How can you manage stress and uncertainty as a startup founder or employee?

In my experience, to further enhance productivity, it's crucial to batch tasks into related clusters, such as communication, deep work, organization, etc. Grouping tasks by type allows the brain to remain in a consistent mode of operation, minimizing the mental fatigue from constant shifting. This strategy not only reduces weariness but also boosts overall efficiency.

While I agree that prioritising and delegating are useful advice in general, I do believe that for a start-up, it might not be the best strategy. When you, as a founder, face a situation in which you are overwhelmed with tasks, it's an opportune moment to dismiss everything that does not validate the core hypothesis or generate revenue. The key differentiator in building a start-up is the ability to do fewer things, but more effectively. Therefore, you don't need to delegate tasks if you can simply avoid them.

A startup founder will inevitably have numerous competing priorities to be addressed including product/service delivery, technology, operations, marketing, sales, accounts, legal, compliance - the list goes on and on. To manage stress and uncertainty, the founder should operate with the Promoter mindset i.e. hire specialists for each area as early as financially feasible and let them run the respective area. Your skills are best leveraged in mentoring them wherever required. Strive to create repeatable processes to enable others to operate without personal guidance. This is necessary not only to avoid burnout but also to create mental bandwidth for formulating strategies to scale the start-up and create a harmonious work-life balance.

In the whirlwind of startup life, it’s vital to slice through the noise and focus on what truly moves the needle. Prioritize ruthlessly; your 'not-to-do' list is as crucial as your to-do list. Delegate not just tasks but also decision-making power—it empowers teams and builds trust. Remember, productivity isn't about doing more, it's about creating more impact with less. Your mission is to steer the ship, not row every oar.

Besides prioritizing and delegating, Remember that you do not have to go about this journey on your own. If you feel that you need help, finding a suitable mentor will also benefit you greatly in accelerating how you learn and develop your business

If you only spend time developing one or two things, in your entire career, communication and collaboration is THE MOST valued skill. The third. Is networking. And developing your network. No joke. If you have questions, ask. If you are in the dark, ask for guidance. If you're working on something, write about it, talk about it, merchandize it. You are your most valued marketer and "merchandiser" of self. Embrace that. The fourth pillar of confidence, is your relationship with your manager. It's critical. If you don't have that "person" - if you don't have an open channel and dialog with your manager or direct leadership. You're in the wrong place. Like parenting, leadership is about trust and support. Esp if you're THE leader.

As a solopreneaur, I lean in to communication & collaboration because it's impossible to do everything on my own. I share my strategic vision with other business leaders whom I value & trust. I seek advice, from those established owners I admire. I hire contract workers to help me in my top priority areas that require expertise I don't have. Formerly, in my corporate leader roles, I was a consistent communicator with not only the members of my team but with adjacent employee groups, whom we overlapped with while executing the company gameplan. I believe it takes a TEAM to achieve championship level outcomes, regardless of industry & size of company.

Silence is the enemy of collaboration. Communicate openly and honestly with your team and other stakeholders to build trust and rapport. Together is better than apart. Leverage the strengths and resources of your team and other key players to achieve your goals.

Open communication is vital, yet it's often blocked by the fear of judgment. It's necessary to create environments where speaking up isn't penalized but encouraged. Saying "I don't know, I need help" can't be interpreted as a sign of weakness. If you are building something new, most likely you don't know a lot of things. If you are aiming to build something extraordinary, we should tap into the collective brainpower of the team.

As the saying goes, working in a startup you should always expect the unexpected. The most important lesson we've learned over the years is to embrace yourself for constant changes. Knowing and realizing in advance that you will inevitably redo the code, go with a different GTM, use another design agency, whatever the case would be, is already half way through being able to face the change and effectively handle it.

One thing to learn in entrepreneurship is adaptability.What might be relevant today might not be relevant few years down the lane.Staying up-to-date with the market demand and acquiring the required skills ,knowledge and designing services and products to keep up with the market trends is one way to keep the stress and uncertainty away as a founder.

