Striking the right balance between working hard on exciting, challenging problems and finding time to rest and recharge is not always easy — in particular not in ambitious, hyper-growth startups in which there is always more to do.
Helsing Principal Engineer Jon Gjengset is a master both at pushing extremely hard when it matters most for the company and at finding time and energy for friends and family as well as personal projects like his Youtube channel. In his recent blog post, About 40 hours, Jon shares his mental models for incentives and responsibilities of employers and employees in finding a sustainable equilibrium that achieves both company objectives (eg, project success, timelines) and individual goals (eg, learning, growth, compensation).
As always, Jon’s descriptions are insightful and honest; they also resonate very much with my own experiences as individual contributor and senior management in tech startups. A highly recommended read!