There’s a difference between switching off and not thinking about something.

This week, I attended a peer learning event for entrepreneurs, and someone said something quite profound:

“As an entrepreneur, I’ve gone from 9–5 to 24/7.”

It was one of those statements that cut through everything else because all the founders in the room instantly recognised what she meant. When you start a business, you think about it all the time. Even when you’re not actively thinking about it, it’s there in the background.

This is even more pronounced if you have a team and are in a growth phase or in the midst of devising strategy.

I respect people who start businesses, and I admire entrepreneurs who seek to build something or solve a problem for society. The price you pay for that journey is giving up the 9–5, which you may have wanted to escape in the first place.

There’s also another way to look at this. One of my previous CEOs once told me that the way she rests is by working on interesting things. And maybe that’s the key—if there’s a chance you’ll be thinking about something 24/7, make sure it’s something you love.