The Purge: 7 Things Every Founder Should Stop Doing Before September
Welcome back to Founder Mode!
Hey guys—summer is ending. September always hits like a reset. Kids are back to school. New energy. New pace. New goals. Before that wave rolls in, I’m doing a purge. I’m cutting the habits that slow me down and stall the team. Here’s my list. It’s simple, direct, and built for action this week.
Clear steps.
No fluff.
Use it as a checklist.
You can pick one item and start today.
1) Stop Starting New Projects Before You Finish Old Ones
What this looks like
You spin up ideas on a whim. Docs, decks, prototypes. Your backlog grows. Nothing ships.
Why it hurts
Half-built work kills momentum. Context switching drains energy. Your team loses faith in priorities.
Do this instead
- List your top three in-progress projects.
- Cut anything that doesn’t help revenue, retention, or product-market fit. Or just simply archive them.
- Pick one project to finish this week. Defer the rest to September 15. Or just kill them.
15-minute purge
Open your task list. Archive anything without an owner, a deadline, or a success metric. Put a date on the single thing that will ship by Friday.
One-line rule
“If it’s not shipping this month, it’s parking in the lot.”
2) Stop Saying “Yes” to Everything
You take on meetings, pilots, features, and favors. Your calendar owns you.
Why it hurts
Yes, it steals focus from core work. It makes shallow progress feel like real progress.
Do this instead
-
No List: Things to Avoid Before Q4
- Custom features
- Unpaid trials
- Speculative partnerships
- Use a simple filter: “Does this help us hit the one metric that matters this quarter?”
- Offer a clear alternative when you decline.
15-minute purge
Cancel three meetings that do not drive your core goals. Replace them with one 90-minute deep-work block.
Copy-paste script
“Thanks for reaching out. We’re focused on a different goal through September, so I can’t take this on right now."
3) Stop Being the Bottleneck
What this looks like
Work waits for your approval. Slack pings pile up. Shipping slows.
Why it hurts
You train the team to wait. You become the single point of failure.
Do this instead
- Set guardrails: budget, timeline, and “good enough” criteria.
- Give decision rights: “You own this unless it exceeds budget by X or timeline by Y.”
- Review outcomes weekly, not every micro-step.
15-minute purge
Identify two recurring approvals you gate. Assign owners. Write a one-paragraph “definition of done” and walk away.
One-line rule
“If it’s reversible, the team decides. If it’s not, book me for 15 minutes.”
4) Stop Letting Your Calendar Run You
What this looks like
Recurring meetings overlap. Random calls fill the gaps. Back-to-back Zooms. No time to think.
Why it hurts
No deep work means shallow output. Strategy slips to nights and weekends.
Do this instead
- Box the week. Make No-Meeting Thursday a rule.
- Protect mornings. Block the first 2 hours every day for deep work.
- Stack meetings. Keep them to two afternoons (e.g., Tue/Thu).
- Guard evenings. No meetings after 5–6 pm.
- Add a fast-lane slot. Hold a daily 30–60 min “Urgent/Big Customer” window.
- Fix recurrences. Align series so they never overlap; kill anything without an owner or outcome.
- Work in sprints. 25 minutes on, 5 minutes moving.
My setup (what actually works for me)
- First two morning hours = thinking + building (blocked).
- No-Meeting Thursday to do real work.
- No evenings—keep energy for tomorrow.
- A dedicated urgent slot for big customers or time-sensitive items.
My “Perfect Day” (example to benchmark against)
- 6:00 (rare): Only if truly necessary.
- 6:30–7:00: Coffee + quick email triage (critical only).
- Nothing before 7:00 by default.
- 7:00–10:00 (sometimes 11:00): Meetings. Aim to be done by 12:00.
- 10:00/11:00–2:30: Critical projects / deep work.
- 2:30–5:00: Open buffer—no meetings; thinking, review, or recharge.
- After 5:00–6:00: Generally no meetings.
- Evening: VIP window only (high-leverage exceptions).
15-minute purge
- Open recurring events → delete overlaps, consolidate series, add owners/outcomes.
- Create blocks: Deep Work (daily, first 2 hrs), No-Meeting Thu, Evenings Off, Urgent/Big Customer (daily).
- Update your booking link to only allow your meeting windows.
- Move all non-urgent meetings to Tue/Thu afternoons.
