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Really, really interesting. Totally agree. As activity around Woobius has picked up recently, I've been struggling with exactly this problem. My cofounder happi

by swombat 17y ago

Really, really interesting. Totally agree. As activity around Woobius has picked up recently, I've been struggling with exactly this problem. My cofounder happily schedules meetings with various potential clients or contacts or other useful people to meet, and they tend to break up my day in disastrous ways. I do indeed find that often, a meeting in the early afternoon (say 1-2pm) can blow up my entire day (at least in terms of turning a day that could have been chock full with super-productive work into one that only contributes a few bits of real work here or there). I like the tip about working from dinner to 3am, too, but doesn't that blow away any chance whatsoever of social life? If you have a significant other, I imagine that's a clear no-go. Also, if you plan to attend the odd networking event, you won't (or at least, a networking event will basically cost you a whole working day, which seems pretty disastrous). How do you deal with those sociable activities when you're on the dinner-3am schedule?

msluyter 17y ago
A 1pm meeting (directly after a 12pm lunch) works ok for me. It's the 10am and 3pm ones that kill me. They mean virtually nothing done in the morning or afternoon, respectively.
abalashov 17y ago
It does blow away a social life and is antithetical to a significant other. PG clearly states elsewhere that he had neither for all but a very short part of the time that he was working on Viaweb, and implies or states in numerous places that this kind of dedication is necessary to achieve startup success. The theory goes that the financial reward of a startup is a highly dense, compressed version of what you would otherwise be collecting through decades of salaried work of some sort, but is risky and always close to the margin of failure. So, the account goes, it requires a level of commitment that pretty much necessarily precludes a "healthy work-life balance."
- swombat 17y ago
  Hey, I'm not suggesting "it gets in the way of a healthy work-life balance". Going out for drinks or to networking events is often a part of work. A lot of business success depends on who you meet, and how you get on with them, rather than how well you build your product. If you're totally anti-social, you'll probably miss out on a lot of potential business contacts that could make or break your business, no matter how good your product is.

by swombat 17y ago

msluyter 17y ago

A 1pm meeting (directly after a 12pm lunch) works ok for me. It's the 10am and 3pm ones that kill me. They mean virtually nothing done in the morning or afternoon, respectively.

abalashov 17y ago

It does blow away a social life and is antithetical to a significant other. PG clearly states elsewhere that he had neither for all but a very short part of the time that he was working on Viaweb, and implies or states in numerous places that this kind of dedication is necessary to achieve startup success. The theory goes that the financial reward of a startup is a highly dense, compressed version of what you would otherwise be collecting through decades of salaried work of some sort, but is risky and always close to the margin of failure. So, the account goes, it requires a level of commitment that pretty much necessarily precludes a "healthy work-life balance."

swombat 17y ago
Hey, I'm not suggesting "it gets in the way of a healthy work-life balance". Going out for drinks or to networking events is often a part of work. A lot of business success depends on who you meet, and how you get on with them, rather than how well you build your product. If you're totally anti-social, you'll probably miss out on a lot of potential business contacts that could make or break your business, no matter how good your product is.