Working for a startup is like being in a really tumultuous  relationship. There are very drastic ups and devastating downs but in the end you are madly in love and so it is all worth it. While it is an amazing roller coaster, it is also exhausting. You spend hours and hours in front of your computer, eschew any semblance of a normal social life, and lose personal hygiene habits other people see as mandatory.

The hours in front of a screen make your eyes water, your social life centers around networking events and launch parties, and every now and then you look in the mirror and ask yourself “HOW DID THIS HAPPEN???”

Everything points towards needing a vacation but launching a company is not conducive to vacation time. Leaving your computer for hours is nerve wracking, leaving it for days is terrifying, and the idea of not having cell phone service is enough to induce a brain aneurysm.

My solution?

Every weekend possible I take the bus out to Sag Harbor, NY and move into my grandmother’s garage which has been converted into a guest house. I get to see family, go to bed listening to the gurgling of the pond outside my window, work in the mornings and evenings, and spend my afternoons  on the beach.