In my experience as a founder, a startup environment is incredibly dynamic and unpredictable. I've faced numerous changes, setbacks, and even failures. The key to navigating these challenges is to adapt and learn continuously. Flexibility and an open mind are essential. Embracing change as an opportunity for growth has allowed me to improve and innovate. One of the most valuable lessons I've learned is to view mistakes and failures as feedback rather than setbacks. These experiences have been instrumental in adjusting my strategy, refining our services, and evolving our approach. I constantly seek new knowledge and skills, and I'm not afraid to experiment with different solutions and methods and learn from mistakes.

Before starting off list down the mistakes you or people around you made in their start-ups. This is important to minimise set backs, financial loss and in turn stress. Work better on the reason so as to minimise any anxiety. As it is said ‘Prevention is better than cure’. Keep expenses under check till you achieve break even. For eg., Working from home or a Co-working space rather than renting an expensive space. As far as managing stress is concerned learn to adapt to a lifestyle wherein you always do regular exercise, sleep with discipline,meditate and spend time with family. From Day 1 be strict with work life balance and draw boundaries. Your emotional health will take a toll if you go overboard with work and neglect ‘Me-Time.’

The Lean Startup by Eric Ries is a great book for any founder on this subject. Focusing on importance of validated learning, emphasizing that startups should systematically test their hypotheses, measure their progress, and adjust their strategies accordingly.

There is no wealth without health. Read that twice. All the money and glory in the world will be worthless on the open market when your health suffers. Also remember... Brainpower increases with exercise. So if you struggle with prioritizing health, remember that improvements in health correlate into benefits for your startup.

Balance can be found in diversity. Yes, we do need to rest, yet I find rest in doing different things. Emails for 30-minutes, diary for the same, travel bookings, social media posts, there is lots to do but they don't have to be done in one sitting. Burnout comes from a sense of loss of control. We fear one thing - loss. There is one thing we can control, ourself. Find your groove, work on what you can control, and take a break if you find yourself completely lost in your work. Lots fo micro-breaks. Pushing through when feeling overwhelmed is unhelpful at best. Spend as little as 30-minutes every second day doing something that brings you joy.

There is a difference between passion and stress. Some people think I am stressed, when I am not. It's my passion showing through.

Be sure to schedule and take some time off to he with the people and pets who matter in your life. You will be happy when you feel recharged and energized. The people you shared your time with will be grateful and fulfilled as well.

On the other side of uncertainty are possibility, opportunity, and growth. The world has always been and always will be uncertain. It's time to reject this false constraint that uncertainty happens to us. Decide what you are sure about because that's a great place to create a sustainable business idea. And if uncertainty is high, use it as a tailwind for laser-like focus, courage, and experimenting. The #1 lesson is that not taking a risk is a risk when uncertainty is high.

Stress and uncertainty? I had that in the corporate world as an employee, and for good reasons: layoffs, boring work, rigid schedule, commute, and the worst: all my income coming from one single source, at the mercy of other people and circumstances I had little control over. I've been a founder / entrepreneur since 2012, sold my previous company, and ever since, all the stress and uncertainty are gone.

"There is profit in all labor. But idle chatter leads only to poverty." - Proverbs 14:23 You lift up your dog and run up the hills. You don't like something your wife did and keep thinking of how to tell her. You pull out couple of all-nighters and finally move the mountain that you have been trying to for weeks. You try to log into netflix and find yourself locked out because your roommate shared password with his girlfriend. All of the above "creates" stress. But does all of them "feels like" stress? The feeling of stress doesn't come from stress itself, it's how the mind reacts to stress. If you find meaning in suffering, there is nothing to balance. If you can't, there is no balance to have.

Uncertainty is part of startup experience, embrace it and have fun. If it stresses you out too much maybe startup is not the best career choice.

I've learned the hard way, over 3 decades, how to manage my mental, physical and professional state. There's been good times and bad. And consistent inconsistencies. Here's my legit "where do I start" tip for you... if you're reading this, and want to be an entrepreneur, or part of the next big thing... Do this. First. Start your "thing" as a side hustle. No joke. Do it nights, and weekends. Don't quit your job. Treat this new endeavor like it's another, parallel, job. But keep your day job. And do this for months, maybe up to a year. Why? You may ask. Because if you can't do that. Tend the steady while building the ready. You aren't ready. Yet. Test yourself. Safely. And in safety. That's something.