My first startup, EVALS, took everything from me.
I spent all waking hours working.
I spent my 10-year wedding anniversary in a hotel room working.
I missed milestones with my kids because I was working.
I missed time with my mom before she died from cancer because I was working.
If you're celebrating 80-hour weeks as a flex, I was you. I missed everything and got nothing in return except stories.
Here's what I know now:
The customer would have still stayed.
The sale would have still closed.
The platform wasn't going to explode.
The meeting could have waited until Monday.
The "emergency" wasn't one.
The company would have survived without me that day.
And that in-office mandate your company requires? It's not about productivity but about control, especially with engineering. Remote and hybrid work exists so use it, chase it, and protect your time. I'm 12+ years remote and won't give it up for anything.
Stop reshaping your life to meet the demands of a business that will replace you in two weeks if you drop dead.
Life comes before work.
At GETOUT, we celebrate life because that's our work.
❤️
Jake