Meaning Drain
There's an important difference between "burn out" and "meaning drain." Burn out is a natural consequence of working hard on something. Even if I’m working crazy hours, as long as I’m in touch with the vision of the project, I’m resilient—I can reset with a day’s rest. Meaning drain is a bigger dilemma. Even with normal, or below average hours, a lack of purpose can poison your energy for months. Pointlessness is worse than exhaustion. This is why founders go to tremendous lengths to try and emotionally motivate their employees, but it can only be faked for so long. As a company grows, it becomes harder to scale meaning. For a solo project, your meaning-making lies in your head and in the conversations you have.