Sabbaticals, Burnout, and the Bot That Might Run Your Community

David Spinks spent fifteen years cranking on startups before he finally stopped. He stepped down from CMX, the community company he founded that was acquired by Bevy, and took a full year off. No social media. No email. No meetings. No writing. Nothing. And only then did he realize how empty his tank actually was. "You don't really know the extent," he says. "Until you stop everything, put everything down, and get back in touch with yourself in the present moment." It took him a full year to feel a hundred percent again.

The Sabbatical Lesson That Applies Even If You Can't Take a Year

Spinks's core insight is that burnout is invisible from the inside when you've been in the same mode for a long time. "You didn't even know that you could feel better," he says, "because all you've known for fifteen years is cranking on startups." The solution doesn't have to be a year off. "Anything you can do to step back and create space is always going to be good for you. If you can't do a year but you can only do a week, do a week." He also challenges the assumption that things will fall apart if you leave. "There's a lot of ego in that, to think it's all about you. Stepping back created space for other people to step up, for new leaders to form." The same logic applies to community management. If your community revolves