How are you staying healthy and avoiding burnout in 2023?

Hi, my name is Frankie, and I’m a founder with ADHD. I’ve been building Breadcrumbs for the last 2 years and considering pivoting to ScatterMind, where we help founders with ADHD avoid burnout by building healthy habits. While building my first startup, I realized staying organized and prioritizing my health helped me the most in avoiding burning out and, ultimately, keeping my company alive. Below are some of my challenges and solutions.

How burnout affected me

Regularly, I was fighting off self-doubt, exhaustion, lack of motivation, and stress. Very quickly, I learned that I couldn’t get rid of these feelings, but there were tools to fend them off. In short, be healthy every day: workout, eat healthily, relax and get 8 hours of sleep. When I was tired and running on fumes, stress built easier, my focus dwindled, the hard things were more challenging, and I didn’t have the energy to defend myself from my thoughts. I understood health is essential, but I was struggling to prioritize it.

Solution Step 1: Make health my number 1 priority

The first thing I did was rank my priorities. Here are my priorities:

1. My health and self-improvement
2. Building and maintaining my established relationships
3. Helping people (my career)
4. Have fun!

When I revisited my priorities, I realized that my actions didn’t reflect my priorities. I was putting all my energy into my career and not following my priorities. I’d

• Skip the gym,
• Work through meals instead of taking a break,
• Work past my bedtime and miss out on 8 hours of sleep,
• Go straight from work to bed, making it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

At first, this seemed pretty minor to me, but I realized if I’m doing it every day; eventually, it catches up. I’d have amazing weeks because I’d put so many hours in, but the next week, I’d be exhausted and wouldn’t get anything done because I hadn’t slept. I believe consistent flow is always better than variable flow. Pro athletes don’t push themselves to their limits every day. Otherwise, they risk injury. They focus more on consistency.

Solution Step 2: Ensure my actions reflect my priorities

The second thing I did was build a daily routine reflecting my priorities. Instead of filling my schedule with work tasks and then squeezing in my health tasks, I did the inverse. I filled in all my health tasks first and the rest with work tasks. My routine ensured that my highest priority items were getting done daily. The essential tasks that I planned my day around are

• 8 hours of sleep
• 5 minutes of meditation
• Work out 5+ days/per week
• Lunch/Dinner break
• Reviewing my day by reflecting on my work and planning the next day
• Relaxing, so that I can decompress & get ready for bed.
• Night routine (Showering, reading, and reducing phone activity)

Here's my daily routine! All the white space is open for work and any other tasks. My routine reduces the time it would take me to plan my day. A routine might not be for everyone, especially if you’re not full-time. Hopefully, this provides some ideas on managing your health better and avoiding burnout. If you’re a founder with ADHD and need help avoiding burnout or staying organized, check us out here! I'd love to hear how others maintain their health and avoid burnout!

PS: I also go to therapy monthly but wanted to focus on daily tasks.