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As an entrepreneur who mostly works independently, my work-life balance isn't the typical 9-to-5 setup. Instead, it's more like a "vertical" balance on a calend

As an entrepreneur who mostly works independently, my work-life balance isn't the typical 9-to-5 setup. Instead, it's more like a "vertical" balance on a calendar, where I work intensely for 3-6 months (roughly 12 hours a day, no weekends, and minimal social life) and then take an equal amount of time off to relax and recharge. I often think of it as a sailor's lifestyle - you head out to sea for a while, where the work is tough but life is straightforward, and then you return home to enjoy a well-deserved break. This kind of schedule works well for solo projects, but it can be challenging when collaborating with others. That's why I'm now focusing on building larger projects that utilize AI - it won't mind if I step away from work for an extended period. Also, since I frequently switch between tech stacks, AI is incredibly helpful for catching up with new frameworks and programming languages. For example, if I were to write in JavaScript again, I'd need to refresh my memory on basic tasks like checking array length. While I can do this on Stack Overflow, using an AI-powered coding assistant like Copilot is much more efficient and convenient.

egisspegis 4y ago
Do you like that "vertical balance" or is it just something you "fell into"?
- kolinko 4y ago
  Yes, definitely. I had undiagnosed adhd until the age of 34yo, so the only way I could focus on a project was with an immense amount of caffeine, sugar and short deadlines. When I took up a project, I knew I had a limited amount of time before my body says it needs a serious break, and before I lose interest in a subject. Since I got meds, 6 years ago, I can finally focus whenever I want to, and I experiment more with 9 to 5 kind of work. But I still find it less appealing - very difficult to do seriously deep work this way. If I find something I'm passionate about, I tend to focus all my attention on it. The biggest challenge is that it's almost impossible to build a real startup this way. And with age, it's more difficult to find people to work with. When both me and my peers were students, it was ok for all of us to just skip school or live off savings for a while and build cool stuff. Now, most people my age have regular jobs and families, so they won't take 3-6 months off to build something cool.
tellmemore-1 4y ago
Would you mind expanding more on your experience? Which type of projects do you work on? What do you do during your time off? How are you doing financially? I work a regular 9to5 and want to switch to a similar schedule (basically work during the winter and then take every summer off). Sounds nice in theory but I wonder what it actually feels like.
- kolinko 4y ago
  I will start with a biggest downside - it can get lonely at times. With this schedule you can build saas tools, or do client work, but you cannot build a stable business and work relationships with other people really. Your biggest support group is a broad startup community - but not the people you work with on a daily basis. There is that saying - "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" - and it's very much true in terms of this work/lifestyle. As for types of projects - over the last ~15 years, I've built probably 15 projects ;) Some freelance work at the beginning, then mobile apps around 2012, then I built AppCodes (which was covered by TC, and landed a few times on the HN top page), and I got into crypto very early on, building a few projects in that space (Eveem.org being the most successful and impactful - the page looks like crap, but it did serious waves in the Ethereum community :) ). Financially - since 32 years old, extremely well, I could retire if I wanted to. But that's mostly because I got into Bitcoin, and then Ethereum very early on. If not for crypto, AppCodes - a saas for iPhone devs - kept earning me a stable income that I could live off, for 8 years straight (right now the site is still up, but I don't charge people, and it's not working any more really). I think I could earn more off it, and for many more years, if I wanted to. Besides AppCodes, I could monetize Eveem.org extremely easy - it just isn't a priority now. And besides AppCodes and Eveem, since I did so much stuff with various techs and business, I can charge easily for workshops, or trainings. I do paid gigs once a year, but more for fun than for money :) I also keep rejecting job offers all the time - the amounts people offer me keep getting higher every year, so I guess that's an objective value of my competencies - more than winning the bet on crypto :D

egisspegis 4y ago

Do you like that "vertical balance" or is it just something you "fell into"?

kolinko 4y ago
Yes, definitely. I had undiagnosed adhd until the age of 34yo, so the only way I could focus on a project was with an immense amount of caffeine, sugar and short deadlines. When I took up a project, I knew I had a limited amount of time before my body says it needs a serious break, and before I lose interest in a subject. Since I got meds, 6 years ago, I can finally focus whenever I want to, and I experiment more with 9 to 5 kind of work. But I still find it less appealing - very difficult to do seriously deep work this way. If I find something I'm passionate about, I tend to focus all my attention on it. The biggest challenge is that it's almost impossible to build a real startup this way. And with age, it's more difficult to find people to work with. When both me and my peers were students, it was ok for all of us to just skip school or live off savings for a while and build cool stuff. Now, most people my age have regular jobs and families, so they won't take 3-6 months off to build something cool.

tellmemore-1 4y ago

Would you mind expanding more on your experience? Which type of projects do you work on? What do you do during your time off? How are you doing financially? I work a regular 9to5 and want to switch to a similar schedule (basically work during the winter and then take every summer off). Sounds nice in theory but I wonder what it actually feels like.

kolinko 4y ago
I will start with a biggest downside - it can get lonely at times. With this schedule you can build saas tools, or do client work, but you cannot build a stable business and work relationships with other people really. Your biggest support group is a broad startup community - but not the people you work with on a daily basis. There is that saying - "If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together" - and it's very much true in terms of this work/lifestyle. As for types of projects - over the last ~15 years, I've built probably 15 projects ;) Some freelance work at the beginning, then mobile apps around 2012, then I built AppCodes (which was covered by TC, and landed a few times on the HN top page), and I got into crypto very early on, building a few projects in that space (Eveem.org being the most successful and impactful - the page looks like crap, but it did serious waves in the Ethereum community :) ). Financially - since 32 years old, extremely well, I could retire if I wanted to. But that's mostly because I got into Bitcoin, and then Ethereum very early on. If not for crypto, AppCodes - a saas for iPhone devs - kept earning me a stable income that I could live off, for 8 years straight (right now the site is still up, but I don't charge people, and it's not working any more really). I think I could earn more off it, and for many more years, if I wanted to. Besides AppCodes, I could monetize Eveem.org extremely easy - it just isn't a priority now. And besides AppCodes and Eveem, since I did so much stuff with various techs and business, I can charge easily for workshops, or trainings. I do paid gigs once a year, but more for fun than for money :) I also keep rejecting job offers all the time - the amounts people offer me keep getting higher every year, so I guess that's an objective value of my competencies - more than winning the bet on crypto :D