Know when you're in a sprint

It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work

October 4, 2026

Sometimes a short, focused sprint is the right move.

A launch, deadline, job search, or difficult build phase can justify it. The work has a real window, and a normal week will not get it done.

A sprint only works when it has a clear end and a recovery plan.

Shaan Puri's lion analogy is useful for the cycle: wait, sprint, recover. The trap is staying mentally on all day without giving anything a real push—or giving yourself time to recover.

Name the target, set an end date, decide what can wait, and plan the recovery week.

Without those edges, a sprint becomes a lifestyle. You start borrowing from sleep, health, relationships, and attention with no plan to pay it back.

Temporary intensity can be useful when you choose the trade-off and build in the reset.

If there is no finish line or recovery plan, it is not a sprint. It is an unsustainable pace.

What would change if you named the sprint you are in and gave it a finish line?
Hit reply and tell me. I read every response.

Have a great week!

Graham

📚 Book Notes

It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work - David Heinemeier Hansson & Jason Fried

This is a good counterweight to the lion idea. A sprint can be useful when it has a real target and a clear end. A culture of constant urgency is something else.

David Heinemeier Hansson and Jason Fried argue for protecting attention, setting reasonable goals, and treating rest as part of good work. That does not mean avoiding a hard push when a window matters.

It means the hard push should stay a choice, rather than becoming the permanent way the work runs.

If every week is a sprint, none of them are.

📖 Article

Work Hard

Naval's short post is a good source for the burst-work version of intensity: work as hard as you can, then rest.

That sounds simple, but it is different from being always-on. Always-on work leaks energy all day. Sprint work concentrates energy where it matters.

The useful question is bigger than whether you are working hard. It is whether the hard work is pointed at the right prey.

From the Blog

📝 Why You Should Work Transparently
Showing early work can surface mistakes and missing information while there is still time to change course.

📝 Best Business Books for Founders: 9 That Actually Changed How I Build
Building anything serious usually requires periods of focused intensity alongside steady maintenance.

🔗 Things I Found Interesting

Shaan Puri on working like a lion
The original frame Graham flagged: wait, sprint, eat, rest, repeat.

5 Books That Changed How I Think About Work
A short list of books Graham returns to for clearer assumptions about focus, motivation, and systems.

Two Days From Idea to a Working Lightning Detector (Isaak Devos)
A detailed build log of a handheld detector made in a short, scoped push. The design files, bill of materials, and limitations are public.

Compound Engineering Plugin (Every Inc.)
An open-source collection of workflows for AI-assisted engineering. Worth browsing for the practical question underneath every sprint: what should be repeatable once this push is over?

📣 Quote

"Work like a lion. Not like a cow." - Shaan Puri