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Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

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Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#91

Post by mod »

ptaipale wrote: post #63
mod wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not GP, but I moved to Costa Rica for a few months in 2013. Depending where you go, you can get away with very little to no English. I was in a (tiny) surfing town, Playa Grande. It gets a lot of foreign surfers, and so all the locals speak English. Many ex-pats live there year-round. Nearby is Tamarindo, very similar there, and a much bigger town. I can order food and ask for directions and have basic conversations…

I suppose you mean you can get away with little to no Spanish, so English is OK?

I did mean that, yes.

I would not be afraid to return if I was forbidden to speak Spanish.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#92

Post by mod »

czbond wrote: post #51
mod wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not GP, but I moved to Costa Rica for a few months in 2013. Depending where you go, you can get away with very little to no English. I was in a (tiny) surfing town, Playa Grande. It gets a lot of foreign surfers, and so all the locals speak English. Many ex-pats live there year-round. Nearby is Tamarindo, very similar there, and a much bigger town. I can order food and ask for directions and have basic conversations…

Hey Thanks for posting - I'm thinking of doing the same in Costa Rica from Dallas,TX for a bit. What would a decent house to rent go for in the area?

Depending on your level of luxury, you can rent for 300-2k per month.

I stayed in this exact place: https://surfproperties.wordpress.com/house-for-rent-in-playa...

The owners live a few steps away in their own home. The wife cleans your place once per week. The man will taxi you around as-needed (he charges normal rates, which are pretty high there--gas is expensive). They are FANTASTIC people, they made my stay much better than it might have been.

There's a wall around the property and a gate that gets locked at night, but in all honesty, I've never felt safer anywhere in my life than I did in Playa Grande--wall or no wall.

Edit: I paid $550/month for that place in the off-season. The prices listed seem a little high, they were going to charge me $600/month in season (US winter is their season, US summer is their winter, and it's pretty rainy).

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#93

Post by mod »

cauterized wrote: post #89
mod wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't disagree, however if this hasn't been the idea, it's going to be a hard sell now. If the plan was "hey, let's build this mvp and meanwhile I'll do x, y, and z marketing materials, and then we'll get out and sell!" and OP agreed, well--that's where he's at. Saying "well I'm not working until you get 10 customers" at this point is not okay. In the future, OP: take this very good advice.

"I'm not working any more weekends until you get 10 customers" seems fair, though!

Agreed. Or "I'll work as much as you do."

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#94

Post by graeme »

ConSeannery wrote: post #72
graeme wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you arrange it? And is someone cooking/cleaning/shopping for you, or do you do that yourself?

...does your mom still cook/clean/shop for you? Other countries are not alien planets which are devoid of grocery stores and somewhere you can buy a broom. Just grab a backpack and go. This whole 'arrangement' thing is very american. Use hostelworld, go stay at some hostels for a while. Meet people and have an adventure. Backpack around your target country (or countries) and find a city you like. Ask the people that…

This sort of comment isn't useful. You might have tried asking about my experiences before assuming things. I've lived in six different countries, I speak five languages. I've stayed in hostels, or in apartments, I've cooked for myself and I've had others cook for me.

Right now I'm in production mode with my business, and having someone else cook is a massive boost to productivity. That's why I asked. Am not interested in hostel travel right now.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#95

Post by graeme »

stingraycharles wrote: post #82
graeme wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How did you arrange it? And is someone cooking/cleaning/shopping for you, or do you do that yourself?

I usually buy my food on the street -- i eat rice with pork or noodlesoup with beef in the morning ($1), eat some springrolls or whatever for lunch ($1), and go to the market and buy a grilled fish ($2) or some chicken ($4) with some rice and vegetables ($0.50). You can easily get someone to do the cleaning and shopping for you, but I like to hop on my motorbike and do the shopping myself. I sometimes work from resta…

How did you find the villa to rent, is what I meant.

Congrats on the exit!

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#96

Post by graeme »

graeme wrote: post #94
ConSeannery wrote: post #72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

...does your mom still cook/clean/shop for you? Other countries are not alien planets which are devoid of grocery stores and somewhere you can buy a broom. Just grab a backpack and go. This whole 'arrangement' thing is very american. Use hostelworld, go stay at some hostels for a while. Meet people and have an adventure. Backpack around your target country (or countries) and find a city you like. Ask the people that…

This sort of comment isn't useful. You might have tried asking about my experiences before assuming things. I've lived in six different countries, I speak five languages. I've stayed in hostels, or in apartments, I've cooked for myself and I've had others cook for me. Right now I'm in production mode with my business, and having someone else cook is a massive boost to productivity. That's why I asked. Am not interest…

P.s. am not trying to start an argument. Just letting you know the norm in comments here. Remember that all commenters are human beings. Don't assume the worst if there's a charitable interpretation of comments. Cheers!

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#97

Post by boobsbr »

You probably got tons of advice already, and from people who suffered from burnouts.

I too suffered a terrible burnout, which led to depression. First of all, get psychological help: go see a psychologist and a psychiatrist.

The psychiatrist will get you some meds to help get your head balanced in the short term. The psychologist will help you sort out emotional and stress problems in the short, medium and long term.

After getting better on the short term you'll be able to work out the areas in your life that need attention.

Hope you pull through. Burnouts are just horrendous, don't let yours become crippling depression.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#98

Post by stingraycharles »

graeme wrote: post #95
stingraycharles wrote: post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I usually buy my food on the street -- i eat rice with pork or noodlesoup with beef in the morning ($1), eat some springrolls or whatever for lunch ($1), and go to the market and buy a grilled fish ($2) or some chicken ($4) with some rice and vegetables ($0.50). You can easily get someone to do the cleaning and shopping for you, but I like to hop on my motorbike and do the shopping myself. I sometimes work from resta…

How did you find the villa to rent, is what I meant. Congrats on the exit!

A friend of mine works as a cleaner for someone who is general manager of a real estate agency, and she knows a lot of people. I helped that friend out a few times in the past, now she helped me find that villa.

Furthermore, a lot of negotiating. Original price was $450, I ended up getting $250 if I paid 6 months in advance.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#99

Post by porker »

stingraycharles wrote: post #53
forgotpasswd3x wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What kind of income would I need to bring in to move to a place like that and live comfortably? How is your internet connection?

I live in Cambodia. I pay $250 a month for a villa, electricity is around $20 a month and water is free. Food costs me around $5 a day -- which is a lot. You could live off $2 a day if you want. For internet I use a sattelite connection, which gives me 4mbit full duplex for $25 a month. Life is great, but after 10 months spending time here I feel like I'm still recovering from the rat race back home. I'm spending my…

What do you do for healthcare? For dental cover?

The older I get, the more important these become, however much I'd love to live somewhere with a slower pace of life.

Re: Ask HN: What to do if you are ridiculously burnt out?

#100

Post by robodale »

laex wrote: post #12

Is the idea behind the app validated ? Has your partner talked with the potential customers ? Is the problem you're solving really an important problem ? Have you already built an MVP ? I've been in similar situations where my non-tech friends ask me to start dev work on their ideas. My response usually to them is to find 10 customers willing to pay even before the product exists. So the bottom line is that you shoul…

THIS. Dear God reactivator read this again and let each word sink in deep, because it's the most important and valuable advice you can get.
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