On Friday, I had a chance to see David Nelms (CEO of Discover Financial) speak about his career and entrepreneurship in general. Along with the usual calls to be bold and to be persistent, he made a point that is particularly relevant to entrepreneurs in general and internet entrepreneurs in particular, while answering a question about time management.

Live your passions.

If you find yourself bogged down by your daily routine, it’s time to reflect on whether you are doing something that you truly enjoy. Whether it’s going into the office or running your blog, the sort of grinding tedium that can make you want to give up is usually the result of focusing on tasks that you secretly hate.

I’m not telling you to quit your jobs, shut down your web businesses and move to Tahoe at the first sign of trouble, but rather once you start feeling a little stressed out, take an inventory of what made you want to start your enterprise to begin with. Check that list of ideals against what you actually spend most of your time doing, and see where the discrepancies are. Most likely, those discrepancies are the major causes of stress in your day.

Efficiency is loving what you do, or at the very least not hating it.