Opting out of the hustle
Hustle, crush, boss, slay, grind.
Whatever you call it, it’s gross.
If you ever hear me recommending any of these ideas to you, please check me because I might be having a stroke.
In my corporate ladder-climbing days, I worked 40 hour weeks (37.5 hour weeks when I lived in Canada since that’s the official standard — go Canada!) One company I worked for, expected us consultants to bill at least 45 hours per week and then log additional hours to, you know, serve the company. I didn’t last long there.
The most hours I’d ever clock on a packed week would be 50-60 hours, and that was pretty rare. If that happened one week, I’d scale it way back the next week and definitely add in a day off for good measure.
When I was growing my business on the side, my total number of work hours was higher than usual — 40 hours for my day job plus 5-10 hours a week to grow my business. This was temporary, and I can only work for so long before I start getting cranky, and my work starts to suffer.
A breakneck pace of work isn't sustainable. Especially for women.
When I hear people say they’re grinding, hustling, crushing, or slaying, I cringe a little. This goes back to the busy addiction. Just grinding, stuck in the grind, back to the grind. Why is the grind the new normal? Why do we wear the hustle and grind like a badge of honor?
Does hustling make us feel more important or valued?
Being addicted to the grind when really, if you look closer, you'd find you're unproductive after a certain point. What's the point in griding yourself to the bone when you don't get to enjoy this moment, the one in front of you?
If you're constantly working, maybe it's 7 days a week, or perhaps it’s 12 hours a day. What is it that you're avoiding that has you so focused on work? Are you avoiding your family? Are you avoiding facing the fact that you really hate your work, boss, or job? Yes, there are other circumstances — if you work shifts or are in hospitality or healthcare, or it’s to make ends meet.
There are endless reasons why you might be hustling — and there’s something to be said for slowing down and working at a pace that won't leave you working from bed with pneumonia. How can you build work around your life, on your terms so that it puts you back in the driver's seat?
If you slow down and deliberately take time away from your work or from a problem that has you stuck, you’ll come to answer more quickly.
As soon as you think you don't have time to take a break is when you actually need one the most.
When your days are so jam-packed you don't have time to think, eat, pee, or even breathe, something’s got to give. You’re a human, not a machine. And even machines overheat and break down sometimes. Usually when it’s least convenient.
Netflix became the choice distraction for workaholics.
When we’re working so much that we find ourselves working every night, and all weekend long, binging Netflix marathons, something is broken.
You might see big names, especially in the online business space getting braggy about working like dogs — they're not doing us any favors. All this tells us is that we need to burn the candle at both ends.
Are your workaholic ways helping you get ahead, or do you just feel like you're spinning your wheels?
If you're a workaholic because you're in love with your craft, that's cool, but if you're a workaholic because the rest of your life sucks and you feel have nothing to unplug for, maybe it's time to reevaluate your priorities.
Having been embracing the unfussy life for years now, I’ve always been a fan of doing less. In my unfussy slow down adventures, I learned something that kinda blew my mind…
If you slow down, you'll speed up your progress.
This may seem counterintuitive, but I've seen it in my work as I’ve been growing my business. When I deliberately take time away, keep the laptop closed, and in another room on the weekend, I can return to my work on Monday morning with a new perspective than if I had been grinding harder.
I’d love my badge of honor to say — most unplugged time. When people are talking about the hustle, they could very well be addicted to that feeling of working themselves to the bone.
At the end of your life, there’s no prize for the most hours logged — the badge is yours, and yours alone. It’s kind of like creating your own participation ribbon and handing it to yourself instead of creating success that feels good.
For me, a business that feels good to run, work in, and work on is a good business for my life.
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