If you are able, I highly recommend finding a team sport. A sport like volleyball, soccer, basketball, even doubles badminton. Or if you prefer martial arts, jiu jitsu or judo where you constantly play with others and need others to become better.
No, I do not mean cross-fit, or hiking, or a solo sport like running or surfing / skiing / skateboarding or planting trees, or even a leisurely activity like boardgames or a sedentary activity like video games. Those are all very worthy, but compared to all the benefits that a team sport provides, they fall short.
You'll be killing multiple stones with a single bird. Get exercise, meet people, feel rejuvenated, better appetite, great sleep etc.
Good friendships are built on shared experiences. Taking on a challenge and winning together is awesome. You'll make friends - the kind who you can turn to and the kind who you'll drive across four states for.
You'll learn about your strengths and weaknesses, and learn to become a team player if you aren't already one!
You'll strengthen your mind and it will make you a better entrepreneur! Sometimes you'll meet people who rub you the wrong way. You'll learn to breathe, breathe some more, and play it cool. And you'll learn to still play with them (or against them! ;)).
I can't recommend finding a team sport highly enough. There are leagues, there are pickup games. If you don't like a particular sport, try another one =).
@youesh Sports is also in my list, but I am finding it hard to take that first step. Most of my issues rise from the fact that its harder to find people who can relate to my issues. Most only see the successes or the minute victories that i post on my social media. Thanks for taking the time to help me out. Much love - ahumblenerd
I will suggest you consider the possibility that this is a feature, not a bug. If you are doing a startup, presumably you are doing something novel. You are trying to invent something new and different that will be wildly successful. You are trying to break new ground.
And the way you do that is by thinking differently from other people. So the very nature of the process means you are out of step with the rest of the world and will have difficulty relating to others going about life in the here and now before you have changed the world and made it different in some way.
So trying too hard to stop being lonely is potentially a barrier to success.
It might be better to blog or keep a journal -- to "talk to yourself" rather than someone else in order to sort your thoughts and feelings. Expect that this will get better after you are through some critical stage and no longer need to carve out the mental space to intentionally think different from the rest of the world.
After working years from home I chose to rent an office. Now I'm surrounded by people working for other companies, they have their meetings and different projects but the social interactions (watercooler, lunch) keep me sane. Also indiehackers.com (more focused on bootstrappers)
Working from home was zoning me out to a point where I was only talking to one person on whatsapp. I recently shifted to a co working space. Hoping that it will help me cope.
I’m two years into working from home on my startup, and it’s definitely one of the challenges. I have a co-founder and one full time employee, one in Boston and the other in Chicago.
As for how I cope- I live in Los Angeles and make use of my surroundings. I take walks every day when I need a break. I go grocery shopping. I cook. I break my day up so it’s not just constant business.
I also got a second dog that was a puppy (8 weeks old) and have been raising and training her. Helps to have some activity around the house, and she naturally makes me take breaks throughout the day.
Either way, starting a company is a lonely business. Finding ways to embrace the loneliness and work with it helps a bunch.
I have a co founder on the business, but both of us work on two different facets of the business. And I am focussed on the technology side of things. I will certainly start with small activites.
I have distanced myself from my extended family as ditching a job is always an unpopular decision and at first it was easier to shut them out than listen to them and answer them.
But family is an important connection and I guess I will be able to improve my happiness levels if I can reconnect with the people I started my life with .
This happens a lot to me as well. Best for now is to do experiments on PM so much that once you figure out you will not have time to feel lonely. You will get into the FLOW.
Learn a side skill like an instrument, artform etc which you can learn while you building this.
Getting started with a hobby seems to the most voted advice. Definitely starting to work on this. And thanks to everyone who took their time to help me figure this out. It means a lot to know that there are people out there who are willing to help :) <3
Listen to music and power through. Remember computers make you depressed (knowing is half the battle). Walk around and focus like crazy. You want to win so don’t give up. But do take breaks. Remember everyone is crazy - it’s ok
No, I do not mean cross-fit, or hiking, or a solo sport like running or surfing / skiing / skateboarding or planting trees, or even a leisurely activity like boardgames or a sedentary activity like video games. Those are all very worthy, but compared to all the benefits that a team sport provides, they fall short.
You'll be killing multiple stones with a single bird. Get exercise, meet people, feel rejuvenated, better appetite, great sleep etc.
Good friendships are built on shared experiences. Taking on a challenge and winning together is awesome. You'll make friends - the kind who you can turn to and the kind who you'll drive across four states for.
You'll learn about your strengths and weaknesses, and learn to become a team player if you aren't already one!
You'll strengthen your mind and it will make you a better entrepreneur! Sometimes you'll meet people who rub you the wrong way. You'll learn to breathe, breathe some more, and play it cool. And you'll learn to still play with them (or against them! ;)).
I can't recommend finding a team sport highly enough. There are leagues, there are pickup games. If you don't like a particular sport, try another one =).