How to maintain pace at a startup without burning out

In my blog “My journey as a serial startup product manager” I shared my story of working at three early stage startups over the years.

One follow-on question I sometimes get is — how did you survive the fast pace of early stage startups for so long?

Frankly, I don’t really think of working at startups as “surviving” because I enjoy it so much, but I have to admit that not everything came naturally and I learned to pace myself over the years.

Here are some tips-and-tricks for those newer to startup life:

• Join people and a cause that inspires you. I mentioned in a previous post that early startup employees tend to be “missionaries”, with a passion for what the company is trying to build together. I think that being one of the missionaries is a key ingredient to making a startup an enjoyable experience. To me, I also look for highly inspiring individuals to look up to and learn from, at every step of my journey.
• Embrace “It’s a marathon, not a sprint” mentality. Know what you need to be healthy, happy, and present in your reality outside of work. Working hard does not mean you ignore your personal life. While working at startups, I got married, had kids, and had many fun times with my parents and friends. Startups do not have to mean your personal life stops.
• Don’t give up on a “hard day”. Sometimes working at a startup is really hard, and certain days will make you feel like it is all too much. Close your laptop, take a walk, take a weekend, take a week — simply to recharge. Things will look very different, once you’ve given yourself a chance to breathe and reassess what is important to you.
• Take your career one step at a time. I was pretty impatient when I got into product management. I wanted to learn everything at once and be an expert others looked up to right away. But there is no shortcut to it. Some things you just have to learn from experience. Look for mentors, but more importantly look for experiences you have not had yet, and just start doing new things without fear. That is the only path to growth.

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