Today I caught up with an early-stage founder. During our chat, she shared updates on her business, which is doing well. And she casually mentioned that she’d gotten only an hour of sleep the night before. She was in the zone working, and the next thing she knew it was 6 a.m. She said that today was a struggle because of her lack of sleep.

I’ve done my fair share of all-nighters. But over the years I learned that functioning on a few hours of sleep isn’t ideal for me. After minimal sleep my energy level is low and I’m in a mental fog. It’s a bad practice health-wise. Over the last five or so years, I’ve learned more about the importance of sleep and the role it plays in mental and physical recovery. I now try to make sleep a priority so I can recover mentally and physically. If I need to work on something that’s pressing, I try to go to sleep early and wake up early so I can do the work when I’m fresher.

Hard work is a key ingredient in success. There are no shortcuts. But hard work doesn’t have to mean you regularly deprive your body of sleep.