The Founder Cycle: How to Adjust Your Routines Based on Founder Seasons and Stress Levels

Most founders think burnout is just part of the job.

They blame the long hours, high stress, and constant uncertainty.

Wrong.

Burnout isn’t caused by working hard. It’s caused by working hard without adapting.

Founders burn out because they treat every day, every quarter, every year the same—no matter what their business or their body is telling them.

You can’t perform at the same intensity all the time.

Elite athletes don’t do that. They’re in-season, off-season, and pre- and post-game regimens.

To become a Foundlete (Founder-Athlete), you have to adapt to the founder seasons.

The Founder Cycle

Founders cycle through different seasons.

Instead of adjusting their routines, they try to apply the same playbook to every stage.

That’s how they stay trapped in a burnout cycle.

The Founder Cycle:

• Build: Deep focus. Heavy mental lifts. Long hours of creation and problem-solving.

• Launch: Intense. Fast-paced. High stakes. Adrenaline-fueled decision-making.

• Growth: Scaling systems. Managing teams. Sustaining momentum.

• Reset: Recovery. Reflection. Recalibration before the next round.

Different seasons = Different demands.

What works in your build season will break you in launch season.

What works in your growth season will drain you in reset season.

Your routines, habits, and intensity need to match your founder season.

This is the foundation of sustainable high performance.

The Stress Meter

Although you can manage burnout when accounting for founder season, preventing burnout requires you to think ahead about your stress levels.

Understanding The Stress Meter is how you go from reacting to burnout to preventing it.

Not all stress is bad.

To a certain point, stress fuels performance.

But once you pass your breaking point it’s downhill into the burnout zone.

Here’s how you measure how much stress is optimal for both your performance and your well-being.

The Stress Meter:

• Normal Zone: You’re in the flow. Energy is steady. Stress is manageable.

• Warning Zone: Stress is rising. Short-term sprints are okay, but it’s not sustainable.

• Burnout Zone: You’ve crossed the breaking point. Chronic stress. Exhaustion. Time to recover.

Your capacity to perform changes depending on where you are on The Stress Meter.

Overworking yourself when you’re in the Burnout Zone isn’t grit. It’s self-sabotage.

Pushing harder in the Warning Zone isn’t a growth strategy. It’s a countdown to burnout.

Coasting in the Normal Zone isn’t maintenance. It’s missing the chance to build resilience.

Staying in the Warning Zone isn’t pushing your limits. It’s ignoring the signals that you’re on the edge.

Recognizing where you are on The Stress Meter is the first step to adapting your routines along the founder journey.

The Burnout Rule

Intensity must match capacity.

It’s that simple.

Your routines should reflect both your season and your stress level.

Think of it like training in the gym:

• In the Burnout Zone: You don’t max out on deadlifts. You focus on recovery.

• In Growth Season but Normal Zone: You can push harder. You have the capacity.

Founders get stuck because they ignore this rule.

They think they can outwork burnout.

You can’t.

You can only out-adapt it.

How to Adjust Your Routine

Your routine isn’t failing you; it’s just not built for where you are right now.

Here’s how to adjust your routine to match your capacity and stay in the game:

1. Identify Your Current Founder Season & Stress Level: Are you building, launching, growing, or resetting? Are you in the Normal, Warning, or Burnout Zone?

2. Match Routine Intensity to Capacity: Align your workload and recovery to fit your current season and stress level.

3. Adjust Physical & Mental Fitness: Shift from intense training to maintenance or recovery when needed, and incorporate mental recovery practices.

4. Reassess Weekly: Your season and stress levels can shift fast. Stay adaptive by regularly checking in with yourself.

The more in tune you are with these shifts, the better you can adjust your routines to maintain sustainable performance.

Burnout isn’t a badge of honour. It’s your signal that you’re neglecting your well-being, and it’s hurting your performance.

Adapting is the ultimate strategy for surviving the long game.

Founders who thrive don’t just push harder—they adapt smarter.

Will you be the founder who burns out or the one who stays ahead?

The choice is yours.

Thanks for reading.

Rey 

The Founder Athlete