Does my real calendar match my perfect day? (Quick audit)
- Do I have nothing before 7:00 most days?
- Are meetings clustered 7:00–10:00/11:00 and mostly done by 12:00?
- Is there a 10:00/11:00–2:30 deep-work block at least 4 days/week?
- Is 2:30–5:00 protected (no meetings) for buffer/ review?
- Are evenings clear, with only VIP exceptions?
- Do I have a daily urgent slot so true priorities don’t blow up the day?
If you can’t say “yes” to 5 of 6, fix the calendar—not your willpower.
One-line rule
“Mornings to make, afternoons to meet. Thursdays are sacred.”
5) Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics
What this looks like
You celebrate likes, traffic, and signups with no intent. It feels good, but changes nothing.
Why it hurts
You might not see the true value: revenue, retention, and time-to-value.
Do this instead
-
refocus on three weekly KPI:
- New revenue
- Activation rate
- Week-4 retention (or your top substitutes).
- Assign an owner
- Review them every Monday with the team.
- Tie each project to a metric target.
15-minute purge
Delete any dashboard chart you haven’t used in a month. Add one line chart per core metric and set weekly targets.
One-line rule
“If it doesn’t change customer behavior or cash, it’s not a metric that matters.”
6) Stop Meetings That Should Be Async
What this looks like
Status updates. No decisions. People read slides while you talk.
Why it hurts
You waste time and dilute decisions. Meetings become theater.
Do this instead
-
Move status to a weekly async update.
-
Include bullets for:
- Goals
- Wins
- Blockers
- Next steps
- Only host live meetings for decisions, debates, or design.
- Start with a one-page brief. End with clear owners and dates.
15-minute purge
Replace your longest weekly status meeting with a shared doc template. Keep a 20-minute slot only if decisions are needed.
One-line rule
“Write, then decide. If we can’t decide, we didn’t write enough.”
7) Stop Treating Health Like an Afterthought
What this looks like
Late nights, random meals, no movement. You “catch up” on weekends.
Why it hurts
Low energy drags the whole company. You model burnout.
Do this instead
- Set a hard stop for screens.
- Walk 20 minutes daily. Hydrate. Eat real food.
- Book one “thinking walk” per week with no phone. Let ideas land.
15-minute purge
Put two 30-minute movement blocks on your calendar. Prepare three simple, healthy lunches for the week.
One-line rule
“Energy is a founder’s compound interest.”
The Purge Checklist (Do These This Week)
- Archive half-built projects that won’t ship by 9/15.
- Cancel three non-core meetings. Then, add one deep-work block.
- Hand off two approvals with clear guardrails.
- Lock two maker mornings.
- Replace one status meeting with a doc.
- Pick three weekly metrics; set targets.
- Schedule two movement blocks; set a screen curfew.
How I’m Running My Own Purge
Here’s my personal plan for the next 5 days:
- Finish one thing that moves revenue. Ship the smallest version.
- Say “no” with a door open. I’ll revisit asks after September 30.
- Give away control with rules. Owners decide inside the rails.
- Protect the morning. Deep work before Slack.
- Measure what matters. I’ll report on three numbers, not twelve.
- Write, don’t meet. Docs first, meetings only for decisions.
- Protect my energy. Walk, water, sleep—every day.
I’m sharing this so I can hold myself to it. If I can do it, you can too.
Quick Templates You Can Steal
Decision Guardrails
- Budget: up to $X without me
- Timeline: ship by [date]
- Quality bar: [2–3 bullet criteria]
- Escalate only if budget/timeline/quality is at risk
Async Update (weekly)
- Goal this week:
- What shipped:
- Blockers:
- Next steps + owner + date:
Polite No “Appreciate the invite. I’m in a focused sprint until September 30. If timing still works after that, send me a note and I’ll take a look.”
5 Key Takeaways
- Finishing beats starting. Ship one thing this week.
- “No” creates focus; offer a clear next step when you decline.
- Stop being the blocker—set guardrails and give away decisions.
- Meetings need decisions; everything else lives in docs.
- Energy is strategy. Protect sleep, movement, and deep work.
Final Thoughts
Founders don’t need more hacks. We need fewer bad habits. September is a natural reset. Use it. Cut what drags you down. Keep what compounds.
I’m doing this purge with you. Pick one item, act today, and tell me what you cut. I’ll share my results next week.
Keep building,
See you next week,
-kevin
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