The first two weeks VC Minute Season 2 were focused on a topic that's very important to me: Founder Self Care. SpringTime Ventures also places a high value on this, not only for founders but for ourselves as well.
I put together a complication of the Founder Self Care tips and encourage you to give it a listen. As is fitting for VC Minute, the 10 episodes clock in at 20m 52s
Listen to the full episode: Founder Self Care Compilation
Here's the rundown:
052. Timebox
My first suggestion is Timebox. You'll hear me say this all the time: time is our most precious asset. Maybe a corollary to that is focus. I found that I can create focus by time boxing. (2m 16s)
053. GSD Day
It's apropos that this episode was released on Wednesday because Wednesdays are my GSD days. My Get Shit Done day. Taking time boxing to its logical extreme is the GSD day. No scheduled meetings are allowed on GSD days. None. (2m 14s)
054. Relentless Reprioritization
Relentless reprioritization got me through four years as I was working full time at another job while we were investing from SpringTime's first fund. Prioritization is knowing the destination. Relentless reprioritization is continually navigating along the way to the destination. (1m 45s)
055. Ask for Help
Why is it so hard to ask for help? Asking for help is important for everyone, doubly so for founders. We live in a society that values independence and self-sufficiency so many of us still struggle to ask for help, especially for our most vexing problems. I'm here to tell you that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. (2m 12s)
056. Chronotype & Know Thyself
There are some inputs in your life that you can control such as food, drink and exercise. And there are some things that you can't control, like your chronotype. And if you fight against this, you're just going to make yourself tired and miserable. (1m 44s)
057. Spend Time On Yourself
When was the last time that you gave yourself permission to spend time on yourself? It's not enough to just spend time doing something that you want—to take a break one night and then fret all about the things that you could be doing or should be doing is completely counterproductive. Giving yourself permission is the critical part of this. (1m 48s)
058. Find A Therapist
While I've spent the last week and a half talking to you about tips and tricks for mental health, I'm not a trained professional, but I know the benefit of having one. I strongly encourage all founders to find a great therapist. SpringTime has made three investments in mental health, one may be the right path for you: SonderMind, manatee and Most Days (1m 46s)
059. Sleep
Lack of good deep sleep impacts your physical health, your mental health, your mental acuity, and even your reaction times. To keep your productivity high and your mental health strong, create a sleep routine and get good sleep. (2m 11s)
060. Self-Compassion
I saved the best for last and it’s possibly the hardest. The number one thing you can do for yourself is practice self-compassion. (2m 32s)
I hope you find these tips helpful. What has worked for you that's not covered here? Share with the community so that we can all learn and grow together.
A Note About Last Update’s “Pledge” Buttons
Thanks for making it this far in the newsletter! I wanted to address something from the last issue I sent out. Specifically, Substack added a feature to ask for donations from subscribers and it was enabled for everyone. I thought I had all payment and paywall features off, but unfortunately it was so long since my last post that I didn’t catch this change. As soon as I found out about, I disabled it.
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Excellent resources and ideas on Founder Self care, Rich. As always you are a strong advocate for wellness amongst innovation.