One thing someone told me when I was starting HashiCorp was: "Never let your startup get in the way of living a healthy life." I think that's really important. At the end of the day, what's most important is health, family. I made sure while I was working on HashiCorp that I continued to pursue my life. The best example of that is I met Amy, got married, and I do my best to be an attentive and loving husband every day. Work can wait, it can always wait.

More directly work related, though: I take breaks!

I think people look at how much HashiCorp has done or how productive I've been personally or whatever and think I just work all the time. And that's just not true.

I cook myself breakfast and eat with my wife every morning. I take a full hour lunch break, often sitting outside, watching YouTube, doing something not work. I take an hour in the afternoon a few times a week to work out. I stop at 530 PM every day to help with dinner and eat, again usually with my wife.

I usually go back to the computer around 8 PM until 11 PM. I don't usually work on HashiCorp-related things here. I try to just improve myself as an engineer. Or sometimes I just play video games. 🤖

Mitchell Hashimoto Great advice! People often underestimate the power of breaks and taking time off. I hope this reinforces the fact that "breaks" are good.