Founders: At what point did you realize your "hustle" was actually just chronic burnout?
We glorify the 80-hour work week in the startup world. When I started building my health-tech company here in Dhaka, I convinced myself that sacrificing sleep, skipping meals, and ignoring my personal relationships was just the "temporary price of admission" for success.
It wasn't until I found myself staring blankly at my laptop for two hours unable to write a single email that I realized: I wasn't being productive; my nervous system was just completely fried.
I ended up diving deep into the clinical psychology behind chronic stress, which completely changed how I view productivity. (Spoiler: treating your brain like a machine without maintenance leads to catastrophic technical debt).
I'm curious about the makers in this community:
Was there a specific breaking point where you realized you were burning out?
What strict boundaries or habits have you put in place to protect your mental bandwidth while building your product?
Would love to hear how you all manage this!
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