about the daily benefits – we’re thinking about how it affects the rest of our lives.

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Sharatbabu A Goudar

This article makes us think on our work habits. nice one

Reply4 years ago

Leon william

Good one

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