😤 Clever Hacks to Avoid Founder Burnout

Joel Hansen

Sep 30, 2022 • 5 min read

Happy Friday Friends,

Welcome back to the Kernal newsletter: your favourite gym to work out startup ideas before you head to the beach and meet a cofounder 🏖

Latest news: it's been a heavy week. And we're sorry for all those affected. Hurricane Ian has devastated Florida, protests continue in Iran, lots of hiring is still frozen, and the S&P 500 hit a two-year low on Tuesday. In web 3 land: Walmart is entering the metaverse, Robinhood released a beta version of its Web3 wallet and Starbucks is partnering with Polygon. Now that you've got your glass of water, we're gonna hand you the menu for the night. 🍽

🧐 Ways builders can beat burnout
🔥 Top Startup ideas of the week
🐦 Tweets from the top

Okay okay. Enough prepping, let's get poppin' 🍿

😌 Hacks to Beat Founder Burnout

It's October, winter is coming and burnout can happen. It doesn't help that building a startup is one of the most challenging things you can set your mind to. But it's also the most rewarding. Just like having a baby, there's a lottttt that goes on behind the scenes to see them mature.

Babies aren't running from day one, and neither are startup ideas.

Both require a crawl, walk and run approach. And in between each, rest is essential. Everyone builds their startup at their own pace, but we wanted to share a few tips our team steals to avoid burning out our energy tank.

📝 Startup Rhythms to Avoid Burnout:

Morning/Night Routines: some of us are owls, and some of us are early birds. Do what works best for you to build a system of preparation and powering down for the day. Prioritize rest at all costs.
Increase Your No Filter: instead of over-committing, increase your no filter for things that don't fill your tank. Random birthday parties, non-agenda video calls and helping your 2nd cousin move when there are already 6 people there. Be smart about your energy allocation.
Exercise: the cover photo wasn't for nothing. We've all seen our typing speed increase after a jog or workout session. Make sure to carve those in whenever possible.

Fewer video meetings, more phone call walks: for team calls and non "impress the client meetings", swap the video meeting into a breath of fresh air. Literally. Get out there and catch up while getting some steps in.
1 day/week for deep work: pick one day a week to be your deep work day. Defend it with your life. Let that be your zone for rest and execution on your 80/20 tasks.

Silent mode is your bestie boo: doesn't matter if you have an iPhone, uPhone, or smartphone, hit that silent button and watch the magic happen.
Build a Park it List: if you over-commit on tasks/ideas, have a backburn list and add to it when people share "great ideas" over email.
Spa time: cold baths, saunas and steam rooms are no joke. Book a slot once a month and see how your creative space reacts.

P.S. Should we launch Kernal robes - yey or neh?

For the founders, part-timers and side hustlers out there, we hope this list can be helpful. Can you do us a favour? If you read this list and screenshotted one of them to try out, tell us over email. We love hearing if these tips actually help anybody or if you just skim past them and dig up the startup ideas each week (#nohardfeelings).

Email Kernal Fam

Startup Ideas of the Week

Up-vote, comment and reach out to your favs

Deal notes: Idea by Milly, want more utility for your crypto? [read more]

Deal notes: Delivered by Tim, eliminating decisions by providing fun options. [read more]

Deal notes: Drawn up by Diana in Vancouver, reimagining content creation. [read more]

Deal notes: Posted by Michael in New York, running towards early validation. [read more]

Deal notes: Pitched by Roy from Seattle, recovering your riches. [read more]

Deal notes: Posted by Ash, NFTs creation so easy a 5th grader can make one.[read more]

✨ Member Feature of the Week: Sneha Saigal

Our team connected with Kernaler Sneha about what startup life was like in the early days. And we absolutely loved the gems she dropped. Read the full blog to hear about the learning curve.

Read Sneha's Story