5 ways to deal with startup fatigue

Working in the environment of startups, you realise things can often change very quickly. You can go from extremely negative thoughts one moment to a position of ecstasy the next. It really is astonishing how engrossed you get, a message on Skype or through email can really affect your thoughts.

Startups are by nature full of all sorts of emotions. Ultimately, if the company fails then it affects you both socially and financially. Startup fatigue can often leave you feeling alone and like you are battling the world, I entered the term ‘startup fatigue’ into google search and was pleasantly surprised to see it as a fairly common issue, see these articles; Huffington Post & Sterling Brands.

Nobody likes a babbler which is why I chose five and here they are:

1. Talk with your team – sounds simple right, but when someone is focusing on the technical product, someone else the marketing and you are working through your list, it is easy to get sidetracked. Speaking regularly is so important with visualising where all the tasks fit together and to show progress.
2. You can’t please the world instantly – Focusing on specific tasks can often leave you with tunnel vision but as is life, prioritizing tasks happens. This can have a slight effect on how quick you are able to produce other tasks and for those wanting the instant result, it is harder to make happen. The task will always be done regardless.
3. Bad days happen – The sooner you realise this the better! Maybe you received a bad email in the morning or England went out of the World Cup in the group stages for the first time since 1958 the night before. Everyone has a bad day from time to time and it’s all about bouncing back.
4. See the bigger picture – Bringing a product to launch is a ton of work, not to be underestimated. Setting unrealistic goals can have a negative effect and leave you questioning why is it that things are taking so long.
5. Take a break – It is amazing what a morning off or a weekend without looking at a screen does for you. After spending a few days in a position where the internet was poor, I had no choice to switch off. I came back feeling refreshed.

Getting tired is a real problem. If you don’t get it under control, you can find yourself wasting a lot of time and energy. Having spent the best part of a weekend totally distracted from what I wanted to be doing… learning to focus is equally important. Look to go into focus more in depth in my next piece.

Let me know how you tend to deal with startup fatigue as everyone is different/special or so I am told! 🙂