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How to start a company with no free time

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Re: How to start a company with no free time

#41
This strategy seems very relevant and pertinent to me, especially the parts about delegating time, asking for actionable help / emails instead of meetings, and hiring good people. Very helpful for scheduling and structure.

Is there anything else you guys would add? For me, it doesn't seem to address motivation, setting aside time to complete deep work, and the circumstances where you'll actually output the most quality stuff.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#42

I'm surprised by the points 1 and 3. I started a company 2 months ago as solo founder and I work everyday on the product (a SaaS for small/mid companies). I really have no free time to do marketing yet or promote my idea. I just focus on having a MVP. 1. "Decline invitations from VCs to drink a coffee" I've never received any attention from a VC, like probably most founders when they started their first company. It s…

I wouldn't take point 1 literally. It's more like avoid time-wasting meetings which also includes conferences, entrepreneur meetups, team-building seminars, you name it.

(Unless the people you are selling to are at those meetings in which case it's probably not a waste of time.)

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#43

Must say I'm a bit jealous - when I started my company, I didn't have any need to decline VC coffee invites... it was all I could do to get enough interested parties to even get moving. Good tips on time mgmt though, I guess

Are you based in San Fran though? Sounds like the city flowing with VC cash

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#45
post #5

I have a related question for the author or anyone: How do you keep your energy up to code in the evenings on your own project, after a full day of coding at the office?

1) Drink your caffeine like you would be taking a medication (i.e. regular doses at regular intervals) 2) Don't consume too much caffeine.

I drink 4 shots of espresso in the morning and 4 shots later in the evening. I used to drink 12 shots total (4 shots, 3x/day), but began to notice that I was suffering from adrenal fatigue where I could function even less if I didn't get the first dose in and each dose didn't last as long at keeping me wakeful, so I cut back to 2x/day.

Along with that, have a proper diet which may include certain supplements (Vitamin D, B12, fish oil), and make sure to get exercise in at least 3 times per week focused, and get up and walk around every so often, doing air squats or something, or simply take a walk around the block.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#46
I really like #2 "Prepare your tasks". I wrote a series of small scripts on my laptop that I can run from the terminal. All the files, applications, and webpages I need for assignment x are opened in a few seconds and I can immediately start working on it. It's small and unremarkable but it really helps me to get beyond the mental block that makes starting work seem daunting.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#47
All of these points of advice work even if you don't do startups. Raising kids, having a job, a life, a home all need your attention.

It's just generically good advice. Take a look at #4. So many people either just throw up their hands early on a problem (I'll just ask the guru on this subject a generic question - which, if I'm that guru - I know is a time sink), or just assume no one can help them and don't ask. I know I'm guilty of both at times.

One of my mantras to break the back of #4 and #5 is:

Get out of your comfort zone. If it feels uneasy - maybe you're just pushing your boundaries.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#48
"Force Yourself To Work Imperfectly" is amongst the best bits of productivity advice I know.

Work expands to fit the time available, and all that.

Sometimes you've gotta get things just right, but a lot of the time getting it done and moving on is better.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#49
post #14

Thanks everyone for the awesome feedback :-) By the way you can find out more about what we're building at https://winnie.com .

Just checked out your listings for Dallas. May need to actually talk to some locals some of these places are not what I would call kid friendly.

Fair Park is in a sketchy part of town and basically no mans land outside of September-October.

The 6th floor museum is about the Kennedy Assassination. Doubt many kids would find that interesting.

I was really surprised to see Twin Peaks and Bone Daddys on there. You know these are basically Hooters, PG-13 versions of strip clubs. A Bike gang met up at one in Waco and shot the place up.

Re: How to start a company with no free time

#50

I really like #2 "Prepare your tasks". I wrote a series of small scripts on my laptop that I can run from the terminal. All the files, applications, and webpages I need for assignment x are opened in a few seconds and I can immediately start working on it. It's small and unremarkable but it really helps me to get beyond the mental block that makes starting work seem daunting.

This is a really good idea! I have to try this too. I have a couple of projects that I really dread, and I think part of it is how much effort it is to set up the dev environment after working on other stuff.
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