There's this misconception that everyone needs to kill themselves at a startup. Certainly you're working by a countdown clock that is usually wound by funding. But you're not trying to do "whatever it takes" as much as you're trying to do "only what it takes".
Elliot provides a number of approaches to work smart instead of working hard:
- Devote time to meta-work; spend some time thinking about the bigger picture.
- Cut to the chase; keep the goal in mind so you can sidestep issues on the way.
- See if someone has already done what you want to do, and if so, use what they've learnt.
- Measure things so you can identify and shut down failed attempts.
