Forbes Business Council recently asked members how new founders can manage startup stress. I was glad to be part of the conversation again. My answer was short. Shrink the problem until it fits on one page. I want to expand on that here, because the advice holds up long after the first year.
Founders rarely burn out from hard work. They burn out from carrying every open loop in their heads at once. The unpaid invoice. The hire you have not made. The client who went quiet. The plan for next year. All of it runs in the background all day. That is the real drain, and most people never name it.
So I gave the panel a practical fix. Solve this week, not the whole business. Pick the three decisions that actually move the needle. Name the one outcome you must have by Friday. Write it down. Once it is on paper, the pressure stops running you and you start running the week.
I learned this the hard way. When I started Innovated Studios, I tried to hold the entire company in my head. It did not scale, and it did not feel good. The work got better when I stopped treating every problem as urgent and started treating a few as important.
This is not a trick for calm. It is a habit for focus. A clear week beats a busy one. When my team knows the three things that matter most, we move faster and we argue less. The stress does not vanish. It just stops being noise.
I am grateful Forbes keeps inviting me into these conversations. After more than 25 years in this industry, I still learn something every time founders compare notes. If you feel in over your head right now, start small. One page. Three decisions. One outcome by Friday. Then do it again next week.